[Footnote 10: The Comanches women very much resemble the common squaws,
being short and broad in figure. This arises from the Comanches
secluding the women and not permitting them air and exercise.]
Though women participate not in the deeper mysteries of religion, some
of them are permitted to consecrate themselves to the divinity, and to
make vows of chastity, as the vestals of Paganism or the nuns of the
Catholic convents. But there is no seclusion. They dress as men, covered
with leather from head to foot, a painting of the sun on their breasts.
These women are warriors, but never go out with the parties, remaining
always behind to protect the villages. They also live alone, are
dreaded, but not loved. The Indian hates anything or any body that
usurps power, or oversteps those bounds which appear to him as natural
and proper, or who does not fulfil what he considers as their
intended destiny.
The fine evenings of summer are devoted, by the young Indian, to
courtship. When he has made his choice, he communicates it to his
parents, who take the business into their hands. Presents are carried to
the door of the fair one's lodge; if they are not accepted, there is an
end to the matter, and the swain must look somewhere else; if they are
taken in, other presents are returned, as a token of agreement.
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