I90 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



shorter, and she wears only one or two strings of beads. A little boy 

 wears a dress about two inches from the ground, the waist and skirt 

 being gathered into a belt. A young man formerly wore a similar 

 dress about halfway to his knees and a man of fifty wore a shorter 

 dress, each costume being completed by a neckchief of plain color. 

 Many of the men continue to dress in this manner (fig. 179). The old 

 men wear a costume consisting of a cotton garment and cotton 

 jacket edged with a ruffle, as seen on the central figure of this group. 

 At present, as in former times, the men wear a neck-kerchief similar 

 to that of Charlie Billie (fig. 177). No patterns seen in the patchwork 

 can be considered native in origin. Only one sort of beads is worn 

 in the strings around a woman's neck, but the number of strings in- 

 creases as she grows older, sometimes weighing as much as 20 or 30 

 pounds. These beads are of medium size and opaque, and the favorite 

 colors seem to be dark blue and pale, dull green or yellow. The tech- 

 nique of weaving beads on thread, using an oblong loom, is similar to 

 that of northern tribes but the result does not appear in costumes. 

 No foot-covering is worn by women, or children. A pair of moc- 

 casins, made according to the old custom, were obtained from a 

 man who tanned the deer hide and made them. This moccasin consists 

 of two pieces, one for each side of the foot, and has a gathered seam 

 up the front which is sharply upturned. It has a small, loose piece of 

 leather at toe and heel and is held in place by a thong. The old men 

 still wear a draped cloth turban, and are practically the only Seminole 

 who wear a head covering. Round ornaments of pierced silver, of 

 native manufacture, are fastened to the women's capes in the front, 

 or suspended from their beads in the back. 



The Seminole are excellent wood carvers, and interesting examples 

 of this work were seen among the Big Cypress Seminole. A wooden 

 doll with carved head was obtained, as well as dolls made of coconut 

 palm fiber. 



