swANTON] INDIAN TRIBES OF THE T.OWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 345 



iind otlior t'onstnl ti'ihes wore less warlike aiul more cowardly than 

 the tribes hii>her up the JNIississijipi. 



Their houses were like those of their neighbors, i. e., they consisted 

 mainly of palmetto leaves over a framework of poles, and like them, 

 the houses of the chiefs were larger than those of the common people. 

 According to Benjamin Paul, there was a smoke hole, which could 

 be closed when the weather w^as bad, but if this feature was ancient it 

 constituted a distinct advance on the Mississippi houses usually repre- 

 sented, which are generally without any opening other than the door. 

 At the same time Iberville records smoke holes in the Bayogoula 

 houses, and his authority is among the best. The ancient garments 

 are no longer remembered, but Gatschet learned the following re- 

 garding personal adornment : 



The Slietiinaslia men wore liiG liair lonj;:, and fastonod a piece of lead to tlic 

 end of the tress behind for tlie pnrpose of Ivcepin.i; tlie head erect [ V]. They 

 adorned themselves with nim-h care and artistic taste, and tattooed their lej^s, 

 arms, and faces in wavy punctured lines. They sported necklaces, linger rings, 

 bracelets, nose rings, and earrings. 



The wai-riors enjoyed a peculiar kind of distinction, as follows: Certain men, 

 especially appointed for the purpose, had to paint the knees of the warriors 

 with pulverized charcoal, and this was made to stick by scarifying the skin 

 with the jaw of a small species of garfish until it began to bleed slightly, after 

 which the coloring matter was rubbed on. This maniitulation liad to be re- 

 peated every year. * * * 



The women w^ore their hair in plaits or tresses, ornamented with plumes. A 

 portion of the hair was wound in a coil about the head and secured by iiins. 

 Their ornaments were bracelets, earrings, and finger rings. In painting them- 

 selves they used only the red and white colors." 



Anciently many of these beads were made of shell, but the Avriter 

 was informed of another kind made of stone which came from the 

 northwest. Fine pieces of copper Avere hammered into bracelets, 

 shoulder pieces, and breast pieces. Others were worn about the waist, 

 and the chief carried a piece upon his forehead. Nothing nearer 

 like a hat was employed. The nose ornaments were sometimes made 

 of gold or silver, Avhich Benjamin Paul affirmed to be of native origin, 

 an evident error. 



Regarding their economic life Doctor Gatschet says: 



In their aboriginal state the ti'ibe supported themselves mainly by vegetable 

 food; but they also ate the products of the L*uit, which consisted of deer and 

 other smaller animals. The women had to provide for the household by collect- 

 ing pistaches, wild beans, a plant called kiipinu (ka'ntak in Cha'"hta), and 

 another called woman's potatoes, the seed of the pond lily (Skta.),^ grains of 

 the palmetto, the rhlzoma of the common Sa(/ittaria, and that of the Suffittaria 

 with the large leaf, persimmons (plaquemine in Creole, nanu in Shetimasha). 

 They also planted, to some extent, maize, sweet potatoes, and, after the arrival 

 of the whites, wheat, or procured these articles by exchanging their homemade 

 baskets for them. 



« Traus. Anthrop. Soc. Wash., ii, 5-6. '' Said to taste like a laiclvory nut. — J. R. S. 



