Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-01-13

not infrequently these women, fndinl
life unbearable, commit suicide.
Women Tattoo Their Lips.
In their youth many of these wo
men are pretty. but their beauty is
short lived, even where they escape
the ugliness Of the tattooed upper
and lower lips. This dishguratlon is
supposed to have come from the de.
sire Of the women to affect the hairi-
ness Of lip Characteristic Of the men.
In the process the skin Of the lips
is cut in slashes parallel with the
lines Of the mouth, and afterward
there is a crosshatching of these
lines. with these cuts opened WIDE
SCOT from birch wood is rubbed into
the slashings after which washings
with water Of ash bark make the SCOT
indellble For days after the process
the lips OF the young woman may be
/ too sore to admit of taking food or
uttering speech, but her beauty has
been assured by the process and
nothing else matters. It is as com.
monplace a concession as a French
heel or a pierced ear in civilization.
The regulation thatched house OF
the Aino is more picturesque outside
than comfortable and clean within.
The floor is Of boards, but on these is
an accumulation OF dirt which easily
might conceal that fact In the cen.
ter Of this floor Is a depression, per.
haps three by five feet, which serves
as a fireplace the smoke finding It's
way when It can through an aperture
under the roof In all seasons a pot |
Of Japanese manufacture hangs over
the fire, and in 1t bubbles, and
smokes, and steams an indescribable
mixture Of flesh, and rice, and roots,
which are combined into food for the
family. Dried FISH are strung from
rafter and beams, vegetables are
hung in festoons; and over all set.
ties a thick. shiny coating Of smoke
in the warmest and llghtest days Of
the year the smoke in one OF these
houses will make eyes unaccustomed
to II water to the point Of blindness.
At night a large, fiat mussel she'll
filled with oil and supported by three
sticks In the ashes, gives light through
a coarse wick, revealing one or more
god sticks OF the household painted
In the ashes, and casting CHASTITY
shadows over the hairy and tattooed
faces Of the kindly savages lowering
around the embers Of the FIRE.
Try to Forget Death.
Death is something to be forgot
ten by the living Aino as soon as is !
possible Crude wooden monuments
are erected and man is buried with
his weapons and his household i'm.
plements, beside him, but the burial
places are far from the haunts Of the
living and are rarely visited. Sig. !
niiicant In this regard, the Aino. with (
all his cruel punishmeuts for crime,
never has executed even the most
'o!d-bloodod Of murderers. The
criminal is bound TO a cross for a
week. and after his release receives a
some sound advice from the Judge d
after which he may take his place q
among honorable men. This is the Il
modern method. Once a murderer
lad his nose and ears cut on and the o
endons Of his feet severed. Trials c
proving the guilt or innocence of the o
'ccused ones are novel. One Of these Q
the ordeal requiring the suspected Il
me to take a stone from the bottom C
i a Kettle OF boiling water, the other Il
Tor him to lift a piece OF red hot o
ron In the case OF the innocent al
urns should not result from either a,
{ these tests. Al
Worship Of the Bear. In
Il