two oore-like pieces of tish-skiu dyed brown a..d having ornamental
strips of white sewed along them and following their outline.
WATERPROOF GARMENTS
In addition to the upper garments already described the Eskimo
make waterproof frocks from the 'intestiues of seals. The intestines
are dried and slit open, and the long, ribbou-like strips thus formed
are then sewed together horizontally to form a frock similar in shape
to those of fur worn by the men, as already described. About the
sleeves a braided sinew cord is inclosed in a turneddown border to
form a drawstring for fastening the gannent securely about the wrist,
in order that the water may not enter. In addition the border ot the
WATERPROOF GARMENTS-EAR-FLAPS 37
At .s.u.h tin.es, when the ^yelt\Jr 1 ''""tersare at sea in kaiaks.
dons his wate proo n ek ;. tJ TT' ''""^ "'" '■""^"'- ^''" ''■'"*^'-
^:
%;^*
^:1
'«-4*^««
Strong- and will fre-
quently withstand the
pressure of tlie water
even when tlie wearer is
entirely submerged be-
neath the eonibing- sea.
Among the breakers,
however, theyarenotto
be relied on, as the writ-
er knows from exjieri-
enee, the weight of the
water striking heavily
from above, tearing
them and permitting
tiie water to enter the
boa t.
The seams of these
waterproofs are fre-
quently ornamented by
sewing in seals' bristle's
r-ll-qw (jl.
KAi; FLAPS
.>...! Il„. 1 „|.„„. „l„.„. ,„»„■» |V...I,« „,,. „„„1„ „.ill,„„t
38 THE ESKIMO AI50UT BERING STRAIT [et„.ann.18
the hoo.1, ear-tiaps are conunonly used. These are made of oval Haps
^ler^llin with the hair side inward aud havin, t.,e base txun.j^
and sewed to a narrow band of skin to go around the head. The llaps
"e tl It^ied under the chin by mea.s of strings. The tanned outer
:"f^:of these flaps has various ornamental patterns - whUe Inurs
Lm reindeer sewed on with sinew thread, the designs produced being
pZlM lines, either straight, curved, or in circles. Figure represents
a pair of these ear flaps.
GLOVES AND MITTENS
From tl,e Yukon northward to Kotzebue soun.l and thence to I oii t
Barrow, mittens and gloves are found in common use. ihe gloves a e
milieu ually with places for each linger aud the thumb From the
Ylou mouth to Point Barrow were obtained gloves having each .,t
ie h g"-s made of a separate piece sewed upon the hand, he hun.b
in both cases being sewed on in the same manner aud hav.ug an
awkward, triangular shape. , p . ,i .i-;,, with
A n-iir from Sledge island (number 4508.,) are made ot se d^k.n ^^th
thlhSr reived and the wrists bordered with a fringe of white-bear tur.
A^^ from Point Hope (plate xx, 1), of the i.ual l-"er,. <h^.d.e^
is if tanned reindeer skin with the hair side inward. ^1-' rusts .mc
bordered with a fringe of little strips of tanned remdeei-sk n, djed
^ddh brown, and o^ the back are numerous little pendent strings o
re an .white and red-and-blue beads, with other beads strung on the
r n'ebo ering the wrist. These gloves are Joined by a double string
o imle copper cylinders, spaced by blue beads, reaching np to tl e
c n ll UK,p of soft, tanned skin, for going completely -■ou-l the nec^
Zl Iioldiiig the gloves without danger of their being lost it su.Ulenly
''^ate^ix, 3, shows a pair of deerskin gloves of the comm.ui pattern
from Kotzebue sound. The skin is tanned with the hair left on ai
t ^^ell in on the inside of the hand and all around on t^^^;!^-"^,^ -
back of the hand and the thumb are covered with a piece ot white
ha i^^dl ..Sn, on which hang four tassel-like strips of wolverine sk. .
