The Literary echo, and Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1851-1854, 1851-11-06

distinguished by broad band made of
fancy figured webbing about two and half
inches wide, sewed on each side of the
front Of their pants, extending nearly the
whole length of them. A married woman
can also be distinguished from an unma-
ried one by the hair, which in both cases
is tied upon the top of the head, and the
ends of that of the married are coloured
blue, and of the unmarried red. This en-
ables a gallant to act the amiable without
danger of making advances to some one
already married, and getting stray shot
! from an injured husband The boots are
made very neatly, slender and well pro-
portioned. The upper leather is colored.
They tan deer skins with urine, and their
seal skins are dressed in beautiful man
ner, simply by drying and rubbing them
with a smooth stone. A pair of slippers
completes the wardrobe of a lady in the
Esquimaux country; these are made of
deer skin, and neatly fringed round the
tops with white rabbits fur. The clothing
which was shown us was made in very
tasty and strong manner, every thread used
being made of the sinews of the deer, and
of course very durable. The dresses of the
males are very similar to the marred ladies
with the exception that they are longer and
rather heavier The Danes are scattele
about among the Esquimaux, and furnish
them with what few foreign articles they
may want, which are limited to steel for
their spears, and some few ornaments for
their dresses and coloring for their hair
and ladies' boots. The seal furnishes them
with almost everything they seem to re-
quire- food clothing, and even fuel.
"Kyacs" are kind of boats used by
this people, and are certainly very curious
affairs, four of which were brought in the
Advance. They are made by stretching
seal skins over light franc work Of wood
shaped very much like a hattened cigar
both ends being very sharp, with hole il
the top about IA inches in diameter. The
whole length of boat is about l2 feet, by
IA inches in width, and Is inches deep al
the centre. The bOatman slides his legs
and lips through the aperture in the toy
Of the boat, extending his legs lengthways.
while from his hips up are outside. This
part of the body is covered with seal skin
made the same as Jumper and lashed
with drawing strings at the bottom, to a
rim round the aperture in the boat.
The boatman propels his boat with a
double bladed paddle, about seven feet in
length, made of light wood and slightly
made F.; the main part but l 1-2 Or inches
in diameter, and the blades 4 inches wide
and ornamented with ivory. With this he
moves his boat through the water at a very
rapid rate. BY dexterous movement with
his oar, an expert boatman will completely
turn his boat over, and come up on the
opposite side, still retaining his accustomed
situation In this fragile vessel he pursues
his avocation of spearing seals, in the
roughest weather, for which purpose he
has a barbed spear several inches long,
made of steel, aud very sharp, which is at
tached to an ivory point about s inches in
length, the whole to staff seven or eight
fhet in length and l-2 inches in dame
ter; to the steel is attached line, forty
feet in length, made of the hide of
the Walrus, and this is fastened to
a bladder made of the skin Of the seal and
filled with air lying on the after part of the
boat. When the spear enters the seal 1t
is arranged so that it dsengages itself from
the ivory point, by the slipping at the same
instant from the staffs, but is attached by
a string and floats with it, while at the
same time the bladder to which the line is
attached, is thrown over board, preventing
the seal from sinking any farther than the
length of the line the staff and seal are
then recovered at his leisure. For killing
water fowl, of which there are but few, a
sharp, round spear is used, attached to a
staff seven feet in length. These spears
are thrown with astonishing accuracy,
rarely, if ever, missing their mark.
Another manner, and the easiest by far,
of spcaring the se,l, is by doing it through
hole in the ice where they come up to
breathe they will frequently scratch holes
through the ice from the under side, where