4y4 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



the hair cut shoit all over his head, 

 this being the customary mourn- 

 ing fur deceased kindred. 



The dress of the men consists 

 of a robe, a tippet, a shirt, long 

 leggins, and moccasins. The robe 

 is formed most conmionly of tl e 

 skins of antelope, bighorn, or 

 deer, though, when it can be pro- 

 cured, the buffaloe hide is pre- 

 ferred. Sometimes too rhey are 

 made of beaver, moonax, and 

 small wolves, and frequently 

 during the summer, of e!k skin. 

 These are dressed witli the hair 

 on, and reach about as low as the 

 middle of the leg. They are worn 

 loosely over the slioulders, the 

 sides being at pleasure either left 

 open or drawn together by the 

 hand, and in cold weather kept 

 close by a girdle round the waist. 

 This robe answers the purpose of 

 a cloak during the day, and at 

 night is their only covering. 



The tippet is the most elegant 

 article of Indian dress we have 

 ever seen. The neck or collar of 

 it is a strip about four or five 

 inches wide, cut from the back 

 of tlie otter skin, the nose and 

 eyes forming one extremity, and 

 the tail another. This being- 

 dressed with tlie fur on, they 

 attach to one edge of it, from one 

 huruh'ed to two hundred and fifty 

 little rolls of ermine skin, begin- 

 ning at the car, and proceeding 

 toward:? the tail. These ermine 

 skins are the same kind of narrow 

 strips from the back of that ani- 

 mal, which are sewed round a 

 small cord of twisted silkgrass 

 thick enough to make the skin 

 taper towards the tail which 

 hauii^ from the end, and are ge- 

 nerally about tlie size of a lai'ge 

 quill. These are tied at the head 



into little bundles, of two, three, 

 or more, according to the caprice 

 of the wearer, and then sus- 

 pended from the collar, and a 

 broad fringe of ermine skin is 

 fixed so as to cover the j)arts 

 where they unite, which might 

 have a coarse appearance. Little 

 tassels of fringe of the same ma- 

 terials are also fastened to the 

 extremities of the tail, so as to 

 show its black colovu* to greater 

 advantage. The centre of the 

 collar is further oriiamented with 

 the shells of the pearl oyster. 

 Thus adorned, the collar is worn 

 close round the neck, and the 

 little rolls fall down over the 

 shoulders nearly to the waist, so 

 as to form a sort of short cloak, 

 which has a very handsome ap- 

 pearance. These tippets are very 

 highly esteemed, and are given 

 or disposed of on important oc- 

 casions only. The ermine is the 

 fur known to the north-west 

 traders by the name of the white 

 weasel, but is the genuine er- 

 mine ; and by encouraging the 

 Indians to take them, might no 

 doubt be rendered a valuable 

 branch of trade. These animals 

 must be very abundant, for the 

 tippets are in great numbers, and 

 the construction of each requires 

 at least one hundred skins. 



The shirt is a covering of 

 dressed skin without the hair, 

 and formed of the hide of the 

 antelope, deer, bighorn, or elk, 

 though the last is more rarely 

 used than any other for this pur- 

 pose. It fits the body loosely, 

 and reaches half way down the 

 thigh. The aperture at the top 

 is wide enough to admit the head, 

 and has no collar, but is either 

 left square, or most frequently 



terminates 



