savage village there are some, who, through caprice or marriage, have left their own nations to dwell among strangers, by whom they are considered, especially in war time, as natives. Such are always employed to carry the first proposals of a peace."

At some of the villages visited by Du Lac, the chiefs feasted him in turn, and according to their custom offered him their daughters, which he accepted of the principal chief, being afraid of displeasing him. The following are among the questions put to him by this people: "Are the people of your country slaves to their wives like the whites with whom we trade?" Being fearful of losing his credit with them, he answered that they loved their wives without being their slaves, and abandoned them when they were deficient in their duty.

The Iroquois and Hurons, like the Lycians, take their family names from the women, who alone are charged with preserving the race of their ancestors, by transmission to their children of the names borne by themselves. When a warrior dies, the appellation by which he was distinguished is buried in his grave, and is not renewed until the lapse of several years. The savages, in address- ́ ing each other, seldoın make use of their adopted name. They apply even to strangers the titles of kindred such as brother, sister, uncle, nephew, and cousin, and the relative proportions of age be

tween themselves and the persons whom they accost. The practice of marrying a plurality of wives is more generally prevalent among the natives of the southern than those of the more northern parts of America,

m

It is common among the IROQUOIS when a woman intends to arry, to leave to the principal matron, or some of his own relations, the selection of his future spouse. The choice having been fixed, and the consent of the female procured, a proposal is made to their relations, who hold a consultation upon the business; and, should it be agreeable, there is no delay in returning a positive answer. The marriage being resolved on, the friends of the bridegroom send to the cabin of the young woman a present, consisting of porcelain, pottery, blankets of skins, and other useful articles of furniture, which are intended as presents to the parents of the bride. When the presents are accepted, the marriage ceremony is concluded. Men advanced in years frequently espouse young girls, as being more easily moulded to their own disposition.

Marriages are formed in such a manner, that the parties leave not their relatives and their cabin to have a separate dwelling and family, but each remain as before; and the children produced from the marriage belong to the mother, and are accounted solely of their cabin or family. The pro

perty of the husband is kept apart from that of the wife, and the females inherit in preference to the males. The consideration of the children being entirely dependent on the mother, and forming the future hope of the nation, was the real cause among many of the tribes of the women having, in a political sense, acquired a degree of conse-: quence superior to their husbands...

The married wife, however, is not only bound. to give her husband food, and to cook his victuals when he sets out on an expedition, but likewise to assist his family when they cultivate their fields, and to provide fuel for the fires during a certain period. All the women of her own family, assistedby many others in the village, carry to the hus-. band's cabin several bundles of wood; the wife, to recompence such as have aided her in this toil, distributes a portion of boiled maize to each; a formality which prevails only among the more stationary tribes, and is termed the nuptial wood. It is the office of the husband to make a mat, rẻpair the cabin of his wife, or construct a new one.

The produce of his hunting expeditions, during the first year after his marriage, belong to his wife; afterwards he shares it equally with her, whether she stay in the village or accompany him to the chase.

In the nation of the ALGONQUINS, where two wives are permitted to one husband, the one is

considered of a rank superior to the other, and her children alone are accounted legitimate. They both inhabit the same cabin with the husband. The custom of marrying more than one wife is no where to be met with among nations in a state of refinement; and the rules of virtue, as well as the precepts of the Christian religion, tend to its prohibition. Where polygamy does prevail, the women are less valued, and their mode of education is calculated to retain them in a state of mental darkness. In regular and limited governments, where property is secured to the possessors, legitimacy of descent becomes a matter of the highest importance. In proportion, therefore, as their conduct is regulated by propriety and virtue, women are held in estimation. The passion of love is of too delicate a nature to admit of divided affectious, and its real influence can scarcely be felt in society where polygamy is tolerated. That refined impulse of tender and respectful attachment, the offspring of sentiment, is productive of the highest gratifications of civilized life, and its absence can by no means be compensated by the libertinism of barbarians. The Algonquins espouse without ceremony several sisters, and successively cohabit with the others, not visiting their wives in a state of pregnancy.

The ALPALCHITES of North America were permitted to marry in every degree of consanguinity 2 P

13.

perty of the husband is kept apart from that of the wife, and the females inherit in preference to the males. The consideration of the children being entirely dependent on the mother, and forming the future hope of the nation, was the real cause among many of the tribes of the women having, in a political sense, acquired a degree of conse-: quence superior to their husbands.

The married wife, however, is not only bound. to give her husband food, and to cook his victuals when he sets out on an expedition, but likewise to assist his family when they cultivate their fields, and to provide fuel for the fires during a certain period. All the women of her own family, assisted by many others in the village, carry to the husband's cabin several bundles of wood; the wife, to recompence such as have aided her in this toil, distributes a portion of boiled maize to each; a formality which prevails only among the more stationary tribes, and is termed the nuptial wood... It is the office of the husband to make a mat, rẻpair the cabin of his wife, or construct a new one.

The produce of his hunting expeditions, during the first year after his marriage, belong to his wife; afterwards he shares it equally with her, whether she stay in the village or accompany him to the chase.

In the nation of the ALGONQUINS, where two wives are permitted to one husband, the one is