Some Husbands However Feel More Deeply
The Injury Done To Their Honour And Seek Revenge Even In Their Sober
Moments.
In such cases it is not uncommon for the offended party to walk
with great gravity up to the other and, deliberately seizing his gun or
some other article of value, to break it before his face.
The adulterer
looks on in silence, afraid to make any attempt to save his property. In
this respect indeed the Indian character seems to differ from the
European that an Indian, instead of letting his anger increase with that
of his antagonist, assumes the utmost coolness lest he should push him to
extremities.
Although adultery is sometimes punished amongst the Crees in the manner
above described yet it is no crime provided the husband receives a
valuable consideration for his wife's prostitution. Neither is chastity
considered as a virtue in a female before marriage, that is before she
becomes the exclusive property of one hunter.
The Cree women are not in general treated harshly by their husbands and
possess considerable influence over them. They often eat and even get
drunk in consort with the men; a considerable portion of the labour
however falls to the lot of the wife. She makes the hut, cooks, dresses
the skins, and for the most part carries the heaviest load: but when she
is unable to perform her task the husband does not consider it beneath
his dignity to assist her. In illustration of this remark I may quote the
case of an Indian who visited the fort in winter.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 97 of 649
Words from 26088 to 26350
of 176017
