4 SMITHSONIAN MISCKLLANEOUS COLLKCTIONS VOL.56 



Sometimes they have a rickety chair or two, but they seem to prefer 

 to sit on the floor. Enamel ware and tin dishes constitute their 

 dining outfit. 



DRESS 



The original native upper garment was the caribou-pelt "parka," 

 a combination of hood and coat reaching to the knees and without 

 buttons or laces. It was pulled on over the head like a shirt, the 

 hood generally hanging down the back and covering the head only 

 in severe weather. Sometimes sealskin "parkas" were secured in 

 trade from the lower river natives. As far back as any of the 

 present inhabitants can remember, they have worn shirts made of 

 calico which they say traders brought from New York. 



With the "parka" they wore a lower garment like the original 

 pantaloons, a combination of trousers and stockings made of moose- 

 skin from which the hair had been scraped. 



Moccasins were of moose-skin, with caribou-skin strings to lace 

 and tie them on, and they were of generous size, so that grass or 

 other soft material could be placed in the soles to protect the feet. 

 The moccasins usually reached several inches above the ankle, al- 

 though low slipper-like moccasins were also worn in camp. 



Large moose-skin mittens were made with gauntlet-like wrists, 

 and these are now used and prized by the whites as an article of 

 comfort. 



Most of the clothing now worn is that cast off by the white peo- 

 ple. Although the skin parka and breeches are still frequently 

 seen, they have been mostly replaced by canvas parkas and other 

 white-man's clothing. The natives, however, do not like shoes. 

 Their moose-skin moccasins are continually wet in damp weather, 

 causing constant headache, and they do not understand that the 

 condition of the feet has anything to do with that of the head. 



They wear no head covering in summer, but marten or rabbit skin 

 caps are worn in winter. The old method of hair dressing was to 

 allow the hair to grow long and tie it in a bunch behind with a small 

 bunch over each temple. Swan feathers were chopped fine and 

 applied with grease to the rear bunch daily until it became a large 

 mass. Another custom was to pierce the nasal septum and through 

 it insert rings of small bones from birds. These ornaments were 

 worn especially at dances or other ceremonies, and most of the adult 

 natives still have these holes in their noses. 



Porcupine quills, which are used for decorating their clothing, 

 were dyed red by boiling in cranberry juice, or blue by boiling in 



