THE INDIANS OF GATE FLATTERY. 17 



necessary to the dress of civilized females, together with bonnets, are not at all 

 becoming to a squaw, and it is doubtful whether the fashion will ever obtain among 

 these natives. A Makah belle is considered in full dress with a clean chemise ; a 

 calico or woollen skirt ; a plaid shawl of bright colors thrown over her shoulders ; 

 six or seven pounds of glass beads of various colors and sizes on strings about her 

 neck ; several yards of beads wound around her ankles ; a dozen or more bracelets 

 of brass wire around each wrist ; a piece of shell pendent from her nose; ear orna 

 ments composed of the shells of the dentalium, beads and strips of leather, forming 

 a plait three or four inches wide and two feet long jx^rid her face and the parting 

 of the hair painted with grease and vermilion. The effect of this combination of 

 colors and materials is quite picturesque, which is perhaps the only praise that it 

 merits. 



Both sexes have their noses pierced, and usually, although not constantly, sus 

 pended from them a small piece of the haliotis shell (the &quot; abalone&quot; of the Califor- 

 nians), obtained from Vancouver Island, particularly on the eastern side in the Cowit- 

 chin district, where specimens of a large size are found. Some wear pieces of this 

 shell two or three inches square as ear ornaments. The men wear their hair long, 

 but on whaling excursions they tie it up in a club knot behind the head. They 

 frequently decorate themselves by winding wreaths of evergreens around the knob, 

 or stick in a sprig of spruce with a feather. At times they vary this head-dress by 

 substituting a wreath of sea-weed, or a bunch of cedar bark bound around the 

 head like a turban. They paint their faces either black or red, as fancy may 

 suggest, or in stripes of various colors. I have never been able to discover any 

 particular signification for this practice, although I have frequently inquired. Some 

 have told me the red paint was to keep the sun from burning their faces ; others 

 paint themselves black, either to show that they have stout and courageous hearts, 

 or because they feel depressed ; and others again because they happen to be in the 

 humor of so doing. The method of painting is first to rub the face well with 

 deer s tallow, upon which they apply the dry vermilion or red ochre if these colors 

 are desired. If they wish to produce black, pulverized charcoal is first mixed with 

 bear s grease or deer s fat, and rubbed between the hands, and then applied to 

 the face. The other colors are put on dry. The mode of coloring the face in 

 stripes is to dip a thin slip of wood in the dry paint and lay it carefully on the 

 face, producing a red mark the width of the stick ; narrow marks or lines are made 

 with the edge of the stick. The lines thus drawn are more uniform and more clearly 

 defined than if laid on with a brush, and are done quite rapidly. During the berry 

 season the children paint or stain their faces with the juice. A coarse quality of red 

 ochre is often used for painting their faces, and also the inside of canoes. This pig 

 ment is made by the Kwilleyute Indians, who reside thirty miles south from Cape 

 Flattery. It is found in the form of a yellowish clay or ochre, which oozes in a semi 

 fluid state from the banks of the river at certain places. This is collected, squeezed 

 into balls the size of a hen s egg, and then wrapped in rags and baked in the hot 

 ashes till it acquires the desired hue. If heated too much the color becomes a dark 

 brown, and is not so highly prized. When used it is pulverized and mixed with oil, 

 for painting canoes, or applied dry to the face like vermilion, although some blend 



3 June, 1880. 



