ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA. 191 



of dwelling previous to the coming of the white man. I enclose a sketch 

 of both the exterior and interior of one of these mud huts. The sides are 

 made of logs, plastered over with mnd ; the roof is almost flat, made of 

 poles, covered first with prairie grass and then earth. There is always a 

 fireplace, not built into the wall, but standing a little way from it. It is 

 just a long, mud, rudely constructed chimney, reaching from a foot above 

 the roof down to the ground inside the hut, a little widened at the base, 

 and an arched opening in front for the fire. Sometimes the hut has a 

 little square hole for a window, but more often the only aperture is the 

 doorway. The floor is partly covered witb poles, flattened on the upper 

 surface. A few sticks stuck into or between the logs serve for pegs. The 

 occupants of two or three teepees usually unite for the winter, and occupy 

 one mud hut between them. The hut would not be more than twelve by 

 eighteen feet in size. 



Clothing and Ornaments. 



, A man's dress consists of a breech cloth ; a pair of leggings made of 

 coloured blanket or cloth, with a fringe of long loose strips down the outer 

 side of each leg ; a pair of buckskin moccasins ornamented with beads ; 

 and over his shoulders a white, scarlet, or parti-coloured blanket. This 

 is his whole dress. He wears no hat. His blanket is wrapped round his 

 shoulders, or up around his head, or slipped down to his waist — according 

 to the temperature of the weather or the whim of the moment. His neck 

 is encircled by several necklaces, made of twisted bi'ass wire, large bright- 

 coloured beads, bones of a deer's tail, the small bones of a deer's foot, or 

 the claws of a bear. He has earrings, made of brass, wire, beads, or 

 shell (brought from the Pacific coast). Generally he wears a coil or so of 

 brazen rings on his fingers. Sometimes his wrists or arms are tattooed, 

 but not often. Usually his face is painted either with crimson or ochre. 

 He does not wear feathers in the head as a general thing. These are kept 

 rather for special occasions. His hair is allowed to grow long and is 

 plaited ; usually a plait on each side of the face, hanging vertically, and 

 one or two more plaits at the back ; the hair is sometimes twisted into a 

 knot at the point known as the scalp-lock. A man has the greatest ob- 

 jection to his hair being cut short ; he wears it, it would seem, in defiance 

 of his enemies, and boasts that none shall cut it oS" while he is alive. 

 The dress of the woman resembles that of her European sister, but is very 

 roughly constructed and shorter in the skirt. She has no under gai-ments, 

 but wears leggings like the men and a blanket over her dress. Her neck, 

 arms, fingers, and ears are profusely ornamented with brass, bead, and 

 bone rings. Little children under four years of age sometimes have 

 nothing on but a little apology for a shirt, reaching barely to the waist, 

 but their little arms and necks are loaded with ornaments and charms. 

 There is never any indecent exposure on the part of either sex. They are 

 always particularly careful about this. The women, however, make no 

 attempt to hide their breasts when suckling their infants. 



The Blackfeet women do not use board cradles for their babes like the 

 Ojibways. Board cradles are seldom seen west of Lake Superior. The 

 Blackfeet babes are wrapped up warmly and laced into a bag, which the 

 mother carries on her back. 



A chief's dress sometimes has marked on it a record of his exploits. 

 Chief Crowfoot bade us count the black lines on his buckskin rope — they 

 amounted to 143 — and he said that he had been in 143 fights. 



