126 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
Strange tribes, before going to war, and on other 
solemn occasions. 
The habitual intoxication of the Cumberland 
House Crees has induced such a disregard of per- 
sonal appearance, that they are squalid and dirty 
in the extreme; hence a minute description of 
their clothing would be by no means interesting. 
We shall, therefore, only remark in a general 
manner that the dress of the males consists of a 
blanket thrown over the shoulders, a leathern shirt 
or jacket, and a piece of cloth tied round the mid- 
dle. ‘The women have in addition a long petti- 
coat; and both sexes wear a kind of wide hose, 
which teaching from the ankle to the middle of the 
thigh, are ‘suspended by strings to the girdle. 
These hose, or as they are termed, Indian stock- 
tags, are commonly ornamented with beads 
ribands, and from their convenience, have been 
universally adopted by the white residents, as an 
essential part of their winter clothing. ‘Theit 
shoes, or rather short boots, for they tie round the 
ankle, are made of soft dressed moose skins, and 
during the winter they wrap several pieces of 
blanket round their feet. ae 
They are fond of European articles of dress, 
considering it as mean to be dressed entirely in 
leather, and the hunters are generally furnished 
annually with a capot or great coat, and the 
