Customs of Early American Indians and Eskimos

The native Indians and Eskimos of early  North America often killed off their old and superfluous, sometimes set out from the tribes to starve or be taken  by the wild creatures.  It was often that the old were tired of life and would beg to be dispatched.   Barbarism shows in the treatment of the dead. Some of the favorite's were buried but others were dragged a distance from the village and abandoned to the dogs and wild animals. There were no marriage  regulations and women were thought of as a chattel.  A male could have as many female's as he was able to manage. It is possible that there was very little polygamy amongst them.
From the collection of the Chicago Tribune in 1890.