These marriages are those between the members of families friendly to each other, though not connected by ties of blood. Sometimes such families agree to a marriage between their children even before the children are born. Thus, when I was on the Dry Anui River, two men of my acquaintance entered into an agreement of this kind. One had a son three years old. The wife of the other was with child, and the father was quite sure that the child would be a daughter. They agreed that this daughter, when three years old, was to be taken to the family of the boy to grow up with him. The marriage ritual was to be performed the first autumn after the birth of the girl, in the time of the first fall slaughtering. . . . Most frequent are marriages between cousins. . . . Most of the marriages between relatives are concluded at a tender age, sometimes when the bridegroom and the bride are still infants. The marriage ritual is performed, and the children grow up, playing together. When a little older, they tend the herd together. Of course, the ties between them grow to be very strong, often stronger even than death; when one dies, the other also dies of grief, or commits suicide.¹

¹Bogorae, W.n/an/an/an/an/a, "The Chukchee," Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Mem., 11: 576–578 (rearranged).