Descriptions of the howling and tortures to which savages subject themselves as part of their funeral rites abound in works of travel, and although every school-boy knows that the deepest waters are silent, it is usually assumed that these howling antics betray the deep grief and affection of the mourners. Now I do not deny that the lower races do feel grief at the loss of a relative or friend; it is one of the earliest emotions to develop in mankind. What I object to in particular is the notion that the penances to which widows submit on the death of their husbands indicate deep and genuine conjugal affection. As a matter of fact, these penances are not voluntary but prescribed, each widow in a tribe being expected to indulge in the same howlings and mutilations, so that this circumstance alone would make it impossible to say whether her lamentations over her late spouse came under the head of affection, fondness, liking, or attachment, or whether they are associated with indifference or hatred. It is instructive to note that, in descriptions of mourning widows, the words "must" or "obliged to" nearly always occur. Among the Mandans, we read in Catlin (I., 95), "in mourning, like the Crows and most other tribes, the women _are obliged_ to crop their hair all off; and the usual term of that condolence is until the hair has grown again to its former length." The locks of the men (who make them do this), "are of much greater importance," and only one or two can be spared. According to Schomburgk, on the death of her husband, an Arawak wife _must_ cut her hair; and until this has again grown to a certain length she _cannot_ remarry. (Spencer, _D.S._, 20.) Among the Patagonians, "the widow, or widows, of the dead, are _obliged_ to mourn and fast for a whole year after the death of their husbands." They _must_ abstain from certain kinds of food, and _must not_ wash their faces and hands for a whole year; while "during the year of mourning they are _forbidden_ to marry." (Falkner, 119.) The grief is all prescribed and regulated according to tribal fancy. The Brazilians "repeat the lamentation for the dead twice a day." (Spix and Martins, II., 250.) The Comanches "mourn for the dead _systematically and periodically_ with great noise and vehemence; at which time the _female_ relatives of the deceased scarify their arms and legs with sharp flints until the blood trickles from a thousand pores. The duration of these lamentations depends on the quality and estimation of the deceased; varying from three to five or seven days." (Schoolcraft, I., 237.) James Adair says in his _History of the American Indians_ (188), "They _compel_ the widow to act the part of the disconsolate dove, for the irreparable loss of her mate." In Dahomey, during mourning "the weeping relatives _must_ fast and refrain from bathing," etc. (Burton, II., 164.) In the Transvaal, writes the missionary Posselt,