14 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVIH) 



If a man treats his wife badly, her brothers may take her 

 back to her father, tear his tent down, and take away his 

 household property. Sometimes the man and woman live 

 together again, sometimes she marries some one else. But the 

 man still has a claim on her; and if another takes her, he must 

 pay her first husband one or two horses to relinquish his claim. 



Sometimes a husband, to show his love for his wife, gives 

 away several horses to her relatives. 



A wife's next younger sister, if of marriageable age, is 

 sometimes given to her husband if his brother-in-law likes 

 him. Sometimes the husband asks and pays for his wife's 

 younger sister. This may be done several times if she has 

 several sisters. If his wife has no sister, a cousin (also 

 called "sister") is sometimes given to him. When a woman 

 dies, her husband marries her sister. When a man dies, his 

 brother sometimes marries his wife. He is expected to do so. 

 Sometimes she marries another man. 



In courting women, men cover themselves completely with a 

 blanket except the eyes. Often they exchange blankets, so 

 as not to be known. They wait on sand-hills, or similar 

 places, until the women leave the camp for water or wood. 

 Sometimes at night they turn the upper flaps of the tent, so 

 that the smoke of the fire remains in the tent; when the 

 woman goes outside to open the top of the tent, the man 

 meets her. At night men catch women outdoors and hold 

 them, trying to persuade them to yield to their wishes. (The 

 Arapaho affirm this of the Cheyenne, but have the practice 

 themselves.) Courting is much easier and more open now 

 than formerly. In making advances to a woman, a man often 

 begins by asking for a drink of the water she is carrying.. 



It is said, that, on account of fear of unchastity, women are 

 married at an earlier age now than formerly. The Omaha, 

 according to Dorsey, make a similar statement. This seems 

 to be an Indian opinion which is not founded on facts. 



A man with two wives generally has a tent for each. An 

 Arapaho in Wyoming lived with his two wives, who were 

 sisters, in one tent. His wives' relatives wanted to give him 

 a third sister. The girl objected, and he did not get her. 



