42 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETH. ANN. 18 
hair skin, between the upper two of which is a strip of wolverine skin 
with long projecting hair. These strips of skin along the upper border 
have welted into the seam between them a narrow strip of hard, black- 
tanned skin, so as to produce a black line along each seam. These 
boots are fastened to the foot as in the first pair described from the 
American mainland. The soles are crimped in the same manneras those 
from the adjacent coast, and both sewing and crimping are well done, 
as is characteristic of all work of this kind performed by the women 
throughout the region. 
For summer wear the common style of boot is of tanned sealskin 
with the hair side outward or with the hair removed. The latter kind 
is made waterproof, and the oil-tanned uppers are either black or 
dyed a deep reddish brown by the use of alder bark. The seams 
between the soles and the uppers, as well as those along the legs, are 
generally heavily weltei, and commonly have’the tops surrounded by 
a band of white parchment-like tanned sealskin, turned in to hold a 
drawstring for fastening the boot to the leg. The straps for fastening 
these boots are made usually of white-tanned sealskin attached to the 
seams between the soles and uppers on each side of the middle of 
the foot. They are then crossed over the top of the foot, and after 
passing through the ear or lap of sealskin which is sewed to the sole 
on each side of the ankle, they aré again crossed above the heel and 
carried forward around the front, then back again to be tied as already 
described. Plate xxi, 10, shows one of a typical pair of these boots 
from St Michael. 
The legs of these boots usually reach to just below the knees, but 
some are made to extend to the hips for wearing while hunting or fishing, 
and many are made that reach just above the ankle. These latter are 
more in the style of dress boots, being worn about the villages cr while 
traveling in umiaks. Their uppers are made commonly of white, parch- 
ment-like tanned sealskin, but sometimes from the stomach of a large 
seal or walrus, which makes a beautiful white, parchment-like leather. 
The uppers are variously ornamented by welted seams and strips sewed 
in successively around the edge of the sole, as shown in plate xxt, 4, 
from Golofuin bay. 
These short summer boots are made sometimes of tanned sealskin, 
with the hair left on and turned inward, so that the softened inner 
surface of the skin is exposed. They are surrounded at the upper 
border usually by a white, parchment-like band with a drawstring, and 
the portion of the uppers over the toes and sides of the foot in front 
have sewed upon them strips of russet and white-tanned skin with 
fine yellow and black checked patterns, produced by drawing narrow 
strips of white tanned parchment through little slits eut in the material. 
Plate xxi, 11, represents a typical example of this class of ornamenta- 
tion. The women living on the islands of Bering sien are noted for 
doing handsome work of this kind. 
