a7 
OPA PDE 0 Tr. 
SEMINOLE SOCIETY. 
As I now direct attention to the Florida Seminole in their relations 
with one another, I sball first treat of that relationship which lies at 
the foundation of society, marriage or its equivalent, the result of 
which is a body of people more or less remotely connected with one 
another and designated by the term “ kindred.” This is shown either 
in the narrow limits of what may be named the family or in the larger 
bounds of what is called the clan or gens. [ attempted to get full in- 
sight into the system of relationships in which Seminole kinship is em- 
bodied, and, while my efforts were not followed by an altogether satis- 
factory result, I saw enough to enable me to say that the Seminole re- 
lationships are essentially those of what we may call their ‘‘mother 
tribe,” the Creek. The Florida Seminole are a people containing, to 
some extent, the posterity of tribes diverse from the Creek in language 
and iu social and political organization ; but so strong has the Creek in- 
fluence been in their development that the Creek language, Creek 
customs, and Creek regulations have been the guiding forces in their 
history, forces by which, in fact, the characteristics of the other peoples 
have yielded, have been practically obliterated. 
I have made a careful comparison of the terms of Seminole relation- 
ship I obtained with those of the Creek Indians, embodied in Dr. L. H. 
Morgan’s Consanguinity and Affinity of the American Indians, and I 
find that, as far as I was able to go, they are the same, allowing for the 
natural differences of pronunciation of the two peoples. The only 
seeming difference of relationships lies in the names applied to some 
of the lineal descendants, descriptive instead of classificatory names 
being used. 
I have said, “as far as I was able to go.” I found, for example, that 
beyond the second collateral line among consanguineous kindred my 
interpreter would answer my question only by some such answer as “T 
don’t know” or “No kin,” and that, beyond the first collateral line of 
kindred by marriage, except for a very few relationships, I could obtain 
no answer. 
THE SEMINOLE FAMILY. 
The family consists of the husband, one or more wives, and their 
children. I do not know what limit tribal law places to the number of 
wives the Florida Indian may have, but certainly he may possess two. 
There are several Seminole families in which duogamy exists. 
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