The wrists are bordered with a series of narrow bands ot reindeer skin,
with tew ite hair clipped short, and between the strips a narrow
b nit liebment-like skin is welted in. Midway in this series o
sis a eam is bordered by a series of small, regular y spaced tufts
:l-;'a worsted. A narrow band of wolverine fur completes this orna-
"oSer'glo^es tVom Bering strait are made of skin tanned with the
hah dt on and turned inward; others have the hair entirely removd.
A ulia pattern of glove is common to the Diomede islands and the
■Kite n hore of Siberil The flngers and the hand are ot one pie.
^mfXee pieces of skin of a diflerent color set in gores aloi^. t e
ba kand divided to extend down as a gore along the mside ot each
NELSON] GLOVES AND MITTENS 89
fiiiji'ei"- Plate \X, 7, illustrates an example of these chives froiii Kiiijj
island.
Another curious pair of gloves, troni >i'orton sound, is shown in
plate XX, 5. These are made with separate divisions tor the tluunb and
the forefinjiei'' the other fingers being i)rovid(id with a single coxcr.
T^hey are made like other gloves used along the American coast in that
they have the i)arts (lovering the lingers in seiiarate pieces sewed on
the piece forming the hand.
The gloves illustrated in plate xx. ti, were obtained on the Dioincde
islands, Bering strait: they are made of tanned reindeer skin, with the
Lair side inward. The front of the gh)\es is a dingy russet brown iu
color and the skin on the back is hard-tanned and colored chestnut
brown. The back of the liand and the wrist have ornamental jiatterns
in red, white, and blackish stitching, made by sewing in white reindeer
hairs and red woolen yarn with sinew thread. These are made in tiie
style pecniliar to these islands and the coast of Siberia already des(ail led,
the jiieces ot skin sewed into the gores being pale butt in c<doi\
The glove shown m ])late xx, 2, from Anderson river. I'.ritish
America, is similar in style to the gloves from the head of Ndrtun
sound. It is made of reindeer skin. The mittens used are of a com-
mon pattern, with a triangular thumb. They arc made of the skin of
seals, reindeer, dogs, wolves, white bear, cormorant, muire, and salmon,
and are sometimes of woven grass.
For use while at sea long mittens reaching to the elbow or above are
made of well tanned sealskin and are jirovided at their u])per bor.ler
with a cord for drawing them tightly against the arm. These mittens
are waterproof and protect the hands of the hunter from water during
cold weather.
I'late XXI, (i, re|)resents a typical i)air of these mittens measuring
'21 inches in length. They are well made, with a jpiece of tanned skin
welted into the main seam. Near the upper border is a broad strii)
of sealskin, and a strip of the same extends down each side of the seam,
running theiu'c to the end of the thumb. Set about the lower border
is a wide band of skin; near the u|)i)er edge and also along each side
of the bauds running to the thumb are tutts of whit«! seal bristles with
little tufts of young seal fur dyed a reddish brown.
From Sledge island I obtained a similar ])air of mittens made from
waterproof tanned sealskin, and which reach only a little above the
wrist. One of these is shown in jilate xxi, .!.
On lower Yukon and Kuskokwiin rivers mittens made of salmon skin
are also used. Along all of the coast region the skin of the hair seal,
tanned with the hair on, is used for this ])uri)ose. All three of the latter
kinds are used mainly during wet weather in summer or at sea.
Mittens of woven grass are also made on tli(^ lower Yukon and thence
to the Kuskokwim. For winter use they make clumsily shajied niit
tens from the skins of dogs, reindeer, wolves, an<l (roimoiants.
40 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth.anw. 18
All along tbe coast where seals are hunted on the ice during the
spring months, huge mittens of white bearskin or white dogskin are
made to reach from the hand to a little above the elbows. These are
worn by the hunters, while creeinng prone upon the ice, to serve as a
shield, the left arm being carried bent across in front of the face and
head as the hunter slowly cree])S along. The bushy white hair on the
mitten, being similar in cdIch" to the surfai'C of the snow, serves as a blind
to prevent the seal from observing the approach of the hunter.
