242 ESQUIMAU DRESS. 



black, noses flat, lips long and thin, and when opened 

 there were disclosed two narrow, white, well-preserved 

 rows of polished ivory, — well worn, however, with 

 long use and hard service, for the teeth of the Esqui- 

 maux serve a great variety of purposes, such as soft- 

 ening skins, pulling and tightening cords, besides 

 masticating food, which I may here mention is wholly 

 animal. Their hair was jet black, though not abun- 

 dant, and the man had the largest growth of beard 

 which I have seen upon an Esquimau face, but it 

 was confined to the upper lip and the tip of the 

 chin. The face of the Esquimau is indeed quite Mon- 

 golian in its type, and is usually beardless. In stat- 

 ure they are short, though well built, and bear, in 

 every movement, evidence of strength and endurance. 

 The dress of the male and female differed but little 

 one from the other. It consisted of nine pieces, — a 

 pair of boots, stockings, mittens, pantaloons, an under- 

 dress, and a coat. The man wore boots of bear-skin, 

 reaching to the top of the calf, where they met the 

 pantaloons, which were composed of the same mate- 

 rials. The boots of the woman reached nearly to the 

 middle of the thigh, and were made of tanned seal- 

 skins. Her pantaloons, like her husband's, were of 

 bear-skin. The stockings were of dog-skin, and the 

 mittens of seal-skin. The under-dress was made of 

 bird-skins, feathers turned inwards ; and the coat, 

 which did not open in front, but was drawn on over 

 the head like a shirt, was of blue fox-skins. This coat 

 terminates in a hood which envelops the head as com- i 

 pletely as an Albanian capote or a monk's cowl. This 

 hood gives the chief distinction to the dresses of the 

 sexes. In the costume of the man it is round, closely 

 fitting the scalp, while in the woman it is pointed at 



