d.

I have said, "as far as I was able to go." I found, for example, that
beyond the second collateral line among consanguineous kindred my
interpreter would answer my question only by some such answer as "I
don't know" or "No kin," and that, beyond the first collateral line of
kindred by marriage, except for a very few relationships, I could obtain
no answer.

The Seminole Family.

The family consists of the husband, one or more wives, and their
children. I do not know what limit tribal law places to the number of
wives the Florida Indian may have, but certainly he may possess two.
There are several Seminole families in which duogamy exists.

Courtship.

I learned the following facts concerning the formation of a family:
A young warrior, at the age of twenty or less, sees an Indian maiden of
about sixteen years, and by a natural impulse desires to make her his
wife. What follows? He calls his immediate relatives to a council and
tells them of his wish. If the damsel is not a member of the lover's
own gens and if no other impediment stands in the way of the proposed
alliance, they select, from their own number, some who, at an
appropriate time, go to the maiden's kindred and tell them that they
desire the maid to receive their kinsman as her husband. The girl's
relatives then consider the question. If they decide in favor of the
union, they interrogate the prospective bride as to her disposition
towards the young man. If she also is willing, news of the double
consent is conveyed through the relatives, on both sides, to the
prospective husband. From that moment there is a gentle excitement in
both households. The female relatives of the young man take to the house
of the betrothed's mother a blanket or a large piece of cotton cloth and
a bed canopy--in other words, the furnishing of a new bed. Thereupon
there is returned thence to the young man a wedding costume, consisting
of a newly made shirt.

Marriage.

Arrangements for the marriage being thus completed, the marriage takes
place by the very informal ceremony of the going of the bridegroom, at
sunset of an appointed day, to the home of his mother-in-law, where he
is received by his bride. From that time he is her husband. The next
day, husband and wife appear together in the camp, and are thenceforth
recognized as a wedded pair. After the marriage, through what is the
equivalent of the white man's honeymoon, and often for a much longer
period, the new co