70 
THROUGH WONDERLAND 
only in the lobes, but all around the rim. To these may be added the dark color 
of the skin, a medium stature, and a proud, erect bearing (this only applies to the 
men). The hands of the women are very small, and large feet are rarely met with- 
“ Before their acquaintance with the Russians, the only clothing of the 
T’linkits consisted of skins sewed together, which they threw around their naked 
bodies without regard to custom or fashion. In addition to this, they wore, 
on festive occasions, blankets woven out of the fleeces of mountain goats. 
From time immemorial they have possessed the art of dyeing this material 
black and yellow by means of charcoal and a kind of moss called sekhone. The 
patterns of these blankets, wrought in colors, exhibit an astonishing degree of 
skill and industry ; the hat, plaited of roots, is also ornamented with figures 
and representations of animals. 
“ Both men and women paint their faces black and red with charcoal or soot, 
and vermilion (cinnabar), which are their favorite colors. They are mixed with 
seal oil, and rubbed well into the cuticle; subsequently, figures and patterns 
are scratched upon this surface with sticks of wood. The wealthy T’linkits 
paint their faces every day, while the plebeians indulge in this luxury only occa¬ 
sionally. As a rule, the T’linkits of both sexes go barefooted. 
“ The men pierce the partition of the nose, the operation being performed 
in early childhood, frequently within a few weeks after birth. In the aperture 
thus made a silver ring is sometimes inserted large enough to cover the mouth; 
but the poorer individuals insert other articles, such as feathers, etc. They 
also pierce the lobes of the ear for the purpose of inserting shark’s teeth, 
shells, and other ornaments, while through the holes around the rim of the ear 
they draw bits of red worsted or small feathers. Veniaminoff states that each 
hole in the ear was pierced in memory of some event or deed. 
“ The ornamentation of the under lip of a female (now almost obsolete) 
marked an epoch in her life. As long as she remained single she wore this; 
but, as soon as she was married, a larger piece of wood or bone was pressed 
into the opening, and annually replaced by a still larger one, the inner side 
being hollowed out. It was, of course, impossible for these individuals to close 
their mouths, the under lip protruding, distended by the disk of wood or bone. 
“Veniaminoff states that among the T’linkits the married women are permitted 
to have what are called 1 assistant husbands,’ who are maintained by the 
wives. Among the T’linkits the office of vice-husband can only be filled by a 
brother or near relative of the husband. 
“ The T’linkits burn their dead upon funeral pyres, with the exception of the 
bodies of shamans, or sorcerers, which are deposited in boxes elevated on posts. 
The dead slave is not considered worthy of any ceremony whatever; his corpse 
is thrown into the sea like the carcass of a dog. When a T’linkit dies his rela¬ 
tives prepare. a great feast, inviting a multitude of guests, especially if the 
deceased has been a chief or a wealthy member of a clan. The guests are 
chosen only from a strange clan; for instance, if the deceased belonged to the 
Raven clan, the guests must be from the Wolf clan, and vice versa. No certain 
