oo shiftless to do his share of the providing. No
matter how many children or whatever goods he might have in the
house, he might at any time be ordered to pack up his blanket
and budge, and after such orders it would not be healthful for
him to attempt to disobey; the house would be too hot for him,
and, unless saved by the intercession of some aunt or
grandmother, he must retreat to his own clan, or, as was often
done, go and start a new matrimonial alliance in some other. The
women were the great power among the clans as everywhere else.
They did not hesitate, when occasion required, to 'knock off the
horns,' as it was technically called, from the head of a chief
and send him back to the ranks of the warrior. The original
nomination of the chiefs also always rested with them."

This last detail is very interesting; we find the woman's authority
extending even over warfare, the special province of men.

The Wyandots, another Iroquoian tribe, camp in the form of a
horse-shoe, every clan together in regular order. Marriage between
members of the same clan is forbidden; the children belong to the clan
of the mother. The husbands retain all their rights and privileges in
their own _gentes_, though they live in the _gentes_ of their wives.
After marriage the pair live for a time, at least, with the wife's
mother, but afterwards they set up housekeeping for themselves.[126]

We may note here the creeping in of changes which led to father-right.
This is illustrated further by the Musquakies, also belonging to the
Algonquian stock. Though still organised in clans, descent is no
longer reckoned through the mother. The bridegroom, however, serves
his wife's mother, and he lives with her people. This does not make
him of her clan; she belongs to his, till his death or divorce
separates her from him. As for the children, the minors at the
termination of the marriage belong to the mother's clan, but those who
have had the puberty feast are counted to the father's clan.[127]

The male authority is chiefly felt in periods of war. This may be
illustrated by the Wyandots, who have an elaborate system of
government. In each _gens_ there is a small council composed of four
women, called _yu-wai-yu-wa-na_; chosen by the women heads of the
household. These women councillors select a chief of the _gens_ from
its male members, that is from their brothers and sons. He is the
head of the _ge