Although These People Are Call'd Savages,
Yet Sodomy Is Never Heard Of Amongst Them, And They Are So Far
From The Practice Of That Beastly And Loathsome Sin, That They Have
No Name For It In All Their Language.
The Marriages of these Indians are no farther binding,
than the Man and Woman agree together.
Either of them has Liberty
to leave the other, upon any frivolous Excuse they can make;
yet whosoever takes the Woman that was another Man's before,
and bought by him, as they all are, must certainly pay to her former Husband,
whatsoever he gave for her. Nay, if she be a Widow, and her Husband
died in Debt, whosoever takes her to Wife, pays all her Husband's Obligations,
though never so many; yet the Woman is not required to pay any thing
(unless she is willing) that was owing from her Husband, so long as she
keeps Single. But if a Man courts her for a Nights Lodging, and obtains it,
the Creditors will make him pay her Husband's Debts, and he may,
if he will, take her for his Money, or sell her to another for his Wife.
{Selling Wives.} I have seen several of these Bargains driven in a day;
for you may see Men selling their Wives as Men do Horses in a Fair,
a Man being allow'd not only to change as often as he pleases,
but likewise to have as many Wives as he is able to maintain.
{Indian many Wives.} I have often seen, that very old Indian Men
(that have been Grandees in their own Nation) have had three or four
very likely young Indian Wives, which I have much wondered at, because to me
they seem'd incapacitated to make good Use of one of them.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 269 of 377
Words from 77027 to 77324
of 110081
