BULL, .sni 



CRADLES 



357 



Cradles. In North American ethnulo^y, 

 thedevictMii wliich the infant was bound 

 during the first months of life. It served 



ACOMA WOMAN WITH CRADLE, 



for both cradle and baby'^ carriage, more 

 especially tlie latter. In the arctic region, 

 where the extreme cold would have been 

 fatal, cradles were not used, tlie infant 

 being carried about in the hood of the 

 mother's fur ])arka; the jMackenzier. tribes 

 put the baby in a bag of moss. In the 

 warmer regions also, from the boundary 

 of Mexico southward, frames were not 

 universal, but the child, wearing little 

 clothing, was in some way attached to 

 the mother and tiorne on her hip, where 

 it ]iartly rode and partly clung, or rested 

 in hammock-like swings. The territory 

 between these extremes was the home of 

 the cradle, which is found in great vari- 

 ety. The parts of a cradle are the l)ody, 

 the bed and covering, the pillow and 

 other appliances for the head, including 

 those for head flattening, the lashing, 

 the foot rest, the l)ow, the awning, the 

 devices for suspension, and the trinkets 

 and amulets, such as dewclaws, serving 

 for rattles and moving attractions as well 

 as for keeping away evil spirits. Cradles 

 differ in form, technic, and decoration. 

 Materials and designs were often selected 

 with great care and much ceremony, the 

 former being those best adapted for tlie 

 purpose that nature provided in each 

 culture area, and they, (juite as much as 

 the wish of the maker, decided the form 

 and decoration. 



Bark cradles. — These were used in the 

 interior of Alaska and in the Mackenzie 



drainage basin. They Mere made of a 

 single piece of birch or other bark, bent 

 into the form of a trough, with a hood, and 

 tastefully adorned with quill- 

 work. The bed was of soft fur, 

 the lashing of babiche. They 

 were carried on the mother's 

 back by means of a forehead 

 band. 



Skill rradh's. — Adoi)ted in the 

 area of the buffalo and other 

 u'leat mannnals. The hide with 

 the hair on was rolled up, in- 

 stead of bark, and in much the 

 same way, to hold the infant; 

 when composed of hide only 

 they were seldom decoi-ated. 



iMlike cradles. — On the jilains, 

 cradles made of dressed skins were lashed 

 to a lattice of flat sticks, especially among 



Sioux cradle 



the Kiowa, Comanche, and others; but all 

 the tribes now borrow from one another. 

 In these are to be seen the perfection of 