FOOTWEAR
Among the Eskimo boots are the most common style of footwear;
they are made with a hard-tanned sealskin sole and a top reaching Just
below the knee. The tops are generally of sealskin tanned with the
hair left on, or of reindeer-skin tanned in the same manner. The seal-
skin boots of this class may have the hair side worn either inward or
outward; ibr this purpose the skin of the Phoca 'vitiilina is most com-
monly used. When topped with reindeer skin, the hair is worn usually
outward. The feet and ankles of the latter variety of boots are made
of reindeer skin in the brown, short-hair summer coat; the legs are
made usually in some pattern formed by combining pieces of the white-
hair skin from the belly of a reindeer with strips of brown-hair skin
from the legs of that animal. For this jiurpose skin from the white-
hair tame reindeer of Siberia is highly i)rized. The to])s of the boot-
legs are surrounded usually by one or two bands of white-hair deerskin
with the fur shaved close to present a velvety surface, the seams along
these bonlers liaving narrow strips of black skin welted in with little
tufts of red worsted strung along some of the seams. Between these
bands of shaved skin and the lower portion of the legs (commonly is
sewed a strip of wolverine skin, with long projecting hair, and gener-
ally two or more little tassels of the same kind of skin hanging before
and behind. The soles are of hard, oil-tanned sealskin bent up around
the border and (aim|)ed about the heel and the toe by means of a
smooth, pointed ivory crimper. The up])ers are frecjuently sewed
directly to the sealskin soles, but sometimes a narrow intervening
strip of tanned sealskin is sewed in around the border. A long, nar-
row strip of rawhide has one end sewed to the sole on each side of
the ankle to fasten the boot to the foot. These straps are raised and
drawn across the rear just above the heel and then passed around in
front of the ankle and back again, and may be tied either in front
or on the sides. At the top the boots are fastened tightly over the
trousers by means of a drawstring. This style of boot is. common from
the lower Yukon to the Arctic coast northward of Kotzebue sound.
The specimen from Kotzebue sound shown in ])late xxi, 12, is a typical
examjile of this style of foot-wear, but the i)attern of ornamentation
varies according to individual fancy.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XI
WOMAN OF MECHICiME BAY
WOM-N OF EAb^ CAPE
SIBERIAN ESKIMO
NELSON]
41
BOOTS
On tlM. tundra soi.tli „f tl,e lower Yukon tins ..vnav,] stvlo nf u . •
made in a somewhat ditfeient fisi.ion „,."'"'-.'•'' '"/^ ''^' «t •>""t is
more
pi.,*,. vvT o ci • ' leijion to the r
1 front
Th
tl..- 1„ ,,. s„le t„r„e,l i„, ,„,t ,,„,, „ ,„ „„„ „„„,., ',,'
The soles of the shoes worn in this district nre „c „i ■ •
i" the san,e n.anner as air,.ady descri ^ h ^ \C: n^r'T ""
-,,.t..theuus.i,t.nessoftheneed,;wome;n.:^t^^^^
Un the lower Kuskokwim and southward to Tikehil- Ide ,. . .
mmmm
iiissiiiii
sk?i"li"tf.;:^7'";" "T ^^'""^^'J-'- I'-i-^^trait some of these dee.
^^e ■ it'^A "; '■'■"""^•■■■-^'"« -th little s.,„are ta.! .f
IMU sk.u. As usual, around the top are several bands of ^nte-
42 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth ann. 18
hair skin, between tbe upper two of wliicli is a strip of wolverine slciii
witli long ])rojectiiig- hair. These strii)s of skin along- the njipcr border
have welted into the seam between them a narrow strii> of hard, black-
tanned skin, so as to produ<'e a black line along- each seam. These
boots are fastened to the foot as in the first i)air described from the
American mainland. The soles are crimped in the same manneras those
from the adjacent coast, and both sewing- and crimping are well done,
as is characteristic of all work of this kind performed by the women
throng'hont the region.
