Evening star., 1886-08-14

roE-EsaUIMAUx AND INDIAN BOOTS AND
MoCCAsINs
Any one who watches the movements of a
Chinese laundryman wearing the thick-soled
Chinese sandals, cannot help wandering
whether his locomotion is not aided consider
ably by the peculiar structure of the soes of his
sandals. They are thickest right under the ball
of the foot and slope up abruptly to the toe and
less abruptly to the heel. He rocks forward,
and the force of gravity is enlisted TO expedite
his forward motion. THAT is natural ten
dency In walking" said a scientist at the
National museum, to whom a STAR reporter
communicated this discovery in relation to the
Chinaman's foot covering The foot in the
natural state has a ball upon which one rocks
or rolls forward, and you have probably noticed
that You wear the soies OF your shoes thin
towards the toes, showing that your foot is try
ing to make a sort of Chinese sandal for itself"
THE SHOES AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM
Hoarded away among the treasures of the
National Museum are enough shoes and boots
and other articles of footwear to stock a shoe
store of respectable size. The proprietor of the
store, too, could announce with truth that he
had greater variety o! styles than was ever
before offered to the public. part of this COL
lection is displayed in the eases xposed TO pub
lie scrutiny. and a large part still remains
packed away in drawers, where the scientist
may have access to them for purposes OF study.
One may Imagine that there is very little
science about shoes, but the ethnologist classi-
fes and groups them just as the naturalist
divides and subdlSides the animals and plants
OF the world.
"A peculiar form of shoe will be found some
times In several different and widely separated
lands. The toe shoe or peg shoe, form of
the patten, Is found among the Japanese, in
India, and in north Africa. 1t is raised like an
arin P,fn 5a upon ,, 1e na sls o ndf s 6n peen
~ thick as lead pencil, sticking up about
where the big toe Is supposed To come. This
peg Is all that keeps the patten on or attached
10 the foot, as there are no uppers. The wearer
adjusts the patten TO his foot by placing the
peg between his big toe and its next neighbor.
he Keeps MS toes pressed together, and thus
carries the shoe along with him. He can take
his shoes OF by simply relaxing the grip of his
big toe.
THE EsoUIMAUx cRIMPED BOOT.
The Esquinaux wear comfortable-looking
boots made of deer skin and lined generally
with seal or deer skin with the fur turned in
ward. The soles made OF walrus hide. and
there Is a peculiarly in its manufacture which
enables one 10 pick out the EsquimauX boot.
The soles are cut lutte broader and longer
than the sole of the foot. Then the edges are
turned up all around and sewed to the deersl<in
upper. In order TO do this the EsquimauX
women-for the women make the boots-criInp
the tough walrus hide all around. "Iou can
almost always tell whether an ESquimauX
skull belonged TO man or woman, re-
marked Prof. Otis Mason to Il STAR reporter
II the front teeth are worn away-not decayed.
but worn of-it Is a sign that The skull belonged
tOa woman. The women crimp the soles of the
boots with their teeth. and it wears them
away" Many of the Esouimaux boots at the
museum are fanciiully trim ned with pretty
bits of fur, and were probably once proudly
worn by Esquirnaux bucks, who love to display
the evidences OF their wives skill and indus
try. The EsQuimaux boot almost invariably has
attached to IL deer skin thongs, by which 1t can
be bound tightly about the ankles. The legs
and foot are rooiny, SO that they can be stuffed
out with fur, or the wearer have inside
another and closer-ftting boot Tor the sake of
warmth. The Esquimaux generally has
house boot OF seal skin. which he does not re-
move when he puts on his heavier outdoor booG.
The EsQuimaux of Southern Greenland. who
n civ ly1r rT,fiE
the MOravian missionaries, make and wear
very neat looking deer skin boots, but still
have the crimped sole. Proi. Mason said that
he had found Portuguese shoe with this pccti-
liar crimp, and also a shoe made by a lumber
man in Maine
THE INDIAN BOOTS AND MoCCASINS.
