other frightful mutilations? Some, among the weaker, die in consequence of their sufferings under such ordeals, and others have implanted in them the seeds of diseases which ultimately prove fatal.
When a young man has undergone all the ceremonies which are necessary to his attaining the rank of a warrior, he may look out for a wife. If he is the child of a distinguished man, perhaps because of the influence of his father, a girl may have been promised to him, and his wedding may cause but little trouble; but, as a rule, he must steal a girl, or elope with one, or exchange some girl over whom he has control as brother, uncle, or relative in some other degree, for a girl of a neighbouring tribe. Exogamy, it is perhaps true to say, is universal. A tribe is in fact but an enlargement of a family circle, and none within it can intermarry. A man must get a wife from a neighbouring tribe either by consent, or by barter, or by theft.
If a man steals a girl, there is sure to be a quarrel of some sort. It may be settled amicably, or the culprit may be required to stand in front of those he has wronged by the abduction, and allow them to hurl their spears or boomerangs at him. A trial by combat may result in various ways. The lover may prove victorious and win his bride, or he may be wounded and beaten and lose her; or, as not seldom happens, either in the ordeal, when spears are thrown, or when two are fighting with club and shield, the old men may interfere, if enough has been done to satisfy justice, and declare a verdict. On some occasions, but seldom, a general fight occurs, and one or two may be killed.
From the evidence that has been gathered, it would seem that very often love—in our sense of the word—prompts the young people to seek each other's society, and it is certainly true that the husband and wife, in some cases, evince the strongest affection towards one another; but marriage—if the word can be properly used in reference to such unions—is usually a matter in which love has no part. The bride is dragged from her home—she is unwilling to leave it; and if fears are entertained that she will endeavour to escape, a spear is thrust through her foot or her leg. A kind husband will, however, ultimately evoke affection, and fidelity and true love are not rare in Australian families. A widow will die of grief on the grave of her husband, and a widower will mourn and refuse to be comforted until death also claims him. Such instances cannot be otherwise than few. A widow, under ordinary circumstances, has by law another husband as soon as the first dies; and a widower deprived only of one wife may have already too many—perhaps three, or the deprivation may allow of his taking another—and he may rejoice instead of giving way to grief.
All arrangements connected with marriage cause trouble in the tribes. Even before a child is born a promise may be given that if it be a girl it shall be the wife of some warrior; and nearly all the girls are betrothed at a very early age. And any young warrior who casts kind looks towards a dark beauty, or any young woman who favorably regards a painted youth as he returns from an expedition, is sure to give rise to jealous suspicions.
Women are regarded almost as so much property which may be exchanged for better goods, or given away as friendly presents, or abandoned when not wanted. A child may be betrothed to a man, and that man may die, but his
