PRIMITIVE AMERICAN ARMOR. 641 



Among tlie Hupas " there is another kind of armor made of wattles 

 and twine, woven and bound with buckskin. This is worn in battle 

 to protect the body; it is tied across the breast from left to right. The 

 red lines denote the number of enemies slain or captives taken; also 

 the rank of the wearer. This class of armor was in common use among- 

 the Natano and Kenuck Indians before the introduction of firearms^ 

 but it is now nearly obsolete."* 



The rod coats were put on like a vest and were tied in front. The 

 rear i^ortion, being- a little longer, protected the back of the neck. 



On the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains and on the Great Plains 

 the natural defensive i)rotection of the great land and sea mammals, 

 transferred by man to his own body, becomes, in turn, his efticient armor. 



The skins of the elk and moose on the northwest coast and the bison 

 in the interior to the south furnish excellent material for defensive 

 clothing. These skins are invariably tanned to render them flexible, 

 and are often coated with glue and sand over certain portions. 



Father Morice, in his clear description of the process, says : 



Another sort of armor, indigenous to the Dene nation, was tbe peoesta (wheveiu 

 one sits). Tliis h^.d the form of a sleeveless tunic falling to the knees, so that ifc 

 afforded protection to the whole body save the bead — in hard tights the D(^ues invari- 

 ably sbot kneeling. The armor or cuirass was of moose skin, which, when sewed 

 according to tbe proper pattern, was soaked in water, then repeatedly rubbed on tbe 

 sandy sbores of a stream or lake and dried with the sand and small pebbles adhering 

 thei'eto, after whicb it was thoroughly coated witb a species of very tenacious glue, 

 the principal ingredient of which was boiled isinglass, obtained from the sturgeon. 

 Being again, before drying, subjected to a thorough rubbing over sand, it received a 

 new coating of the aforesaid glue. When this process had been repeated three or four 

 times, it formed an armor perfectly invulnerable to arrows over the parts which were 

 thus protected.! 



The skin coats were always made in one piece folded over, sewed above 

 the shoulders, leavingan orifice for the head and with a hole cut out of the 

 left side for the left arm, the right side of the garment remaining open. 

 The skin was often doubled, but more freciuently the coat was reinforced 

 with pieces of thick hide. Sometimes shoulder guards were added. 



It will be seen that the leather coats from Sitka are short and follow 

 the tyi)e of slat armor. This will be noticed in the "swallowtail" for 

 the protection of the pubic region, or which assumes this shape by the 

 cutting away of portions of the skirt over the groins (pis. 16 and 17). f 



Sometimes a slash was made over the thigh and in front of the thix)at. 



* Mason, O. T., The Ray Collection, Rep. Smithsonian Institution, 1886, p. 230. 



t Morice, A. G., The Western Dones, Proc. Canad. Inst., Vol. xxv (Oct., 1889), p. 140. 



\ DESCKirXIOX OF PLATES 16 AND 17. 



Plate 16, Fig 1, skin armor.— Made of two thicknesses of caribou hide, scarfed 

 rregularly to secure flexibility. Hewed around the border with rawhide. Padded 

 in the truncated portion with heavy pieces of hide. The garment has been patched 

 at the edges eaten away by rats. Formerly worn as an undergarment for protection 

 against daggers, spears, and arrows. Outside was worn a rod band as a further pro- 

 tection. This specimen is very ancient and primitive, worn before the iutroductioa 

 H. Mis. 184, pt. 2 41 



