QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. 107 B 



thick fringe of twisted wool. Finely shred cedar bark is used as a 



basis or warp, on which the wool of the mountain goat is worked in. 



The cloaks are made in many small separate pieces, which are after- Peculiar cloak 



J *■ x or shawl, 



wards artfully sewn together. The colours of wool used are white, 



yellow, black and brown, and the pattern bears a relation to the totem, 



so that an Indian can tell to what totem the cloak belongs. These 



cloaks or blankets are valued at about $30. They are used specially 



in dancing, and then in conjunction with a peculiar head-dress, which 



consists of a small wooden mask ornamented with mother-of-pearl. 



This stands up from the forehead, and is attached to a piece fitting 



over the head, ornamented with feathers, &c., and behind supporting a 



strip of cloth about two feet wide, which hangs down to the feet, and 



is covered with skins of the ermine. The cloaks are described by the 



chronicler of Dixon's voyage as " a kind of variegated blanket or 



cloak, something like our horse-cloths ; they do not appear to be wove, 



but made entirely by hand, and are neatly finished. I imagine that 



these cloaks are made of wool collected from the skins of beasts killed 



in the chase ; they are held in great estimation, and only wore on 



extraordinary occasions." 



Shred cedar bark, twisted into a turban, and stained dull red with j^ r d b a a r n bark 

 the juice of the bark of the alder, is frequently worn about the head, 

 more, however, as an ornament than a covering, and apparently with- 

 out any peculiar significance among the Haidas, though with the 

 Tshimsians and Indians of Millbank Sound it is only worn on occasions 

 of religious ceremony, and it would be considered improper at other 

 times. 



Feathers, buttons, beads, portions of the shell of the Haliotis, with Ornaments, 

 the orange- coloured bill of the puffin, are used as ornaments, strung- 

 together or sewn on the clothes. The Dentalium shell was formerly 

 prized and frequently worn, but has now almost disappeared. 



Painting is frequently practised, but is generally applied to the face Paints and 

 only. Vermillion is the favourite pigment, and is usually — at least at 

 the present day — rubbed on with little regard to symmetry or pattern. 

 Blue and black pigments are also used, but I have not observed in any 

 case the same care and taste in applying the paint to form a sym- 

 metrical design as is frequently seen among the Indians east of the Piocky 

 Mountains. The face is almost always painted for a dance, and when — 

 as very often happens — dances recur on occasions of ceremony for 

 several nights, no care is taken to remove the pigment, and most of 

 the people may be seen going about during the day with much of it 

 still adhering to their faces. To prevent unpleasant effects from the 

 sun in hot weather, especially when travelling, the face is frequently 

 first rubbed with fat, and then with a dark brownish powder made by 



