These people were of a happy temperament generally, though some had a sad and gloomy countenance. Physically they were well proportioned. Some of the men and women had fine figures, strong and robust, and many of the women were powerful and of unusual height. The greater portion of the work fell to the lot of the women, who looked after the housework, tilled the land, laid up a store of wood for the winter, beat the hemp and spun it, and made fishing nets from the thread. They also gathered in the harvest and prepared it for food. The occupation of the men was hunting for deer, fishing, and building their cabins, varied at times by war. When they were free from these occupations, they visited other tribes with whom they were acquainted for the purpose of traffic or exchange, and their return was celebrated by dances and festivities. They had a certain form of marriage which Champlain thus describes. When a girl had reached the age of eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen or fifteen years, she had suitors, more or less, according to her attractions, who wooed her for some time. The consent of the parents was then asked, to whose wills the girl did not always submit, although the most discreet of them did so. The favoured lover or suitor then presented to the girl some necklaces, bracelets or chains of porcelain, which she accepted if the suitor was agreeable to her. The suitor then resided with her for three or four days, without saying anything to her in the meantime, but if they did not agree, the girl left her suitor, who forfeited his necklaces and the other presents which he had made, and each was free to seek another companion if so disposed. This term of probation was often extended to eight, or even to fifteen days. The children enjoyed great freedom. The parents indulged them too much and never punished or corrected them. As a consequence they grew up bad and vicious. They would often strike their mothers, and when they were powerful enough they did not hesitate to strike their fathers. The Hurons did not recognize any divine power or worship of God. They were without belief, and lived like brute beasts, with this exception, that they had a sort of fear of an evil spirit. They had _ogni_ or _manitous_, who were medicine-men, and who healed the sick, bound up the wounded, foretold future events, and practised all the abuses and illusions of the black arts. Champlain firmly believed that the conversion of the Hurons to Christianity would have been easier if the country had been inhabited by persons who would devote their energies to instructing them. Father Le Caron and himself had often conversed with them regarding the Catholic faith, the laws and customs of the French, and they had listened attentively, sometimes saying: