The usual marriage customs of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians in selecting and obtaining their wives, was as follows:
When one of them was inclined to marry, and having seen one with whom he was particularly pleased, he kept loitering about her place of residence, until opportunity offered to communicate, in secret, the wish of his heart: generally after this style: “I wish to wed with you,” or, “We are to be married;” and the reply of the fair one, invariably, was, “It is well.” “I will inform my parents, and you shall know.” The girl then gave the information to her father and mother, and if the proposal were agreeable, the suitor was admitted to the house as a visitor.
