NELSON] ARTICLES OF USE AND ADORNMENT 59 
BELTS AND BELT BUTTONS 
Throughout the Eskimo country from the lower Kuskokwim to the 
Arctic coast, a favorite waist belt worn by the women is made from the 
incisors of reindeer. These are obtained by cutting off the tip of the 
lower jaw, leaving sufficient bone to retain the teeth in their natural 
position. These rows of teeth are sewed along a strap of rawhide, 
one overlapping the next in scale-like succession, so that they form a 
continuous series along its entire length. 
Some of these belts have a double row of such teeth, and as each set 
represents a reindeer, it is evident that a long period of hunting is 
necessary ere a sufficient number can be accumulated. 
In addition to the belts made of reindeer incisors, they have others 
made by fastening along the surface of a strap of tanned sealskin a 
series of smooth brass buttons in close succession, or they ornament 
the entire length of the outer surface of the belt with circles and lines 
of beads arranged according to the fancy of the wearer. 
When worn, the belts are brought loosely around the waist and held 
in place by a toggle or button, whichis attached to the belt by a short 
cord tied through a hole pierced in the button for the purpose. These 
cords are attached to the belt about a foot or fifteen inches from the 
ends, so that the latter hang down in front of the hips on each side. 
The belt buttons are passed through a cord loop on the opposite side 
of the belt and thus hold it in place. They are made of ivory, bone, or 
reindeer horn, and have very great variety of form. Some are merely 
rounded knobs, or are made from the tooth of a bear or walrus pierced 
in the middle, while others are in the form of hooks. Flat button- 
shape carvings, with squared, circular, or oval outlines are common, 
but most numerous of all are those made in the forms of seals, walrus, 
birds, and men. 
A number of these objects have been illustrated (plate XXvII) in 
order to show their great variety aud to demonstrate the skill and 
ingenuity in carving which these people possess. 
The following notes describe the character of those figured, which 
are made of ivory except where other substances are indicated. 
The specimen from Cape Nome, illustrated in plate Xxvu, 1, is a 
good example of this style of fastener. A similar object, shown in 
figure 2 of the same plate, is from Chalitmut; this is a fragment of 
deerhorn, an inch and three-quarters long and three-quarters of an 
inch in diameter. smoothly rounded, and pierced with a central hole. 
Another (figure 4), from Kotzebue sound, consists of a long, quadran- 
gular piece of walrus ivory an inch and a half long by half an inch in 
width, with a narrow, raised ear or projection on the middle of the 
inner surface, which is pierced lengthwise for the passage of a cord; 
the front is marked with incised lines. Figure 5 illustrates a specimen 
from Chalitmut, which is somewhat similar in shape to the last, 
