14 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 34 



day have about them a hght bhxnket; they wear less regularly 

 simple trousers and shirt, pouches suspended from the belt or from 

 the shoulder, and a palm hat (pi. i). When it is warm the older 

 men especially like to dispense with everything except the breech- 

 cloth, the young men doing the same only in races and certain 

 dances. On the road the light trousers are rolled up as high as 

 possible, leaving the limbs bare (pi. i). The women generally wear 

 a single skirt, with a shirt or blouse, or a single body garment taking 

 place of both, and a belt. Indoors the covering of the upper part 

 of the body is often removed. They do not always possess a blanket, 

 and go mostly with head and feet bare. Children up to 1 year of 

 age are usually kept, well swathed, in the baby carriers; from 1 to 

 5 or 6 years they are often left, except when it is (juite cold, entirely 

 naked, or they run about clad in a shirt only; later on they are 

 dressed like adults. 



One can observe all stages of approach from the simple native dress 

 to the regular attire of civilized people. The change is most appar- 

 ent in the tribes of the United States. The native woolens and skins 

 give way first to trade cottons and then to the usual clothing of 

 the whites. Shoes take the place of sandals, warmer felt hats are 

 substituted for those of palm, the Mexican Indian women become 

 accustomed to the rehozo, which covers the head and shoulders, and 

 overcoats supplant blankets. It is noticeable that the Indian soon 

 acquires a preference for clothing hiniself abundantly and even to 

 excess. 



The whole process of change in quality and quantity of clotliing 

 must exercise considerable influence on the circulation and texture, 

 as it does on the color, of the sldn. It must affect the resistance of 

 the body to the elements, and it is logical to suppose that before 

 the change becomes a well-established habit it reacts unfavorabljT" 

 on the health of the Indian. 



The subject of hair dressing and personal adornment, connected 

 with that of clothing, has more of psychologic and ethnologic than 

 of hygienic interest, yet there are minor exceptions. The long, 

 artifi-cially twisted and matted hair of the Yuma, Maricopa, Mohave, 

 and of a few Pima is of necessity more or less unclean and conduces 

 to the presence of vermin." Among the Navaho, Walapai, Pima, 

 and others the chi, or red paint, a mixture of red ocher and fat, is 

 often applied to the cheeks of women and children as a hygienic 

 measure to protect the skin against the sun and dry winds. Again, 



o These twists are from time to time cleaned by quite an original process. This consists in working 

 into the hair a mass of the fine river mud. The head is then wrapped with a handkerchief and the mud 

 allowed to dry. It may be allowed to remain only overnight or be worn longer, after which it is thor- 

 oughly washed out, the hair being then dressed as before. The sap of the mesquite may be added to 

 the mud, making the mixture not only more effectual to kill the vermin, but also to stain the hair 

 (which in some cases is more or less sunbleached) a fine black, very much like the natural color. 



