Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1904-05-20
CLOTHES MADE FROM SKINS
Garments of the Eskimos Made nv the
Women, Who Wear Panta-
looms Like Men.

The chief material Of the clothing Of
t the Eskimo is the skin of the reindeer,
| which is used in various stages Of
] pelage or tanning. Fine, short-haired
summer skins. especially those OF dogs
and fawnS, are used for making dress
garments and underclOthes. The heayi-
+! est winter skins furnish extra warm
jackets for cold weather. The white
fspotted skins of the tame Siberian
reindeer are especially valued for full
/ dress jackets.
The skins of the white mountain
sheep, white and blue fox, wolf, dog,
ermine and lynx, are sometimes made
into clothing. Underjackets OF elder
| duck skins are often pressed into ser
vice. Sealskin dressed with the hair
on is used-only for breeches and boots,
and for those rarely. OF late years.
says the American Tailor and Cutter,
drilling and calico have been intro
! duced into the makeup of some OF the
minor garments.
The dress of the men consists of a
loose hooded frock, without opening,
| except at the neck and wrists This
reaches just over the hips and very
rarely to midthigh, where it is cut OF
at the waist. Under this garment is
worn a similar one of lighter skin and
sometimes without a hood. The thighs
are clad in one or two pairs of tight
fitting knee breeches, rather loose. but
| fitted to the shape of the leg. They are
very low in front, but are much higher
behind, sometimes as high as the small
of the back. They are held in place by
a girdle or thong around the waist and
are usually fastened below the knee,
over the boots, with a drawstring.
On the legs and feet are worn, first q
| pair of long deerSkin stockings with
the hair inside. then slippers of tanned
| sealSkin, in the bottom of which is
| spread a layer of whalebOne shavings,
and outside a pair Of close-fittins
boots, held in place by a string around
| the ankle, which reaches above the
knee and ends with a rough edge COW
cred by the breeches. Dress boots
| often end in an ornamental border
with drawstring just below the knee
| The boots are of reindeer skin, with
white sealskin soles for winter and dry
weather, but in summer waterproof
boots of white whaleskin- are worn.
Overshoes of the same material, reach
ing just above the ankles, are some
times worn over the winter boots.
The women wear tight-fitting deer
| skin pantalOons with the hair next the
skin, and outside of these a similar
pair made of the skins from deer legs,
with the hair out, and having soles of
| sealskin, but no ankle strings. The
wOmen's pantalOons, like those of the
men, are fastened with girdIe just
above the hips. 1t appears that they
| do not stay up very well, as the women
are continually hitching them up and
/ tightening their girdIes, like some old
sailor
| Until they reach manhood the boys
wear pantaloons like the women, but
their Jackets are cut Just like those Of
the men,
The well-tO-do Eskimos generally
own several complete suits of clothes
and present a neat appearance when
not engaged in dirty work The poorer
classes wear one suit for all occasions
until it becomes shabby. New clothes
are seldom put on till winter. The
outer frock is not often worn in the
iglu, or hut home, being usually taken
off before entering the room
AT present there is no such thing as
an Eskimo tailor, for the women of
| each Eskimo household usually make
the garments of all the members of
the family. Not only this. but the Es-'
KINDS are exceedingly conservative In
| the matter of changes in the style of
| their raiment and respond very slowly
to the undermining influences in this
particular which have reached their
neighborhood.
JAPS ARE BUSINESS LIKE.
| Scene of Battalion Leaving Tokio for