52 



TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 



It would seem that in olden times, practically all along the coast , the 

 art of stone chipping was not in use, while rubbed slate points and 



pecked. and battered 

 stone hammers and 

 stone mortars (fig. 

 14) were common. 



While the men pro- 

 cure all the animal 

 food except shellfish, 



fi< v Foujtnv ^ e women gather 



berries and dig roots 



and shellfish. On Queen Charlotte Islands, and perhaps also among 



the Tsimshian, tobacco was raised in olden times in gardens cleared 



near the villages. The tobacco 



was not smoked, but chewed 



mixed with calcined shells. 



In olden times the dress of the ' 

 Tsimshian consisted of a breech- 

 clout, over which was worn a 

 blanket of fur or of dressed skin. 

 The front edges of blankets made 

 of dressed skins were painted 

 (fig. 15). Dressed skin was also 

 embroidered with porcupine 

 quills (figs. 16, 18), although 

 this art was not a- prominent among the coast tribes as it was 

 among the Indians of the interior. Wealthy people used expensive 



Fig. 9. Ceil.ir-lmrk in 



hat made of .spruce i 



furs for making then blankets, while the poor used marmot skin-.. 

 On ceremonial occasions — that is, at festivals and potlatches — the 



