NELSON'] 



FOOT-WEAK CLOTHING BAGS 



43 



SOCKS AND BOOT-PADS 



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

 with the hair not removed, and reaching 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 T^azbinsky, on the 

 lower Yukon, and plate xxi, o, 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 hmg 

 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- 

 soibs the moisture that penetrates 

 th(^ sole, so that it requires a long 

 time for water to reach the foot. 



At night the socks and the grass 

 pad> are removed and hung to dry 

 either over the lamp in the house 

 or in a convenient place in theroom, 

 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 i)urposes 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 fishskin and white, i)archment-like skin from the throats of 

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

 bag 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 d'n). 



