The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-08-03
II WORLDS BABIES.
hbont Cradles and Toys of
! Dozen Nations.
..tsEADs or THE PACIFIC.
v.rrths OF the Infants Naked
..s,hood in Japau-The Gold
Cradle OF the Sultan.

RnE10UoQ IA o~t -
Cradle OF the Sultan.
,w..-,xaros CIrY. July 2s.--lCopy-
49, "A new collection of dolls and
-. has been lately received at the
S..s.e1l Museum at Washington. w. w.
..sn.lI has brought in some information
4 I. lhe babies of the wilds OF Thibet.
~ Hitchcock will shortly put forth
- describing babyhood among the
.<.x = the long-haired men of Northern
z..S nd Mr.. NibIack, of the navy, has
*z--st nom Alaska q number of dolls
"a. <,.aIes showing how the little ones
- themselves on Behring straits. The
1858 4 Ill the world have their repre-
.-.ssives here, and have spent several
- ,bis week among the cradles Of more
e hsH the globe.
- most curious cradles are those of the
.ss..ded Indians. They are Of different
- and sizes, and most OF them are in
s;.6 ior the carrying of the baby on the
- One Is made much like a sugar
~ or : small canoe. In this the wood
ss.opsd out until there is hole just big
s.urn to ad NIT the body of the child. The
s. n dc hole is little higher than the re-
1870. and it Is upon this that the child 3
s..1 must rest. AS it lies there, its head
- inst tri]e above the edge
ihs wood, and board swung
= nIvots falls down from the head of
= radle and presses against the chiid's
1.uhead. a spring is attached to this board,
~ fh1s spring Is elastic, so that steady
ruys Is produced against the head of
g ana. This continuous pressure forces
q child's head out Of shepe and makes 1t
Suauce is tribes idea of beauty, which is
- IL facs from the nose to the crown
Z ~ bead should go back in q straight
- The baby is put into this cradle Is
-us q Il Is born and it is kept in it for
5ybfvpeks. The cradle has strap fastened
4 n tsck. and its mother carries both
I'M md baby around with her, resting
~ hufaen upon her shoulders and pass.
y - strap around her head. When she
rskn 20 nurse the baby she turns the
~ hoard around to the side. and when
= siyss it its bath she merely takes off its
blkne from the waist down and leaves the
rn1Inder Of the body in position. 1t is
III he strongest babies who can stand
- heatment and many little fat-head
~ dies in its cradle. When it does
ne cradle becomes its coffin
= h laid on the water of some pool
III ifum that time becomes sacred. The
srkine Of these babies is always done in
"a sster, and the mother performs the
nusion IN the same way that the Chinese
kundsymsn dampens his clothes. She
n ha mouth with water, holds it there q
honsnt, and then squirts 1t out in spray
W he child. Among some of the Indians
mis- srs bathed as soon as they are born
hold water. and the Alaskan baby gets Q
= 18th every day.
Chem Of the Indian, tribes along the
Northwest Pacific press the heads OF their
hbe into curious shapes in different
sayA There Is In the museum board fas-
ked with strings, showing how the de-
kniy Of the Chunks is produced. The
hbgt head Is placed in kind of wedge,
~ i Is strapped to one board SO
ut that it cannot move and
noihu board Is pressed down over
p forehead so that q continuous pressure
hexerted. The back of the head lies on a
NE pillow and this other board is tight
~ nom day to day until its end touches
AtnosG II presses the head outward and
nake wider at the frontth the ordinary
~. but Is Is said not to be painful, ana
~ Of the professors of the museum tells
= that It does not seem to affect the in
n'issnes Of the people. In some
nees Il Is said that Indians keep
~ children in these cradles until they
magyar old. They wash their babies
hn Whale oil or other grease before they
~ them up, and they take the greatest
Nlghs N showing the success which they
sake IN the compression of the head.
men y no doubt but that they love their
Hoss, and they would die for them as
sso as would an American mother.
~ notwithstanding is not confined to
sneEcan Indians. A number of the
a'es o. the islands of the Pacific fiatten
neaus, and the natives of Sumatra
suea their babies noses as well. They
~ out the ears of the babies to make them
ad a an angle with the head. and in the
@ouna Islands it is said that the little
= babes have their nostrils pressed out
ouerto make them beautiful. In Tahiti
.0fenead and the back of the head of
q oo!s are said to be pressed upward, so
me skull appears in the form of q
~ ana in one part of Australia the
.asss squeeze the head of baby into
= shape of sugar-loaf, while in Siberia
easIsening such as is found among
- indians is not uncommon.
lu'ops and Amer lea seem to be the lands
asaies. The secretary OF the Japanese
.s'0n says that no cradles of any kind
aseu N Japan, and the Japanese baby
Nsef oandaged. 1t is wrapped loosely
aseosh Of some kind and placed on a
-. mattress on the floor. There it stays
- y : Old enough to clasp the body of
lenef With its legs. when it is tied
~ nef pack and carted around with her
liver she goes. The little japanese
" sln has 10 take care of the baby of
aniy, and when but q few
s'as Old these babies are strappe d
NE bscks of their brothers or
and 1t is not uncommon in
- % zee little four-year-old boy tot
49, long with baby on its back. As
= = we baby is old enough to walk it is
~ : framing for the next arrival. A
! ~ : ns'ened to its back, and the weight
~ Z increased from day to day until
saoaiders become so strong at the age
-. 'ss or Tour years that IL can carry
he Greeks had no cradles in the
49,, riato, and the first notice we have
ks,.ss 10 the classics is In the works of
ca. The Turks use cradles and they
~. great deal of money in inlsying
moies' cradles with mother OF pearl.
we most valuable articles in the
- OF the Sultan of Turkey is
~ cradle studded with diamonds.
Aeps uuser guard In Constantinonle