a separate lodge for
each wife. There were, indeed, few plural marriages except among
the older and leading men, and plural wives were usually, though not
necessarily, sisters. A marriage might honorably be dissolved for cause,
but there was very little infidelity or immorality, either open or
secret.

It has been said that the position of woman is the test of civilization,
and that of our women was secure. In them was vested our standard of
morals and the purity of our blood. The wife did not take the name of
her husband nor enter his clan, and the children belonged to the clan
of the mother. All of the family property was held by her, descent
was traced in the maternal line, and the honor of the house was in her
hands. Modesty was her chief adornment; hence the younger women were
usually silent and retiring: but a woman who had attained to ripeness
of years and wisdom, or who had displayed notable courage in some
emergency, was sometimes invited to a seat in the council.

Thus she ruled undisputed within her own domain, and was to us a tower
of moral and spiritual strength, until the coming of the border white
man, the soldier and trader, who with strong drink overthrew the honor
of the man, and through his power over a worthless husband purchased the
virtue of his wife or his daughter. When she fell, the whole race fell
with her.

Before this calamity came upon us, you could not find anywhere a happier
home than that created by the Indian woman. There was nothing of the
artificial about her person, and very little disingenuousness in her
character. Her early and consistent training, the definiteness of her
vocation, and, above all, her profoundly religious attitude gave her
a strength and poise that could not be overcome by any ordinary
misfortune.

Indian names were either characteristic nicknames given in a playful
spirit, deed names, birth names, or such as have a religious and
symbolic meaning. It has been said that when a child is born, some
accident or unusual appearance determines his name. This is sometimes
the case, but is not the rule. A man of forcible character, with a fine
war record, usually bears the name of the buffalo or bear, lightning or
some dread natural force. Another of more peaceful nature may be called
Swift Bird or Blue Sky. A woman's name usually suggested something about
the home, often with the adjective "pretty" or "good," and a feminine
termination. Names of any dignity or importa