ON THE ETHXOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 483 



that the bridegroom shall reward them for their services by a gift of one 

 or more blankets each. When this has been done the parties separate, 

 the girl's family and friends going back to the village, and the youth with 

 his bride and friends returning home. If the girl were the daughter of 

 ordinary parents she would have to dispense with some of these cere- 

 monies, such as the walking on blankets, &c. Some days later the bride 

 and bridegroom and his friends return to the bride's old home, where a 

 feast is held. After the feast is over they separate again, and some time 

 later the girl's parents and friends pay a I'eturn visit to her husband's 

 home, bringing with them blankets and other presents equal in number 

 and value to those bestowed upon themselves. These are distributed to the 

 son-in-law and his friends, after which all partake of a second feast, which 

 closes the marriage ceremonies, and thereafter the girl and youth are 

 regarded by all as man and wife. 



Sometimes the suitor is not acceptable to the girl's parents, and after 

 a family council has been held he is rejected. A friendly neighbour is 

 called in as before to act as intermediary and convey to him the decision 

 of the pai-ents, only on this occasion she provides no meal for him. If 

 the youth has set his heart on tlie girl he will now try and induce her to 

 elope with him. If she refuses to do this, he has perforce to give her up 

 and seek a wife elsewhere. If, however, she consents, he seizes the first 

 opportunity that offers and carries her off to the woods with him, where 

 they remain together for several days. If the objection to the young man on 

 the part of the girl's parents is not deep-rooted, he is now permitted to keep 

 the girl as his wife on payment to them of a certain number of blankets. 

 If, however, they object even now to have him as a son-in law, they take 

 the girl from him, and it is understood on both sides that he is to trouble 

 her or them no further. 



With regard to the suitor's fast of four days and nights I questioned 

 my informant whether the old-time youths of the tribe really and truly 

 abstained from food and drink on these occasions. He assured me they 

 undoubtedly did, and that it was a matter of honour with them to eat or 

 drink nothing during the whole period, the significance of their absti- 

 nence being that they were now men, and could readily endure the hard- 

 ships and privations incident to manhood. Apropos of this custom he 

 related to me an instance of what befell a certain luckless youth who 

 sought surreptitiously to break his fast. The family of the girl whom 

 he sought to take as wife had all gone out on the third day, leaving him 

 squatting in his place by the door. They had gone across the inlet to 

 pay a visit to a village on the other side. The absence of the whole 

 family tempted the famishing youth to take advantage of his temporary 

 opportunities to satisfy the cravings of his stomach. So he left his post 

 and ran down to the beach and hastily dug up some clams. As he was 

 in the act of eating these a little girl told him that the family was 

 returning on the water. In his haste to eat the clams he had prepared 

 he swallowed one whole, and it stuck in his throat and choked him so 

 that he died. His melancholy end was regai'ded by everybody as richly 

 deserved, aad his fate was held up thereafter as a warning to succeeding 

 generations of young men. 



These customs are no longer kept up among the great body of the 

 Sk'qo'mic. Mari'iages among them are now conducted very much after 

 the manner of the whites and solemnised by the priest. A ievf of the 

 heathen Sk-qO'mic, who still hold by their old tribal cuitoms, continue to 