For summer wear the common style of boot is of tanned sealskin
with tlie hair side outward or with the hair removed. The latter kind
is made waterproof, and the oil-tanned uppers are either black or
dyed a deep i-eddish brown by the use of alder bark. The seams
between tlie soles and the uppers, as well as those along- the legs, are
generally heavily welteil, and commonly have the tops surrouiuled by
a band of white parchment-like tanned sealskin, turned in to hold a
drawstring for fastening the boot to the leg. The straps for fastening'
these boots are made usually of white-tanned sealskin attached to the
seams between the soles and ui)pers on each side of the middle of
the foot. They are then crossed over the top of the foot, and after
passing through the ear or lap of sealskin which is sewed to the sole
on each side of the ankle, they are again (crossed above the heel and
carried forward around the front, then back again to be tied as already
described. Plate xxi, 10, shows one of a tyincal pair of these boots
from St Michael.
The legs of these boots usually reach to just beh)w the knees, but
some are made to extend to the hips for wearing while hunting or ftshiug,
and many are made that reach Just above the ankle. These latter are
more in the style of dress boots, being worn about the villages or while
traveling in umiaks. Their upjiers are made commonly of white, parch-
ment-like tanned sealskin, but sometimes from the stomacih of a large
seal or walrus, which makes a beautiful white, ]nirchment-like leather.
The uppers are variously ornamented by welted seams and sti'ips sewed
in successively around the edge of the sole, as shown in i)late xxt, 4,
from Golofniu bay.
These short summer boots are made sometimes of tanned sealskin,
with the hair left on and turued inward, so that the softened inner
surface of the skin is exposed. They are surrounded at the upper
border usually by a white, jiarchment-like band with a drawstring, and
the portion of the ujjpers over the toes and sides of the foot in front
have sewed upon them strips of russet and white-tanned skin with
tine yellow and black checked patterns, produced by drawing narrow
strijis of white tanned parchment through little slits cut in the material.
Plate XXI, 11, represents a typical example of this class of ornamenta-
tion. The women living on the islands of Bering strait are noted for
doing- handsome work of this kind.
NELSON]
FOOT-WEAR — CLOTHING B.\( iS
43
III addition to tlie boots dcsciibwl, socks made ol' dceiskin or sealskin
with tlie bail- not removed, and reaiddug- a Hltki above the anUk-s, com-
nionly are worn in winter. For wear at all seasons soeks are made of
woven grass, tbe patterns of weaving varying to a certain extent and
sometimes dill'erent colored grasses being used to pi-oduce ornamental
jiatterns, as sliown in the sole of the example from the lower Knsko-
kwim, illustrated in plate xxi, 1'.
I'late XXI, 1, shows a typical grass sock from Itazbiiisky, on the
lower Yukon, and plate xxi, T), also represents a eominoii style of grass
sock from that district. The bot-
toms of boots of all kinds are
usually stuffed with a grass pad
made by taking wisps of long
grass stalks and binding them
over one another to form a long
cusliion for the bottimi of the foot.
This gives a solt footing and ab-
sorbs the moisture that penetrates
the sole, so that it recpiires a long
time for water to reach the foot.
At night the so(-ks ami the grass
l)ads are removed and bung to dry
either over the lamp in the house
01- in a convenient place in the room,
so as to be ready I'or use on the fol
lowing morning.
C
r:
>^^?>
N
7
-Fish-skin rlmliinff hn;;^ {{r.)-
CLOTHINCI BAGS
Along the lower Yukon and
thence to the Kuskokwim large
nundjers of bags are made for vari-
ous i)uri)oses frotn the skins of
salmon. Sonu' are used for stor-
ing clothes, and still smaller ones for \arious small (jbjects, such as
trinkets and small odds and ends ctf different kinds. Others are made
very large, frequently with a capacity of a bushel or two, and are used
for the storage of dry fish, which is kept in them in the stor<'hoMses
until needed.
