In many of the Redskin tribes second marriages are not tolerated by custom till after a very long delay, exacted for reasons that have nothing savage in them; it is simply that the children of the first marriage may be grown out of their early infancy, and the custom is obligatory for the man as well as for the woman. The Selish widow only marries after two years;[822] but the delay is sometimes from two to three years for the widower as well as for the widow.[823] With the Nez-Percés of Columbia, the widower can marry again at the end of one year.[824] With the Omahas the delay was much longer, from four to seven years for the man and the woman. This rule was very strict, and in case of its infraction, the parents of the dead husband had the right to strike and wound, but without killing, the widow who might be too hasty in marrying again. In a parallel case, they confined themselves to taking a pony from the man;[825] this was because a man could defend himself. On the contrary, if the widower waited much beyond the legal time before marrying again, the parents or relatives of the dead wife thought themselves obliged to intervene. “This man,” said they, “has no one to sew his mocassins; let us seek a wife for him.” When they did so, the widower was bound to accept their offer.[826] This question of widows has evidently been very embarrassing for primitive societies. They have either been kept or sold, according as it might be agreeable or advantageous. But another very simple way of getting rid of the encumbrance has been to sacrifice them on the tomb of the dead husband. Nothing is less rare than such immolations in savage countries, and these atrocious acts are often inspired by affectionate sentiments, by care for the fate which awaits the deceased husband after death. How can they let him travel alone on that dangerous journey beyond the tomb? This is the reason of the widely spread custom of human sacrifices, which chiefly consist of women and slaves. I quote a few facts of this kind, simply as specimens. In certain tribes of New Zealand the widows were strangled on the tomb of the deceased husband.[827] In equatorial Africa, at Yourriba, when the king dies, four of his wives and a number of slaves are forced to poison themselves. The poison is poured into a parrot’s egg for them, and if it does not produce any effect the patients must supplement it by hanging themselves. At Jenna, on the Niger, at the death of a chief, one or two of his widows must commit suicide the same day, in order to furnish him with pleasant company in the country beyond the tomb, of which he is going to take possession.[828] At Katunga, the chief wife of the deceased king is obliged to poison herself on the tomb of her husband, in company with the eldest son and the principal personages of the kingdom. All these victims must be buried with the dead master.[829]