30 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT (EPH. ANN. 18 
CLOTHING 
GARMENTS IN GENERAL 
The garments of the wester. Eskimo are similar in general plan to 
those worn by their relatives farther eastward, but vary locally in pat- 
tern and style of ornamentation. The upper part of the body of both 
men and women is covered with a frock-like garment put on over the 
head, and in the greater part of the area visited these garments are 
provided with a hood. In addition, both men and women wear trousers. 
Those of the men are made to reack from the hip to the ankle, the feet 
being clothed with socks of deerskin or grass, over which skin boots 
are drawn. The lower garments of the women are combined boots and 
trousers reaching to the waist. Over the feet are sometimes drawn 
skin boots, but frequeutly a sole of oil-tanned sealskin is attached 
directly to the trousers. 
On the Diomede islands, along the eastern shore of the Chukchi 
peninsula, and on St Lawrence island the women wear a curious garment 
having a loose waist, flowing sleeves, and very baggy trousers reaching 
to the ankles. They put this on by thrusting the head and feet into a 
slit-like opening in the back, which is then laced up. The feet and 
lower part of the legs are then encased in skin boots tied about the 
ankles. Usually these combined garments are loosely made, without 
hoods, and are opened broadly at the neck, with a narrow trimming of 
wolverine or other fur about the border. They are worn usually with 
the hair inside, and the smooth outer surface becomes greasy and 
begrimed so that they present a curious appearance. Small children 
dressed in these garments waddle about and appear to move with the 
greatest difficulty. Very young children on the coast named are placed 
in these combination garments with the ends of the sleeves and legs 
sewed up, so that nothing but the face of the child can be seen. 
In addition the women of this region wear a frock-like outer garment 
reaching down to midway between the waist and kneé and provided 
with a hood. The hood is trimmed with wolverine skin or other fur, 
the long hairs projecting halo-like about the face. In front is a broad 
bib-like flap, usually made from the short-hair skin taken from the 
reindeer’s legs, which hangs down over the breast. Sometimes, how- 
ever, these flaps are replaced by a long, narrow gore of white reindeer 
skin, sewed over the shoulder on each side of the neck and extending 
down the front. Very little effort is made to ornament the garments 
among any of the people save those of St Lawrence island, where they 
are ornamented with tassels made from strips of fur taken from the 
hair-seal pup and dyed a reddish brown. Rows of the crests and horny 
bill sheaths from the crested auklet are also sewed along the seams. 
Similar ornamentation was observed in lesser degree along the Siberian 
shore. 