Figure 7 (2) illustrates a salmon-skin bag for storing clothing. This
exam])le, from Tikchik lake, is ornamenled with bands of russet-
colored fishskin and white, ])arclimentlike skin from tiie tiiroats of
seals, and is neatly sewed with sinew thread. The upper border of the
bag is hemmed, and a seiies of lawhide loop \ are sewed at interxals
around the top, througii w liicli is run a cord of the same material lor
44 THE KSKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth.axx.18
use as a draw.-Jtring hi closing the bag. The bottom is oval in ontline
and has a piece of lishskin sewed into it, witb tbe seam inside. These
bags are in common use from the lower Yukon to the lower Kuskokwim.
Figure 7 (1) represents a handsomely ornamented bag from St ilichael,
made from the skins of salmon trout. The bottom of the bag is fash-
ioned from a piece of deerskin with the hair side inward. The sides
are ornamented with stri])S of white, parchment like leather made from
the gullets of large seals. These strips are edged with narrow bands
of rnsset-color leather, sewed with orna-
mental seams of black and white. On
each of four upright white bands which
cross the side of the bag are sewed two
circular pieces and a four pointed piece
of the shiny black skin of the sea- wolf,
the round i>ieces being edged with strips
of russet skin.
Figure 8 represents a sealskin clothing
, , bag from Sledge island. It is made from
v3^i^ the skin of the ribbon seal, taken oil'
,f^***^ entire, including both dippers. The nose
and the eyes are sewed up; the tmly open-
ing is a cut extending crosswise between
the fore dippers. Tiie edges of this cut
are bound with a border of stout raw-
hide, pierced with holes at intervals of
about two inches, through which is run a
strong rawhide cord for lacing the open-
ing. This skin is tanned with the hair
leit on.
Bags of this character are made from
skins of all of the smaller seals, and are
useful for storing clothing from the fact
that their shape makes them convenient
for handling in umiaks or while on
sledge journeys; at the same time their
waterproof character serves to protect
euiskin (,'c). the coutcnts from getting wet. Every
lamily has from one to three of these
bags, in which are kept their spare clothing, dressed skins, and valu-
able furs.
PEKSOXAI^ ADOR^fMENT
LABRETS
The wearing of labrets and the custom of tattooing are very general
among tlie Eskimo of the Alaskan mainland and islands northward
from Kuskokwim river. The style of the labrets, as with the extent
and the iiattern of tattooing, varies with the locality. The custom of
NELSON] LAHIv'KTS 45
wealing labrcts is almost .ost among' tlie Eskimo of tlii' Asiatic, coast
and of St Lawrence island. One man seen at tiie latter ])()int had a
circle tattooed on each side of his chin to represent th(^sc ornaments
(tigure liih). Some of the natives on Mechigine bay, just south of lOast
cape, Siberia, had labret holes in their lips. The Kskiino of the Yukon
and the Kuskokwini who live nearest the Tiiinc' liave also. generally
abandoned the jiractice of wearing labrets, and the custom is becoming
obsolete at other i)oints where there is constant intercourse; with the
whites.
During my residence at St Michael it was rather uncommon to
see very young men among the Unalit with their li))s ]»ierced, and
throughout that time 1 do not think a single boy among them had been
thus delbrmed. Many of the old men also have ceased to wear labrets,
although the incisions made for them in youth still remain.
Among tlu; Eskimo of Bering strait and northward, where contact
with the whites has been irregular, labiet wearing is still in full force.
Increasing intercourse with civilized i)eoi)le makes it only a matter of
time for this custom to become entirely obsolete. In the district south-
ward from the Yukon mouth labrets were not universally worn among
the men, as is the case in the country northward from Bering strait,
and in everj- village some of the men and many women were found
without them. The labrets of the women are of a curious sickle shape,
but vary iu detail of arrangement, as shown by the accompanying illus-
trations. Most of them are made with holes iu the lower border for
the attachment of short strings of beads. The women who wore
labrets had the under lip pierced with one or two holes Just over the
middle of the chin.
