BELTS. 



137 



woven into the woof at tolerably regular intervals. Each black strand 

 starts under the first strand of the warp, making the outer and inner 

 of the three short stitches on each side black. This produces a checkered 

 pattern along the middle of the belt (see enlarged section, Fig. 8, M). 

 The, woof strands are driven home tightly and their ends are secured 

 on each side by a double thread of cotton sewed into the corner of the 

 leather loop. One thread runs along the out 

 side of the belt and the other along the inside, 

 passing between the ends of the feathers about 

 every ten feathers and making a turn round 

 the outer thread, as in Fig. 84. The edges of 

 the belt are trimmed off even and bound with 

 a narrow strip of deerskin with the flesh side out and painted red. 

 The binding of the upper edge makes an irregular loose lining on the 

 inside of the belt. Across the end of the belt is sewed on each side a 

 narrow strip of sealskin, and the ends of the warp are gathered into 

 a three-ply braid 1(5 inches long, which is used to fasten the belt by 

 drawing it through the loop and knotting it. An ancient bone spear 

 head is attached to the belt as an amulet by a stout strap. 



No. 89543 [1420] is a similar belt worn in precisely the same way, 

 but with the black feathers introduced in a different pattern. The 

 weaving is done by hand with the help of some little tools, to be 

 described under implements for making and working fiber. Belts of 



FIG. 84. Diagram showing 

 method of fast cuing the 

 ends of feathers in belt. 



FIG. 85. Woman s belt of wolverine toes. 



this style appear to be peculiar to the Point Barrow region. Indeed, 

 girdles of any kind are seldom worn over the jacket by the men in the 

 eastern regions. 



The women never wear anything except a simple strip of skin or the 

 wolvervine belt mentioned above. No. 89542 [1421], Fig. 85, is one of 

 these. It is made of nine strips of dark brown skin from round the 

 foot of the wolverine, sewed together end to end. Each strip, except 

 the one at the end, has a claw at the lower corner (on some of the 

 strips the bit of skin bearing the claws is pieced in) so that there are 



