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136 BUEEATJ OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll.103
Simpson affirmed that the girl must be between 20 and 25 years of
age and the youth between 25 and 30, When they began to marry
younger the oJffspring were " runts," the tribe got smaller and weaker
and ultimately became reduced to its present fragmentary condi-
tion. They also did not like to have their children marry into a
band opposed to their own in the ball games. (See p. 153.) Opposi-
tion to marriage in other tribes had a practical consideration
anciently because, should war break out between the two peoples,
intermarried foreigners of the hostile tribe were generally killed.
A youth showed his fondness for a girl by calling often upon her
brother, making him an especial companion, and so on. These vari-
ous signs having been observed by the old people, a courtship dance
was held in the neighborhood and by watching the behavior of the
young people, their parents satisfied themselves of the state of affairs.
Sometimes attachments between three or four couples would be discovered
on the same occasion. Then the father of one of the two
parties would call upon the father of the other to talk the matter
over. The mothers would also confer, after which all four had a
meeting and came to an understanding. Then either the boy or the
girl spent three days in the family into which he or she was to marry
to see whether they would fit in there, because it was intended that
they should spend the first few years of their married life in that
particular household. If one of the parties was very young, such a
disposition of them might be ordered by the chief.
While two young people were engaged, even though they were near
neighbors, they did not see each other all the time. The old people
meanwhile would visit back and forth, exchange salutations, and
then bid good-by as if they had come from great distances and lived
far apart.
The preliminaries having been satisfactory, the parents of the
couple met and fixed upon a date for the wedding. Usually this was
some time in the fall, because it was claimed that the nation would
be weakened if people had sexual relations in the summer, a belief
that was equally impressed on all married persons.
If a death took place the wedding would be postponed, the
period of postponement being longer in proportion to the age of the
deceased.
A great quantity of food was now procured—by the girl's family
apparently, though Simpson omitted this point—and they began
cooking for the marriage feast about midnight, keeping it up until
morning. On the other hand the youth's parents made a considerable
present of clothing and merchandise to the parents of the girl, consisting
of some such articles as the following : One pair of shoes for
each, a dress for the mother, a hat for the father, a barrel of flour, one
side of meat, and $2 worth of coffee. If the young people eloped