The use of these labrets, in the country visited by nie, si'cmed to be
limited to the district lying between Yukon and Ivuskokwim rivers
and Nuuivak island. Elsewhere I did not see labrets of any kind used
by women. In the villages of Askinnk, Kushunuk, and othei' phices
in that region the common form was a small, tlattcmed, sickle-shape
piece of ivory, with a broad, tlatteued base for resting against the
teeth, and tiie outer tif) brought down to a thin, Hat point. Of this
style there are some variations, the most common of whi(;h is to have
the two ordinary sickle-sha])e labrets Joined by a ci()ssi)iece of ivory
cut from the same piece and uniting the two sickle-shape parts Just on
the outer side of the lip.
Another tbrm was to Join the inner ends of the labrets so that the
portion resting against the teeth united the bases of the two sickle-shape
points. In a labret (plate xxir, 13) from Konignuugumut the i)icce
Joining the two sickle-shape points is llattened vertically. In another
specimen (plate xxii. 3), from Kulwoguwigumut, this crosspiece, uniting
the bases of the two projections, is flattened horizontally. In another
(plate xxri, 4) from the lower Ivuskokwim, the two sickle-shai)e projec
tions unite exteriorly to the lip so that a single orilice in the middle of
the lower lip serves for the insertion of the stem.
46 THE Ef^KIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT (eth. anx. 18
Tbe National Museum collection contains two speciniens of women's
liibiets (one of which is sliown in plate xxir, 10) obtained on Nunivak
island by Dr W. H. Dall, which differ from most of those of the main-
laud in having the broadened bases for resting against the teeth made
of separate pieces of ivory. These jjieces are small, flattened disks with
holes in the center through which fits the inner eiul of the labret, after
piercing the lips. These ditter also in external form, as shown by the
figures.
Another specimen (plate xxii, 1) obtained on Nunivak island has the
common sickle-shape parts joined by an external bar, and theiiuier end
is eularged by means of similar small perforated disks of ivory set on
the rounded inner eiul of the labret. This specimen has attached to its
outer border three short, double strings of beads, which hang down
over the chiu. Plate xxii, 5, showing a specimen from Askinuk ; ligure
7, one from Kulwoguwigumut, and figure G, one from Kushunuk, are
the ordinary forms of women's Librets of sickle shape.
The labrets worn by men in the district between the Yukon and the
Kuskokwim are rather small and are commonly formed of a long, thin,
curved ivory tlauge for resting against the teeth, with a hat-shape pro-
jection for extension through the lip to the surface. The hat shape
projection is provided with a central hole, through wiiich extends a
wooden pin. This pin reaches beyond the outer border of the ivory
and has fitted upon it some kind of bead, a round piece of stone, or, as
in one specimen from Nunivak island, a truncated cone of lead.
Another style of labret obtained from Nunivak island by Doctor Dall
is shown in plate xxii, 10. It has the usual hat shape piece for pierc-
ing the lip, with the wooden pin extending through and bearing on its
outer end a white bead. Beyoiul this bead is attached a well-cut
piece of serpentine, aj^parently representing the tail of a whale. This
labret istwo inches long and the serpentine tip is an inch and five-eighths
in width by an inch and a quarter long.
From the lower Yukou was obtained a large, fiat labret (plate xxil,
lO) having a rectangular outline with the sides slightly rounded and on
the inner surface a pin five-eighths of an jnch in length which serves
to pierce the lip. On this is fitted a long, oval i)iece of ivory an inch
and a half long and five-eighths of an inch in width, made convex in
front and concave behind, with a slot in the middle for fitting it on the
pin. This labret is to insert in the lip and then the last described i)or-
tion is fitted on it from the inside, thus holding it in place. The face