1S75.I 4 Jo [Gabb. 



ble for a stranger to learn the true name of an Indian, directly from the 

 person himself, although his friends may divulge it, and this is looked 

 upon almost in the light of either a breach of confidence, or a practical 

 joke. After long acquaintance, they may be prevailed upon, but even 

 then are more apt to give a false name than to tell the truth, so great is 

 their reluctance. One fellow, v^^ho v/as my servant for over three months, 

 after alvs^ays denying having a name, at last told me a pet name, or 

 "nick-name " that he had had as a child. It is customary for children 

 to have provisional names, or to be called only ' ' boy " or " girl " as the 

 case may be, until the whim of an acquaintance or some equally arbitrary 

 circumstance fixes a title to them. Besides the native name, generally 

 derived from some personal quality, or not seldom the name of some ani- 

 mal or plant, almost all of the Indians possess a foreign name, by which 

 they are known, and which they do not hesitate to communicate. Among 

 themselves, when the name is unknown, a person is called by the name 

 of the jjlace where he lives. Mr. Lyon says all the women have names, 

 as well as the men. But my experience with them is never to have heard 

 them called by other titles than "girl," "woman," "wishy^' (applied 

 familiarly to young married women), or "so-and-so's wife" or daugh- 

 ter, except in the case of a few of the more civilized men, who have given 

 Christian names to their families. 



Children are not generally weaned early. In case of the bii-th of a se- 

 cond child, the first is weaned perforce. But it is nothing strange to see 

 a child well able to walk, say even two years old, go to the breast as a 

 matter of course, although sufficiently accustomed to more solid food. 



Small babies are carried on the back, astride the hips of the woman, 

 and supported by a broad strip of bark or cotton cloth, passed around 

 both, and secured in front by a dexterous tucking in of the ends. When 

 they become larger, they are carried on one hip, supported by the arm ; 

 or are placed on top of the load, if the mother is traveling. They sit 

 pei'ched on the bundle, with a foot dangling either over or behind each 

 shoulder of the mother, and soon learn to hold on like monkeys. 



The training of the youth is left almost entirely to themselves. Among 

 the Tiribi they are taught to respect and obey their parents, but in the 

 other tribes they are more insolent and disrespectful to their parents than 

 to other persons. I have seen a boy of ten years old absolutely refuse to 

 obey some trifling command of his mother, and she seemed to have no 

 power to enforce her order. The little girls learn early to accompany the 

 older girls and women when they go out to bring water. Their usual 

 station, in the house, is at the side of the fire, where, as soon as they are 

 large enough, they assist in fanning the fire, preparing plantains for the 

 pot or watching the cooking. The boys will sometimes deign to hunt 

 fire-wood, but they are more apt to be playing by the side of the river 

 ■with mimic bow and arrow, learning to shoot fish under water. Their 

 toys are mostly diminutive copies of the tools and weapons of more ad- 

 vanced age. The machete of the man is represented by a good sized 



