he men have cleared a piece of ground they leave it to the women,
and clear another for themselves. But when a youth has a mind to marry, in
the first place he builds a hut in the forest. Then he awaits the train of
women returning, steps gently among them, and takes the maiden of his
fancy by the hand. She throws him off at once if disinclined, and there is
an end of it; otherwise she suffers him to lead her a step before freeing
herself. Day after day in that case the invitation is repeated, and the
maiden takes two steps, then three, until at length she quits the
procession entirely and surrenders. There is no ceremony of marriage, but,
so far as Roezl could gather, the bond is absolutely sacred; in fact, if
we think of it, those conditions of life forbid intrigue. It should be
added that the other women and girls studiously ignore these proceedings,
and that till the last moment a damsel may change her mind, repulsing the
lover favoured hitherto.

A bride remains in the woodland hut for several weeks, not a soul visiting
her except the husband. Meantime he builds a 'town house' for himself, and
the mother or female relatives build one opposite for his wife. In fixing
the stone between them there is a ceremony, as Roezl gathered, but the
nature of it he was unable to understand. Though the pair never meet again
in public as long as they live, they spend as much time as they please
together in the forest. And really, after due consideration, I cannot but
think that the system shows remarkable sagacity. Truth compels me to add,
however, that Roezl suspected infanticide. We may hope he was mistaken.
Why should a people living as do these restrict the number of their
children? The battle for existence is not desperate with them apparently,
since they till the soil, and their territory, in effect, is boundless. No
Indian race of South America feels the pride of caste; if these do, they
are a notable exception in that as in other respects. Girls receive no
dower; the expense of marriage, as has been seen, is _nil_. Why should
they limit the family? We know that obvious reason does not always guide
the savage in his habits. But when a painful fact is not assured we may
allow ourselves the comfort of doubting it.

This is all I have been able to collect about a most extraordinary people.
My informants do not recollect, if they heard, whether the separation of
the sexes was peculiar to this clan or general among the Pintado In