NELSON] EFFECT OF CHRISTIANITY 421 



the upper thigh, and are made of tame reiudeer skin mottled white 

 and brown. They have an ornamental strip extending from the lower 

 border on each side and curving upward around the back of the gar- 

 ment, reaching within about 2h inches of the upper border in the rear. 

 Extending part way down the front of the leg, on each side, is an 

 ornamental band of white deerskin having a seam along the border 

 on one side with a row of small spaced bunches of red worsted. The 

 ornamental band, which extends from the lower edge of the trousers 

 around to the rear, and the short bands in front, are bordered by a 

 strip of wolverine fur. About the waist is a band containing a draw- 

 string for binding the garment around the hips. 



Figure 2, plate cvi, from one of the Diomede islands, is a belt made 

 from the jaws of crabs, worn by women during certain festivals. 



IIELIGIOX AXD MYTIIOLiOGY 



EFFECT OF CHRISTIAN CONTACT 



During the time of my residence in Alaska the Eskimo of the main- 

 land were still firm believers in their ancient religion; but slight 

 modification could be found in their customs, even immediately about 

 St Michael or at Mission (Ikogmut) on the lower Yukon, where the resi- 

 dence of Kussian priests during thirty-five or forty years had exerted 

 greater influence against the ancient beliefs than at any other point. 

 Services have been conducted irregularly in the small Greek Catholic 

 churches at the places named, as well as at one or two points farther 

 southward, but the influence on the Eskimo has been very slight. So 

 far as could be observed, the sole effect of the priestly efforts have 

 been to cause the Eskimo to become more secretive than formerly about 

 practicing their religious rites when in the vicinity of white men. 



By gifts of small metal crosses, which the people wore as ornaments, 

 and by other means, they were occasionally induced to attend cliurch 

 service. I venture to say that during my residence there not a half 

 dozen full-blood Eskimo could be found in all that region who really 

 understood and believed in the white man's religion, and not one could 

 be found who did not believe implicitly in the j)ower of the shamans 

 and in the religious rites handed down by the elders. 



In some districts, notably between lower Kuskokwim and lower 

 Yukon rivers, the ancient rites and beliefs were still ])racticed in their 

 aboriginal purity. Elsewhere the principal modification was in the 

 gradual but persistent weakening of the old ideas produced by inter- 

 course with the fur traders. This effect was more apparent tlian real, 

 for the liussians and Americans alike had ridiculed or treated with 

 contempt the old customs, until it had become almost impossible to 

 prevail upon the people to talk of their beliefs and traditions until, by 

 long acquaintance, their confidence had been gained. Curiously 

 enough, the great mask festival {A-gai' -yu-nul:) of the Eskimo south of 



