instance, one, two, or three, being the usual complement, leaving of
course many men who are never provided with wives. The possession of
several wives ensures to the husband a certain amount of influence in his
tribe as the owner of so much valuable property, also from the nature and
extent of his connections by marriage. In most cases females are
betrothed in infancy, according to the will of the father, and without
regard to disparity of age, thus the future husband may be and often is
an old man with several wives. When the man thinks proper he takes his
wife to live with him without any further ceremony, but before this she
has probably had promiscuous intercourse with the young men, such, if
conducted with a moderate degree of secrecy, not being considered as an
offence, although if continued after marriage it would be visited by the
husband (if powerful enough) upon both the offending parties with the
severest punishment.

Occasionally there are instances of strong mutual attachment and
courtship, when, if the damsel is not betrothed, a small present made to
the father is sufficient to procure his consent; at the Prince of Wales
Islands a knife or glass bottle are considered as a sufficient price for
the hand of a lady fair, and are the articles mostly used for that
purpose.

According to Giaom puberty in girls takes place from the tenth to the
twelfth year, but few become mothers at a very early age. When
parturition is about to take place the woman retires to a little distance
in the bush, and is attended by an experienced matron. Delivery is
usually very easy, and the mother is almost always able on the following
day to attend to her usual occupations. The infant is laid upon a small
soft mat which the mother has taken care to prepare beforehand, and which
is used for no other purpose.