LABOR.—The more enlightened a people has become through the benign influence of religion, and the cultivation of the arts and sciences, the more the weaker sex attains to that rank in society, which the Creator intended for them; but the more debased and sunk in heathenism a Nation lies, the more is woman enslaved, and held in subjection. So among the Pawnees, too, the men are the lords, who, while they themselves are not disposed to do any work, and generally consider it a shame to labor, direct the women, as inferior beings, how everything must be done. The females, besides attending to the housework, generally incumbent upon their sex, are obliged to cut and carry all the fire-wood; prepare the fields for cultivation with their hoes, plant the corn, weed it, and finally, when ripe, gather it in; and take care of the horses of their lords, when not used by them. The most difficult labor, however, that falls to their lot, is the erecting of their lodges. As the upper village had been burnt by their enemies during their absence, the labor of rebuilding of course devolved upon the poor women, and in the course of about two months, when we visited them, they had completed nearly 150 lodges. When we observed that the nearest timber to the site of the village was two or three miles off, and that they have no beasts of burden, but that all the building material, much of which is very heavy, was carried so great a distance on the shoulders of the women, it seemed almost incredible to us. We noticed even girls of 12 to 14 years bearing baskets on their backs, filled with wet turf, to cover or repair their lodges, which must have been very heavy. Thus early the females are trained to carry burdens (either at home or while travelling), which inures them to hardships, but at the same time deforms them, rendering them low and bent in stature, and pitiable objects to the beholder. While the men, trained to no work whatever, are erect, tall and well-proportioned in their form, and almost feminine in their features, the women are short and low, with stooping gait, downcast looks, harsh features, and hair dishevelled; and dirty, ragged, and filthy in their appearance. Such is a picture of heathenism! Have we not cause to be grateful for the benign influence of the gospel upon our land, so that we are elevated far above such a miserable state of heathenism? Unto the Lord be all the praise!