42 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth.ann.18 



hair skin, between the upper two of which is a strip of wolverine skin 

 with long ])rojecting: liair. These strips of skin along the upper border 

 have welted into the seam between them a narrow strip of hard, black- 

 tanned skin, so as to produce a black line along each seam. These 

 boots are fastened to the foot as in the iirst pair described from the 

 American mainland. The soles are crimped in-the same manner as those 

 from the adjacent coast, and both sewing and crimping are well done, 

 as is characteristic of all work of this kind i)erformed by the women 

 thronghout the region. 



For summer wear the common style of boot is of tanned sealskin 

 with the hair side outward or with the hair removed. Tlie latter kind 

 is made waterproof, and the oil-tanned uppers are either black or 

 dyed a deep reddish brown by the use of alder bark. The seams 

 between the soles and the uppers, as well as those along the legs, are 

 generally heavily welteii, and commonly have the tops surrounded by 

 a baud of white parchment-like tanned sealskin, turned in to hold a 

 drawstring for fastening the boot to the leg. The straps for fastening 

 these boots are made usually of white-tanned sealskin attached to the 

 seams between the soles and uppers on each side of the middle of 

 the foot. They are then crossed over the top of the foot, and after 

 passing through the ear or lap of sealskin which is sewed to the sole 

 on each side of the ankle, they are again crossed above the heel and 

 carried forward around the front, then back again to be tied as already 

 described. Plate xxi, 10, shows one of a typical pair of these boots 

 from St Michael. 



The legs of these boots usually reach to just below the knees, but 

 some are made to extend to the hips for wearing while hunting or fishing, 

 and many are nuide that reach just above the ankle. These latter are 

 more in the style of dress boots, being worn about the villages or while 

 traveling in umiaks. Their uppers are made commonly of white, parch- 

 ment-like tanned sealsknj, but sometimes from the stomach of a large 

 seal or walrus, which makes a beautiful white, parchment-like leather. 

 The up[)er8 are variously ornamented by welted seams and strips sewed 

 in successively around the edge of the sole, as shown in plate xxi, 4, 

 from Golofnin bay. 



These short summer boots are made sometimes of tanned sealskin, 

 with the hair left on and turned inward, so that the softened inner 

 surface of the skin is exposed. They are surrounded at the upper 

 border usually by a white, i>archmeut-like band with a drawstring, and 

 the portion of the uppers over the toes and sides of the foot in front 

 have sewed upon them strips of russet and white-tanned skin with 

 tine yellow and black checked i^atterns, produced by drawing narrow 

 strips of white tanned parchment through little slits cut in the material. 

 Plate XXI, 11, represents a typical example of this class of ornamenta 

 tion. The women living on the islands of Bering strait are noted for 

 doing handsome work of this kind. 



