650 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. 



I have not met with accounts of armor among the southern tribes, as 

 the Muskoki group and others, but should hesitate to conclude that the 

 idea of a defense for the body against arrows and spears, other than 

 the shields, had not occurred to these progressive tribes. 



As a rule, the helmet is the most striking and prominent portion of 

 body armor. 



War bonnets and various head coverings of the American aborigines, 

 in many cases, may be classed with helmets. The function of the hel- 

 met, after protection, is to adorn the head, but an almost constant fea- 

 ture is that of inspiring fear by grotesque or horrid construction. Thus 

 the helmet is connected with the mask. 



There is a large series of Northwest Coast helmets in the National 

 Museum. (See pi. 0.) They are always of wood, fitting the head, 

 carved above to represent animals, grotesque faces, etc., always painted 

 and sometimes carved with a rim like a hat. There is in the collection 

 one helmet of wood covered with leather. Another fine helmet (Cat. No. 

 168157) from the Taku Indiaus of southeru Alaska is carved from solid 

 wood in form of the Japanese type, called Kabuto or pot helmet. The 

 front is finely worked out into the form of a grotesque face, with deep 

 furrows across the nose, cheeks, and forehead, like New Zealand tattoo- 

 ing, and painted green, red, and black. The ears at the side of the mask 

 are accurately executed. The mask projects above the crown of the 

 helmet and the upper ridge is studded with wooden pegs, which once 

 held a fringe of sea-lion whiskers or bristles. Pegs are also seen on the 

 chin and lips. The rear and rim of the helmet bear a totemic-painted 

 carving in low relief. 



Through the inner edge of the rim of the helmet four slanting holes 

 have been bored. These were probably for the passage of thongs 

 which held a mask- visor before the face. 



Visors were worn, carved to represent a face, or bowed visors ingen- 

 iously made by cutting deep scarfs in the wood, allowing it to bend- 

 On the interior of this style of visor was a projecting grommet which 

 was taken between the teeth, holding the visor in place. Other mask- 

 like visors were suspended from the helmet with cords and a couvre de 

 nuqne was often attached to the back. 



The only other survival of helmets in North America is among the 

 Pueblo Indians, where they appear in ceremonies, in the form of mask 

 helmets. 



A few historical notices have been given of the helmets used by the 

 eastern Indians. 



A summary of the main conclusions which may be drawn from the 

 foregoing paper will show : 



(1) That a majority of the American tribes had advanced to the stage 

 where they made use of body armor — that is, were sedentary tribes. 



(2) This also implies differentiation of weapons rendering armor 

 necessary, or the migration of the invention, or independent inventioiu 



