mselves towards you according
to their knowledge. You must remain here until I, or some of your
friends, come for you."

The party then returns, resumes his gun, and seeming to forget the
sufferer, goes to his hunting as usual, and the son or ward is left to
endure hunger as long as it can be endured, and the party survive. The
hunter, meanwhile, has procured the materials for a feast, of which the
friends are invited to partake They accompany the father or guardian to
the unfortunate starving subject. He then accompanies them home, and is
bathed in cold water, and his head shaved after the Indian fashion--all
but a small space on the centre of the crown. He is then allowed to take
food, which, however, as a consecrated thing, is presented him in a
vessel distinct from that used by the rest. After he has eaten, he is
presented with a looking-glass, and a bag of vermilion. He is then
complimented for the firmness with which he has sustained his fasting,
and is told that he is henceforward a man, and to be considered as such.
The instance is not known of a boy eating or drinking while under this
interdict of the blacked face. They are deterred, not only by the strong
sentiments of Indian honor, but by a persuasion that the _Great Spirit_
would severely punish such disobedience of parental authority.

The most honorable mode of marriage, and that generally pursued by the
more distinguished warriors, is to assemble the friends and relatives,
and consult with them in regard to the person whom it is expedient to
marry. The choice being made, the relations of the young man collect
such presents as they deem proper for the occasion, go to the parents of
the woman selected, make known the wishes of their friend, deposit their
presents, and return without waiting for an answer. The relations of the
girl assemble and consult on the subject. If they confirm the choice,
they also collect presents, dress her in her best clothes, and take her
to the friends of the bridegroom who made the application for the match,
when it is understood that the marriage is completed. She herself has
still a negative; and if she disapprove the match, the presents from the
friends of the young man are returned, and this is considered as a
refusal. Many of the more northern nations, as the Dacotas, for example,
have a custom, that, when the husband deceases, his widow immediately
manifests the deepest mourning, by putting off all her finery, and
dresses