208 THE HUDSON BAY ESKIMO. 



sbaiuan declared that a prevailing iiiisfortuue was the result of the tat- 

 tooing. At present the tattooing is confined to a few single dots on 

 the body and face. When a girl arrives at puberty she is taken to a 

 secluded locality by some old woman versed in the art and stripped 

 of her clothing. A smaU quantity of half-charred lamp wick of moss is 

 mixed with oil from the lamp. A needle is used to prick the skin, and 

 the jiasty substance is smeared over the wound. The blood mixes with 

 it, and iu a day or two a dark-bluish spot alone is left. The operation 

 continues four days. When the girl returns to the tent it is known 

 that she has begun to menstruate. A menstruating woman must not 

 wear the lower garments she does at other times. The hind iiap of her 

 coat must be turned up and stitched to the back of the garment. Her 

 right hand must be half-gloved, or, iu other words, the lirst two joints 

 of each finger of that hand must be uncovered. The left hand also re- 

 mains uncovered. She must not touch certain skins and food which 

 at that particular season are in use. 



CLOTHING. 



Like most Eskimo, the Koksoagrayut are clothed almost entirely 

 iu the skins ot animals, though the men now wear breeches of mole- 

 skin, duck, jeans, or denim procured from the trading store. Eeindeer- 

 skin is the favorite material tor clothing, though skins of the dif- 

 ferent seals are also used. The usual garments are a hooded fi'ock, 

 of different shapes for the sexes, with breeches and boots. The latter 

 are of various shapes for different weather, and there are many i^at- 

 terns of mittens. Rain frocks of seal entrail are also worn over the 

 ftirs iu stormy weather. Some of the people are very tidy and keep 

 their clothing in a respectable condition. Others are careless and 

 often present a most filthy sight. The aged and orphans, unless the 

 latter be adopted by some well-to-do person, must often be content 

 with the cast-off apparel of their more fortunate fellow-beings. 



The hair of the skins wears off iu those places most liable to be 

 iu contact with other objects. The elbows, wrists, and knees often are 

 without a vestige of hair on the clothing. The skin wears through 

 and then is patched with any kind of a piece, which often pi-esents a 

 ludicrous appearance. 



The young boys and girls are dressed alike, and the females do not 

 wear the garments of the adults until they arrive at puberty. It is a 

 ludicrous sight to witness some of the little ones scarcely able to walk 

 dressed in heavy deerskin clothing, which makes them appear as 

 thick as they are tall. They exhibit about the same amount of pride 

 of their new suits as the civilized boy does. They are now able to go 

 out into the severest weather, and seem to delight in rolling around iu 

 the snow. 



Infants at the breast, so small as to be carried in the mother's 

 hood, are often dressed in skins of the reindeer fawns. The garment 



