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It is a well-known fact that their distribution agrees fairly 

 exactly with that of the Eskimos, whereas all other arctic 

 peoples have a quite rounded, straight-cut edge to their-coats, 

 even though this, as is most usual, reaches a good piece down 

 on the legs, sometimes even almost to the ankles. If we look 

 now at the skin-coats of the Eivillik and Kinipetu Eskimos on 

 the west side of Hudson Bay and Barren Grounds, which have 

 only become known within recent years through the figures of 

 Canadian travellers, especially A. P. Low, we are most struck by 

 the extent of these lappets, their breadth and length. The 

 lower edge of the pelt reaches at the sides only to the hips, 

 but from here the coat slopes down in front and at the back, 

 so that the side-edges meet at the level of the knees, or even 

 a little lower down, as they form a wide sweep below. In 

 such cases we might as well talk of notches at the sides of 

 the pelt as of lappets in the middle. And my idea is, that the 

 Eskimos have originally worn a fairly long, loose pelt, but that 

 this has proved to be unpractical in the narrow kayak, when 

 the Eskimos changed from the kneeling position in the birch 

 canoes to the sitting position in the kayak. In adapting them- 

 selves to the narrower space for sitting in, the men have then 

 got the coats made with the opening at the sides, whilst the 

 front and back parts have remained as large flaps, as there 

 was room for these in the kayak. Gradually, however, these 

 flaps, which were only useless rudiments, have decreased in 

 size to the small lappets, which we find among the Polar 

 Eskimos and which should thus be the last apparent reminders 

 of the long pelt. That the women's coat has also passed 

 through the same developmental process does not contradict 

 the theory, as it would be a common correlation phenomenon, 

 that the flaps should also be the same in the woman's coat. 

 And the fact, that the lappets among the Eskimos are always 

 greatest on the woman's coat, just indicates that the develop- 

 ment may have proceeded along the lines described. 



