en drag it home. Neither did she carry the heavy
buckets of water up from the lake, as other Indian women were accustomed
to do. Nor did she go out into the woods, perhaps miles away, and carry
home on her back the deer which her husband had shot. Memotas never
would allow her to do anything of the kind. He did all this himself,
and seemed even anxious to save her from fatigue and toil. Then when
the meals were prepared she was not gruffly sent away to wait until the
men had eaten, but with them and the children she sat down on terms of
perfect equality.

Then, as regards the children, a boy and girl, whom they called
Meyookesik and Sagastao, he noticed that the girl was just as much loved
and petted as the boy, and even as kindly treated. This was a state of
affairs entirely unknown in the wigwams of the pagan Indians. There the
boys are petted and spoiled and early taught to be proud and haughty,
and to consider that all girls and women, even their own sisters and
mother, are much inferior to them, and only worthy of their kicks and
contempt. The boys get the best of everything and are allowed to eat
with the men first; while the poor women and girls have to wait until
they are finished, and then be content with what is left, often not
much; and even then they have to struggle with the dogs for the
fragments. The result is they are often half starved.

CHAPTER TWO.

A CONTRAST.

Oowikapun was bewildered at the marvellous contrast between what he had
been accustomed to witness in the wretched wigwams and lives of his own
people and what he here saw in this bright little tent of Memotas. It
was all so new and strange to him. Everybody seemed so happy. There
were no rude words said by the boy to his mother and no tyrannising over
his sister. With equal affection Memotas treated Meyookesik and
Sagastao, and great indeed was his kindness and attention to his wife.
At first Oowikapun's old prejudices and defective education as regards
women almost made him believe that Memotas was lacking in brave, manly
qualities to allow his wife and daughter to be on such loving terms of
equality with himself and his son. But when he became better acquainted
with him, he found that this was not the case.

Oowikapun could not then solve this question, neither did he until in
after years he became a Christian.

There was one custom observed in the wigwam of Memotas that gave
Oowikapun more surprise than any of thes