NELSON] 



FOOT-WEAK CLOTHING BAGS 



43 



SOCKS AND BOOT-PADS 



In addition to the boots described, socks made of deerskin or sealskin 

 with the hair not removed, and reaching 1 a little above the ankles, com 

 monly are worn in winter. For wear at all seasons socks are made of 

 woven grass, the patterns of weaving varying to a certain extent and 

 sometimes different colored grasses being used to produce ornamental 

 patterns, as shown in the sole of the example from the lower Kusko- 

 kwim, illustrated in plate xxi, 2. 



Plate xxi, 1, shows a typical grass sock from llazbinsky, on the 

 lower Yukon, and plate xxi, 5, also represents a common style of grass 

 sock from that district. The bot 

 toms of boots of all kinds are 

 usually stuffed, with a grass pad 

 made by taking wisps of long 

 grass stalks and binding them 

 over one another to form a long 

 cushion for the bottom of the foot. 

 This gives a soft footing and ab- 

 soi bs the moisture that penetrates 

 the sole, so that it requires a long 

 time for water to reach the foot. 



At night the socks and the grass 

 pads are removed and hung to dry 

 either over the lamp in the house 

 or in a convenient place in the room, 

 so as to be ready for use on the fol 

 lowing morning. 



CLOTHING BAGS 



Along the lower Yukon and 

 thence to the Kuskokwim large 

 numbers of bags are made for vari 

 ous purposes from the skins of 

 salmon. Some are used for stor 

 ing clothes, and still smaller ones for various small objects, such as 

 trinkets and small odds and ends of different kinds. Others are made 

 very large, frequently with a capacity of a bushel or two, and are used 

 for the storage of dry fish, which is kept in them in the storehouses 

 until needed. 



Figure 7 (2) illustrates a salmon-skin bag for storing clothing. This 

 example, from Tikchik lake, is ornamented with bands of russet- 

 colored rishskin and white, parchment-like skin from the throats of 

 seals, and is neatly sewed with sinew thread. The upper border of the 

 bng is hemmed, and a series of rawhide loops are sewed at intervals 

 around the top, through which is run a cord of the same material for 



FIG. 7 Fish-skin clothing bags ( r s ). 



