Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 October 1893 — INDIAN COURTSHIP. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

INDIAN COURTSHIP.

How the Young Ute Brave Woo, Hi* Inamorata. Among the Ute Indians of Colorado- polygamy is practiced to little extent owing to the nearly equal number of sexes. Several men, however, have two wives and a few have three. All the wives sometimes live in one tent with the husband, but it is customary to have a separate tent for each wife and her children. The men marry at about 18 years of age, the women from 14 to 16. Courtship is of short duration. A brave, after falling in love with a girl, will don his best clothes and feathers, paint his fape in the brightest colors, load himself down with beads and ornaments, and then frequent the wicki-

up of the family of his inamorata. He will converse volubly with the girl’s relatives, But affect a profound indifference toward her, often not noticing her when she speaks to him. She and her friends understand the significance of these tactics, and the man’s availability and desirability as a husband are discussed. The girl’s parents may endeavor to dissuade her from the proposed alliance, but by long-established tribal custom the final decision is in her own hands, and she may marry to suit herself. If a man believes his suit is looked upon with favor, he goes upon a hunt, and returns after he has killed a deer. With the body of the deer slung to his horse he rides to the wickiup where dwells the object of his longing, ties his horse to a tree near the tent, and goes in, often »not noticing the girl. If the girl has decided to reject him she pays no heed to him, but if she accepts him she goes out to his horse, waters and feeds it, unstraps the deer and cares for the meat and skin, cooks some of -the meat and invites him to partake of it with her, and by so doing she has concluded both the engagement anc marriage.

AN INDIAN MAIDEN’S “YES.”