to go down through the water to the earth,
to bring from thence some earth; and after many repeated efforts and
with great difficulty, the animal at length returned, bringing in its
mouth, some earth; of which, when We-suk-kah had received it, he formed
this earth, and spread it forth upon the surface of the water; and went
forth himself and all that were with him in the o-pes-quie, and occupied
the dry land."

In the social or family relations of the Sauks and Foxes, it is
considered the duty of the men to hunt and clothe their wives and
children--to purchase arms and the implements of husbandry so far as
they use them--to make canoes and assist in rowing them--to hunt and
drive their horses, make saddles, &c. &c. The duties of the women, are
to skin the game when brought home and prepare the skins for market, to
cook, to make the camp, cut and carry wood, make moccasins, plant and
gather the corn, beans and pumpkins, and do all the drudgery connected
with the domestic affairs. It is the commonly received opinion among the
whites that the female Indians are the slaves of their husbands. This is
not literally true. The men seldom make their wives feel their
authority: as a general rule among the Sauks and Foxes, they live
happily together. The wives take the liberty of scolding their
husbands, very frequently, and it is considered by both parties that
every thing in the family, except the war and hunting implements,
belongs to the wife, and she may do with it as she pleases. The men may
each have two or three, or even more wives. They generally prefer to
take sisters, as they agree better together in the same lodge: the
eldest usually regulates all the domestic affairs of the family and has
charge of the property belonging to it. The men turn off their wives and
the latter leave their husbands whenever they become discontented. While
living together, the women are generally faithful to their husbands. The
daughters seldom leave their mothers until they are married, which
usually occurs when they are about fourteen or fifteen years of age. The
parents of an Indian girl are generally conciliated by presents from her
lover, but they may insist upon servitude from him, which sometimes runs
throughout one, two or three years. There is no particular marriage
ceremony among them, beyond that of the contract between the parents or
parties. A young Sauk lover is represented as a silly looking fellow,
who can neither eat, drink