THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 



269 



admit the head and left arm to pass through, the mode of wearing them being over 

 the right shoulder and under the left arm. 



The left side of the garment is sewed up, but the right side remains open ; the 

 body is, however, tolerably well protected, and both arms are left at liberty for action. 

 As a further security on the pjbrt which covers the breast they sometimes fix on the 

 inside thin laths of wood.* 



Fig. 46. 

 Detail of "Weaving Aemor. 



(Cat, No. 49213, U. S. N. M. TlingU. Collected by J. J. McLean. ) 



Fig. 53 is a rear view of a wooden cuirass or body armor from 

 Sitka, showing method of strapping it to the body. It is from a 

 specimen in the I^ational Museum (No. 49213) consisting of numerous 

 (seventy-four) rods of hard wood about 2 feet long, woven together with 

 dark and white twine in alternate bands. The threads are sometimes 

 single and sometimes in pairs, and are made to pass over and under the 

 rods in pairs, but in such manner that the overlappings alternate from 

 one row to the next. This is shown in detail in Fig. 46, where la and 

 lb represent the parts of one cord, and 2a and 26 represent those of 

 another. The view represents the upper left hand corner of the weav- 

 ing and two upper threads, showing seven rods in both plan and sec- 

 tion. As stated, this method of running the cords or twine is varied by 

 occasionally running them in pairs. Fig. 43, Plate xiii, is a front 

 view of the same specimen of armor. Fig. 49, Plate xiv, represents 

 another variety of body armor in which the wood is in the shape of 

 laths or broader flat strips of wood, also woven together with twine. 

 Strips of hide were sometimes used to secure the strips of wood to- 

 gether; and sometimes the breast piece or covering was in one solid 

 thick piece. The armor shown in Plate xiv is from a sketch in 

 Lisiansky's Voyage, p. 150, Plate i. The method of wearing it is shown 



"Vancouver, Voyage, Vol. ii, p. 339. 



