160 



JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



The only peculiarity which we observed 

 in their mode of rearing children, consists 

 in the use of a sort of cradle, extremely well 

 adapted to their mode of life. The infant 

 is placed in the bag, having its lower extre- 

 mities wrapt up in soft sphagnum or bog- 

 moss, and may be hung up in the tent, or 

 to the branch of a tree, without the least 

 danger of tumbling out; or in a journey 

 suspended on the mother's back, by a band 

 which crosses the forehead, so as to leave 

 her hands perfectly free. It is one of the 

 neatest articles of furniture they possess, 

 being generally ornamented with beads and 

 bits of scarlet cloth, but it bears a very 

 strong resemblance in its form to a mummy 

 case. 



The sphagnum in which the child is laid 

 forms a soft elastic bed, which absorbs 

 moisture very readily, and affords such a 

 protection from the cold of a rigorous win- 

 ter, that its place would be ill supplied by 

 cloth. 



The mothers are careful to collect a suf- 

 ficient quantity in autumn for winter use ; 



