Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-06

rattlesnake dances the snake priests 20
oct to hunt the dangerous. kissing serpents
in this almost utter state of nature. al
though the rigors of such a hunt would
seem to demand some of the thick apparel
which they don for ceremonial purposes.
In war. moreover. most savages prefer to
be nude -,-tt-
Our northern savages cover themselves
with the furs or skins of animals. accord
ing TO weather conditions These of the
south prefer vegetable hbers and often
feathers. DR.. w j MCGEE. director OF
anthropoiogy at the St. Louis exposition.
found the Seri Indians below the Mexican
frontier to wear kits OF feathers extending
from the waist to the knee. This was the
dress OF both men and women TIE Coco
pas. to the north. wear only the breech
cloth In their athletic games. which free
dom from clothing enab Ies them 70 be
among the heetest runners In the world.
The Mot&ve woman we1rS under her scant
skirt a hustle made Of q roll OF soft barb.
poose rides astride when she has any dis
lance to travel
Evolution Of Clothing.
Cold was undoubtedly responsible for the
first clothing. and modesty played a small
part in its fashioning. The nearer we APP
proach the equator the more nearly do we
reach state of absolute nudity for savage
man. The maiden daughters Of the Porto
Rican caciques or chiefs wore nothing but
necklaces and girdles OF beads. bu. the
married women wore aprons. did the
men. In tropical Africa utter nudity is the
fashion among the primitive tribes.
The earliest conventional dress of which
we have any record was that depicted In
the sculptures of Mesopotamia dating back
perhaps 1000 years before Christ 1t was
a large, oblong piece of material draped
over the left shoulder and under the right
arm This. garment was the style in Egypt
al the SAM date, and was worn In Assyria
and Persia, finally becoming fashionable I'm
Greece. The women of those days like
the men. wore this garment loose. save I'm
Egypt, whose daughters were the first to
invent the art of drawing-the garment very
tightly about their bodies and limbs so that
the outlines of the entire form might be dis
tinctly seen
Only the aristocrats wore even so much
as this simple garment in these earliest
historic times. The dress OF the common
people in both summer and winter consisted
merely of a loin-cloth. very much like that
worn by savages of today.
Invention of Trousers.
Trousers originated In the highlands of
central Asia, the first Of which there Is
any record having been worn by the Aryan
people. who under Cyrus. descended from
the mountains into the plains OF Mesopot-
anna The Romans later observed that
trousers were worn by their barbarian"
neighbors, the Germanic tribes as well as
by the Persians and others. The Romans
themselves finally adopted trousers when
campaigning or travelling north Of the Alps
but were careful to DON them as soon as
they re-entered Italy
For small children to be left entirely nude
Was customary among our classical fore
bears. 1t is still a custom among the low
er classes In many tropical countries, not
ably the West Indies. Indian children out
side the zone of the Indian school rarely
wear clothing when the weather Is warm
No discussion OF this theme. suggested by
the Presidents intereession in behalf of
the Igorrote. would be complete without a
reconsidera ton OF a small bit of Du Maur-
iers philosophy of clothes.
III our climate were such that could
go without any clothes on We probably
should; said the author of ''Trifby" in
which case. although we should still muir
der and lie and steal and bear false wit
ness against our neighbor and break the
sabbath day and take the Lords name in
vain. much depiorable wickedness OF an
other kind would cease to exist for sheer
lack of mystery"
JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS.