414 
was closed down the front) was fitted with a hood that drew over 
the head, inakinfi; caps so unnecessary that they were seldom woi-n 
except at dances. Amonp; all the Canadian Eskimo the shirt was 
cut away at the sides like a European frock coat. Its length in front 
varied, but behind it had a very long tail that provided a useful 
appendage for fishermen and seal-hunters who sat on snow'-blocks 
for several hours over holes in the ice. The women’s shirt resembled 
the men’s excejfi that the shoulders were wider and the hood more 
expansive. Mothers enlarged the back to make room for their 
babies, who nestled snugly underneath, against the warm body; for 
neither cradle-boards nor moss-bags found favour in the Arctic. The 
rest of the costume w^as equally well devised. Both sexes wore 
breeks, the women’s being a little shorter than the men’s. The latter 
had stockings that just overlapped the breeks, and during the summer 
months boots of equal length that they rej^laced with low shoes 
during the winter. Women wore similar low shoes in winter. But 
their stockings were like very wide hip boots that tucked into the 
belt with straps, and, in Hudson bay, had a large pocket on each 
outer side; and their summer boots were cut to the same shape 
as the stockings. 
All these garments were normally of caribou fur, except the 
shoes and boots, which w ere made of sealskin ; and they w^ere w'orn 
double during tlie wdnter, wdth the fur of the inner garment against 
the body. Since caribou hides lose their fur with flampness most 
men possessed sealskin shirts for rainy or misty weather, and summer 
seal-hunters used w^aterproof shirts of the same material, dehaired, 
which they lashed round the cockpits of their kayaks. The seal- 
skin boots recpiired constant repairing when travelling over stony 
ground, and the women’s hood, hip stockings, and boots w’ere awT- 
w^ard and ungainly. Yet tlie complete costume, even in winter, 
W'eighed only about 5 pounds, and w’as warmer and more satisfactory 
than wa)ollen clothing of twdce its weight. Hence white men explor- 
ing the Arctic have freciuently adopted it in preference to Eurojiean 
dress. 
If the Pacific (’oast Indians excelled in carpentry, the Eskimo 
excelled in general artisanship. They w^ere perhaps the most skilful 
of all Canadian aborigines in chipping glassy stones like hint and 
