THEIR DRESS. 37 



existing, and then only in a few straggling hairs which 

 are plucked out with a knife ; the whole expression 

 of countenance is almost identical with Chinese — a 

 point which forcibly struck me at first sight. Their 

 limbs are of splendid muscular development ; wrists 

 and ancles very fine, but neck generally short and 

 thick ; complexions varying from a light olive to a 

 deeper hue, but very dark tints only occasionally seen. 

 The men generally clip the hair on the crown of the 

 head, leaving only a circlet about three inches broad 

 around it ; the women let the hair grow with the 

 exception of that on the forehead which is cut and 

 combed down to the eyebrows. The faces of the 

 women are tattooed on the chin in diverging lines ; 

 men only make a permanent mark on the face for an 

 act of prowess or success, such as killing a bear, 

 capturing a whale, &c., and possibly also, in wartime, 

 for the death of an enemy. 



The dress is with the wealthier sort composed 

 almost entirely of deer, fawn and dogskin, beau- 

 tifully dressed, by the women, with the hair on : the 

 poorer people, who are apparently much dependent 

 on and obedient to a few rich, often substitute shoes 

 and breeches of sealskin. The usual dress consists 

 for the men of an inner shirt or frock of fawn 

 skin, frequently ante-parturital, worn with the hair 



