582 



W. Thalbitzer 



pouches, which has now disappeared from Baffin Land, seems origin- 

 ally to belong to the women's broad and long coat-laps in front and 

 at the back. In Greenland it is unknown^). It is a puzzle how the 



large women's boot of this type 

 found in the Giesecke collection in 

 the Hofmuseum in Vienna has come 

 into this collection, the other spec- 

 imens of which have been collected 

 by Giesecke during his stay in West 

 Greenland 1806—1813. The most 

 probable explanation is undoubtedly, 

 that a whaler who had first visited 

 Baffin Land and then the Greenland 

 coast has thus had the opport- 

 unity of bringing a specimen of this 

 strange foot-gear to Giesecke's col- 

 lecting ground^). 



FooTWARE. — The characteristic, 

 upturned soles seen on old-fashioned 

 boots from Ammassalik, men's as 

 well as women's, are everywhere in 

 agreement with the Eskimo shape. 

 In recent times they have been re- 

 placed in Greenland by other forms 

 approaching the shape of the Eu- 

 ropean boots. The old shape affords 

 a clue to the interpretation of the 

 Greenland myth about the origin of 

 the Europeans, as reported by Hans 

 Egede: '"a woman had children by 

 a dog; part of this mixed issue 

 she placed on an old boot- sole 



Fig. 304. Woman's dress. Sealskin anorak 



with the hair inside. Outdoor breeches 



of sealskin with fur-side out. Boots and 



stockings with fur brim above. 



(Holm coll.). i/io. 



1) Boas (1901) p. 356 states, though certainly 

 incorrectly, that such enormous Avomen's 

 boots have been found near Smith Sound 

 in Greenland. Neither from here nor 

 from Ponds Inlet have we any certain 

 proofs that they have been used. 



2) The boot in the Giesecke collection in 

 Vienna is mentioned in K. I. V. Steen- 

 strup's biographical introduction to 

 Giesecke's diary (1910, pp. XXIX— XXX, 

 note 2). 



