The division of labour between the man and wife in Indian life is not
so unequal, while they live in the pure hunter state, as many suppose.
The large part of a hunter's time, which is spent in seeking game,
leaves the wife in the wigwam, with a great deal of time on her hands;
for it must be remembered that there is no spinning, weaving, or
preparing children for school--no butter or cheese making, or a
thousand other cares which are inseparable from the agricultural
state, to occupy her skill and industry. Even the art of the
seamstress is only practised by the Indian woman on a few things. She
devotes much of her time to making moccasons and quill-work. Her
husband's leggins are carefully ornamented with beads; his shot-pouch
and knife-sheath are worked with quills; the hunting-cap is garnished
with ribbons; his garters of cloth are adorned with a profusion of
small white beads, and coloured worsted tassels are prepared for his
leggins. In the spring, the corn-field is planted by her and the
youngsters, in a vein of gaiety and frolic. It is done in a few hours,
and taken care of in the same spirit. It is perfectly voluntary
labour, and she would not be scolded for omitting it; for all labour
with Indians is voluntary.--_Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes_.