The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-08-03
BABES OF THE WORLD
The Cradles and Toys Of a Dozen
Different Nations.
HOW TURKS TREAT CHILDREN
The Baby is King the World Over-The
Gold Cradle OF the Sultan-The
Dolls Of Alaska.

correspondence of The HERALD. IA new
collection of dolls and cradles has been
lately received at the National Museum at
Washington. w. w. Rockhall has brought
in some information as to the babies of the
wilds of Thibet Prof. Hitchcock will
shortly put forth a report describing baby
hood among the Amos, or the long haired
men of Northern Japan, and Mr.. Niblack,
of the navy, has brought from Alaska
number of dolls and cradles showing how
the little ones amuse themselves on Behring
straits. The babies of all the world have
their representatives here, and have spent
several days this week among the cradles
of more than half of the globe.
THE MOST CURIOUS CRADLES
are those Of the fiat headed Indians. They
are of different shapes and sizes, and most
of them are intended for the carrying of
the baby on the back One is made much
like sugar trough or a small canoe. In
this the wood is scooped out until there is
a hole Just big enough to admit the body of
the child. Toe top of the hole is little
higher than the remainder, and it is upon
this that the childs head must rest. AS it
the edge of the wood, and board swung
on pivots falls down from the head of the
cradle and presses against the child's fore
head. A spring is attached to this board,
and this spring is elastic, so that steady
pressure Is produced against the head of
the child. This continuous pressure forces
the child's head cut Of shape and makes il
produce its tribes idea of beauty, which is
that the face from the nose to the rown of
the head should go back in straight line.
The baby is put into the cradle as soon as it
is born. and it is kept in it for eight weeks.
The cradle has q strap fastened to its back
and its mother carries both cradle and baby
around with her, resting the burden upon
her shoulders and passing the strap around
her mead. When she wishes to nurse the
baby she turns the head board around to
the side, and when she gives it a bath she
merely takes of its clothing from the waist
down anu leaves the remainder Of the body
IL position. 1t is only the strongest babies
who can stand such treatment, and many a
little at-head baby dies in its cradle.
When 1t does so the cradle becomes its
colin, and it is laid in it upon the water of
some pool, which, from that time becomes
sacred. The washing of these babies is
always done with cold water, and the
mother performs the operation in the same
way that the Chinese laundryman dampens
MS clothes. She fills her mouth with water
holds 1t there a moment and then squirts it
out IN spray over the child. Among some
OF the Indians babies are bathed as soon as
they are born in cold water, and the
Alaskan baby gets sea bath every day.
OTHERS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES
along the Northwest Pacific press the
heads OF their babies into curious shapes in
different ways. There is in the museum a
fastened rrin CHI h0,,
the deformity OF the Chinuks is produced
The baby's head is placed in kind of a
wedge and 1t is strapped to one board so
tight that it cannot move and another board
Is passed down over its forehead so that a
continuous pressure is exerted The back
of the head lies on little pillow and this
other board is frightened from day to day
until its end touches the nose. 1t presses
the head outward and makes it wider at the
front than the ordinary head, but it is said
not TO be painful, and one OF the professors
of the museum tells me that it does not
seem to affect the intelligence of the people.
In some cases it is said that Indians keen
their children in these cradles until they
are year cid. They wash their children
with whale oil or other grease before they
bind them up, and they take the greatest
delight in showing the success which they
make in the compression of the head
There is no doubt but that they love their
babies, and they would die for them as
much as woulo an American mother This
notwithstanding is not confined to American
Indians. A number of the tribes of the
islands of the Pacific flatten the heads. and
the natives OF Sumatra hatten their babies
noses as well. They pull out the ears of
the babies to make them Stanu at an angle
with the head, and in the Carolina islands
1t is said that the little girl babies have
their nostrils pressed out in order TO make
them beautiful. In Tahiti the forehead and
the back of the head of the boys are said tc
be pressed upward, so that the skull ap-
pears IA the form of wedge, and in one
part of Australia the natives squeeze the
head of a baby into the shape of a sugar
loaf, while in Siberia head fiattening, such
as is found among these Indians is not un-
common.
Europe and America seem to be
THE LANDS OF CRADLES.
The secretary of the apanese legation saw,
that no cradles of any kind are used jr
Japan, and the Japanese baby is never ban
daged. Ii is wrapped loosely in cloth OF
some KIND and placed en- soft mattress OF
the floor. There it stays until it is OLD
enough to clasp the body of its mother with
Its legs, when 1t is tied upon her back anC
carried around with her wherever she goes
9he little japanese hoy or girl has TO take
but a few months old these babies are
strapped to the backs of their brothers OF
sisters, and it is not uncommon in Japan tc
see little four-year-o old boy tottering along
with baby on his back. AS soon as the
baby is old enough to walk tits put in train
ing for the next arrival. A doll is fastened
10 its back, and the weight of this is in
creased from day to day until its shoulders
become so strong at the age of three or foul
years that 1T can carry baby. The Greeks
had no cradles in the time of Plato, and the
first notice. we have of cradles in thr
classics is in the works of Plutarch. The
Turks used cradles, and they spend great
deal OF money in inlaying their babies
cradles with mother of pearl One of the
most valuable articles in the treasury NJ
the Sultan of Turkey is gold cradle stud
eed with diamonds. tits kept under guard
in Constantinople, and in it a dozen Spltans
have been rocked. The Turks are VERT
fond of their children, and they have cur
lous way of fastening them in the cradles
The BABY lies on its back with its arms
straight down by its side its legs fastened
down and its toes turned in. 1t is placed
upon hard mattress and it is wrapned M
IN bandages. The only thing it can move is
its head, and it is left in the cradle for five
or six hours at time. Its mother gives Il
opium in case it is restless, and it has ,
stick OF sugar candy to suck between
meals.
There are several hundred kinds of
INDIAN CRADLES
In the National Museum. Many of thes,
are in the shape of papoose bags, and til,
Esouimaux put the infant as soon as il i,
born on layer of moss in bag made o.
leather and lined with hair skin. The bae
is then laced up. 1t fastens the body of tho
child so that 1t cannot move, and makes Il
look like an Egyptian mummy. Anothe,
class of the Esquimaux put the child in :
bag and wrap it up SO that it looks like a