Leaving the EsquimauX country and coming
south among the Athabascans aud other tribes
OF North America. the criulp gradually disap-
pears The Indians who early came into com
munication with the traders have their deer
skin boots and moccasins elaborately decorated
with beads Sometimes almost all the outer
surface is beaded. The soft deerskin Inocc;isin,
with Its noiseless tread, does not appear TO
have many different forms. Among some of
the Indians IL was highly oruamented. Asaong
the Apaches appears the very SIN npIeSt form of
shoe, merely a patch or sole OF cownide, with
thong TO bind IL To the foot. The Indians of the
souIhwCs. have their mOccasinS with the toe
turned up little and radGed. This little pad
in front OF the loot il called the cactus killer
In the county where the prickly cactus grows
the cactus killer is found To be a very desira-
Bile thing. As the Indian walks along the pad
IN front brushes down the prickly plants.
Indians further north have Il little bit OF dried
deerskin attached 10 the heel OF the moccasin
and dragging behind. This is called the snow
drag. and its purpose il to confuse the trail
lett 10y an Indian walking on the SNOW. The
drag scratches over the footprint and makes il
difficult Tor one To tel! whether the footprint Is
that OF man or u woinan- some oi the Sioux
Indians and their nei-hborS make and wear
nttIe bali boots or bu>kinS of deerslin. The
Blackfeet make theirs OF deerskin, smoked or
biaeked, from which fact they derived their
name
THE LAND OF SLIPPERS.
The Turks and the inhabitants Of lands under
Turkish domination wear slippers Il great deal
The slipper hourishes in q great variety Of FORMS
under the crescent. The MohamInedans are
nearly all fine leather WORKERS and their slip
pers, boots and shoes evidence their skill. y
light slipper Is generally worn inside .u, ont-
door boot or shoe, just The I.>guiInaux wear AN
inner boot Some Turkish shoes ARE made with
soies curving from the center towards the ends
and also towards the sides, so the Turk vino
wears them can not only rock forward like the
ShInaman, but can rock backwards or sidewise
The Nohammedans have many fantastic forms
OF shoes. and seem 10 fancy Very much shoes
with long pointed toes turned OF curied upward
Ike the blade OF "a ciIneter.
A CHEAP PAIR.
Among the Chinese peasants shoes made
rudeiy Of flag leaves or straw are used. Il pair
Of such shoes costs I, cents Another foot COW
ering found in China Is a half boot with heavy
soles, having formidable rows oi hob-nstiIs for
walking III winter upon ley ground. In south
ern China and parts of Japan shoes are made OF
rushes. woven as in Cauton mating the so!es
being made oi coils of pleated rushes. In Japan
sandals are worn largely. Among the poor
Amos are found shoes and coverings FOR the feet
fashioned out OF grape vine bark. In Mexico
and Central America rud, shoes OF a similar
character, made by twisting together cactus
nbers. are found The clog or .duy-el1tu *
1ound In many parts OF the world. In ReIyiurn
clogs are made of wood, shaped neatly and
prettily ornauented. \ Russia. shoe at the
National Museum has patent leather upper
with a fringe OF fur at the ankIe-top aud st,Ies
OF wood clogs, sometimes richly ornarnented
are worn among the Persian-. In south caro-,
lima clogs are made OF sweet gum wood and
sold To the ScandinaviIns in the northwest
The Chinese use Ielt largely in making shoes
sometimes making the sole as well A. the
uppers of felt The Japanese have forms OF
toe or peg shoes, in which. beS iiles the Toe
peg, u thong Is used to bind the shoe to the foot
Ihey have socks made like mittens, with "a
Iork or separate compartment for the big toe
In one odd collection The STAR reporter found
q Cornish patten, which consisted merely of :.
wooden body like the body of an Old ia, hIoned
skate. which rested upon little stills or supports
of iron. There were leather thongs with which
10 bind the pdtten TO the fect
CHINESE woNAS's SHOE
In a case In the museum is displayed a pair
OF shoes or pumps belonging to a Chinese lady
of quality. The shoe is prettily covered with
silk, and from heel TO toe il only three inches
long They look hardly large enough for 81 good
sized doii- Among the Russian shoes are many
Tor women. with heels nigh that the Scsir,.r
would nave To support nearly ali her weighs on
her Toes Modern American shoes are repre-
sented by every pattern, from the light patent
i>Thef dancing pump to the miners Drogsin. y
gentleman, VINO was looking over the collection
with 1HE STAR reporter, remarked, THAT Turk
1sh fashion OF wearing an inside slipper Is fash