Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/157

 ttcir punijhment of adultery. 145

offender cuts a comical figure among the reft of the women, by being- trimmed fo fharp, me always keeps her dark winter hot houfe, till by keeping the hair moiflened with greafe, it grows fo long as to bear tying. Then me accuftoms herfelf to the light by degrees ; and foon feme worthlefs fellow, according to their ftandard, buys her for his And\ which term hath been already explained.

The adulterer's ears are flamed off clofe to his head, for the firft aft of adultery, becaufe he is the chief in fault. If the criminals repeat the crime with any other married perfons, their nofes and upper lips are cut off. But the third crime of the like nature, is attended with more danger ; for their law fays, that for public heinous crimes, fatisfaftion mould be made vifible to the people, and adequate to the injuries of the virtuous, to fee their aggrieved hearts at eafe, and prevent others from following fuch a dangerous crooked copy. As they will not comply with their mitigated law of adultery, nor be terrified, nor foamed from their ill courfe of life-, that the one may not frighten and abufe their wives, nor the other feduce their hufbands and be a lading plague and (hame to the whole fociety, they are ordered by their ruling magi and war-chieftains, to be mot to death, which is accordingly executed : but this feldom happens.

When I afked the Chikkafah the reafon of the inequality of their mar- riage-law, in punifhing the weaker paffive party, and exempting the itronger, contrary to reafon and juftice -, they told me, it had been fo a confiderable time becaufe their land being a continual feat of war, and the lurking enemy for ever peltin.g them without, and the women decoying them within, if they put fuch old crofs laws of marriage in force, all their beloved brifk warriors would foon be fpoiled, and their habitations turned to a wild wafte. It is .remarkable, that the .ancient Egyptians cut off the ears and nofe of the adukerefs; and the prophet alludes to this fort of pu- nifhment, Ezek. xxiii. 25. " They (hall deal furioufly with thee-: they mail take away thy nofe and thine ears," And they gave them alfo a thoufand ilripes, with canes on the .buttocks *. The Cheerake are an exception to all civilized or favage nations, in having no laws againft adultery ; they

terer in the fad, he fhould kill them both. Thus the laws of Solon and Draco ordained : but. the law of the twelve tables foftened it.
 * When human laws were firft made, they commanded that if the hufhand found the adul

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