PRIMITIVE AMERICAN ARMOR. 641 



Among the Hupas &quot; there is another kind of armor made of wattles 

 and twine, wpven and bound with buckskin. This is worn in battle 

 to protect the body ; it is tied across the breast from left to right. The 

 red lines denote the number of enemies slain or captives taken ; also 

 the rank of the wearer. This class of armor was in common use among 

 the ]S&quot;ataiio and Kenuck Indians before the introduction of firearms, 

 but it is now nearly obsolete.&quot;* 



The rod coats were put on like a vest and were tied in front. The 

 rear portion, being a little longer, protected the back of the neck. 



On the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains and on the Great Plains 

 the natural defensive protection of the great land and sea mammals, 

 transferred by man to his own body, becomes, in turn, his efficient armor. 



The skins of the elk and moose on the northwest coast and the bison 

 in the interior to the south furnish excellent material for defensive 

 clothing. These skins are invariably tanned to render them flexible, 

 and are often coated with glue and sand over certain portions. 



Father Morice, in his clear description of the process, says : 



Another sort of armor, indigenous to the Dene nation, was th,e peoesta (wherein 

 one sits). This had the form of -a sleeveless- tunic falling to the knees, so that it* 

 afforded protection to the whole body save the head iu^ hard fights the Dane s invari 

 ably shot kneeling. The armor or cuirass was of moose skin, which, when sewed 

 according to the proper pattern, was soaked in water, then repeatedly rubbed on the 

 sandy shores of a stream or Mke and dried with the sand and small pebbles adhering 

 thereto, after which it was thoroughly coated with a species of very tenacious glue, 

 the principal ingredient of which was boiled isinglass, obtained from the sturgeon. 

 Being again, before drying, subjected to a thorough rubbing over sand, it received a 

 new coating of the aforesaid glue. When this process had been repeated three or four 

 times, it formed an armor perfectly invulnerable to arrows ov r er the parts which were 

 thus protected, t 



The skin coats were always made in one piece folded over, sewed above 

 the shoulders, leaving an orifice for the head and with a hole cutout of the 

 left side for the left arm, the right side of the garment remaining open. 

 The skin was often doubled, but more frequently the coat was reinforced 

 with pieces of thick hide. &quot; Sometimes shoulder guards were added. 



It will be seen that the leather coats from Sitka are short and follow 

 the type of slat armor. This will be noticed in the &quot;swallowtail&quot; for 

 the protection of the pubic region, or which assumes this shape by the 

 cutting away of portions of the skirt over the groins (pis. 16 and 17). J 



Sometimes a slash was made over the thigh and in front of the throat. 



* Mason, O. T., The Ray Collection, Rep. Smithsonian Institution, 1886, p. 230. 



t Morice, A. G., The Western Den6s, Proc. Canad. Inst., Vol. xxv (Oct., 1889), p. 140. 



t DESCRIPTION OF PLATES 16 AND 17. 



Plate 16, Fig 1, skin armor. Made of two thicknesses of caribou hide, scarfed 

 rregularly to secure flexibility. Sewed around the border with rawhide. Padded 

 in the truncated portion with heavy pieces of hide. The garment has been patched 

 at the edges eaten away by rats. Formerly worn as an undergarment for protection 

 against daggers, spears, and arrows. Outside was worn a rod band as a further pro 

 tection. This specimen is very ancient and primitive, worn before the introduction 



H. Mis. 184, pt. 2 41 



