THE SAN BLAS PEOPLE 



The women love bright colors ; their waists, 

 or blouses, are quite wonderful examples of 

 needlework, and carry striking patterns made 

 by sewing many layers of cloth one over the 

 other. About the hips is wrapped a narrow 

 length of coarse cloth, frequently painted, 

 which reaches barely to the knees. This is 

 the work dress. Their calves are tightly 

 wrapped with beads and, in consequence, they 

 are misshapen, but rarely does a stranger 

 catch more than a glimpse of these ornaments, 

 for an outer skirt, consisting of a wider strip 

 of brilliant calico, is usually worn. Owing to 

 their diminutive size, it is difficult to dis- 

 tinguish the women from the girls except by 

 their hair, and here must be mentioned a 

 custom peculiar, so far as I know, to the 

 San Bias. 



We had heard of the hair-cutting ceremonies 

 and of the big drunks that accompany them; 

 we had been warned to avoid the villages 

 where a so-called chiclia was in progress, lest 

 we have cause to take suddenly to our boats, 

 leaving our hats behind us. In fact, when we 

 arrived at Cardi, the chief informed us, with 

 the melancholy languor peculiar to a "hold- 

 over," that he was but just recovered from a 



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