244 DRESS OF ESKIMO WOMEN. 



where they are bound together, and kept apart in the middle by 

 two cross-pieces, each end of which is held in a mortice. Between 

 the cross-pieces is stretched a stout thong, lengthwise and across, 

 for the foot to rest upon, with another which first forms a loop to 

 allow the toes to pass beneath ; this is carried round the back of the 

 ankle to the opposite side of the foot, so as to sling the snow-shoe 

 under the joint of the great toe. As the shoe is thus suspended at 

 a point a little before its centre, the heel end trails lightly over 

 the snow at each step, whilst the toe is raised over any slight 

 unevenness in the way. Some are five feet long by fourteen inches 

 wide, rounded and turned up at the toe, and pointed at the heel, 

 neatly filled in before and behind the cross-bars with a network of 

 sinew, or of a very small thong made from the skin of the small seal, 

 nat'-sik. 



The women's dress differs from the men's in the mocassins and 

 breeches forming a single close-fitting garment tied round the waist, 

 as well as in being more uniformly striped, and the coat in being 

 longer, reaching to below the knees in a rounded flap before and 

 behind. The back of the coat and the hood are also made large 

 enough to contain a child, whose weight is chiefly sustained by the 

 belt. For common use, and among the poorer people, the inner one is 

 made of bird-skins, and among those who are better off, of deer-skin, 

 and is plain. In winter, when out of doors, an outer coat of thick 

 deer-skin is worn, and in summer a light one of the skins procirred 

 during the summer when the animal is changing its hair. For 

 dress occasions, one is worn by those who can afford it which is 

 made of patchwork, always according to one invariable plan as to 

 the shape and principal seams ; but there is considerable variety 

 allowed in the arrangement of the white and different shades of 

 fawn-skins of which it is made, besides a countless multitude of 

 strips and tufts of fir sewed to the back, shoulders, and front of the 

 garment, producing always a pleasing effect, and indicating con- 

 siderable industry on the part of the seamstress. 



The woman's tapsi or belt is made from the skin of the wolverine's 

 feet, with the claws directed downwards and placed at regular inter- 

 vals. Near Kotzebue Sound a belt of a different kind is much in 

 use, consisting of a piece of skin, of proper length, having the front 

 teeth of the reindeer, adhering to the dried gum of the animal, 

 stitched to it ; so that the second row of teeth overlies the sewing 

 on the first, and so on, beginning at each end and joining at the 

 middle. A belt of this description is about two and a half inches 

 broad, and has from fifty to sixty rows of teeth. The other personal 

 ornaments, besides the beads in the hair and ears, are rings of iron 



