File:In the Alaskan wilderness (1917) (14754427726).jpg

Identifier: inalaskanwildern00gord (find matches)
Title: In the Alaskan wilderness
Year: 1917 (1910s)
Authors: Gordon, G. B. (George Byron), 1870-1927
Subjects: Eskimo languages Alaska -- Description and travel
Publisher: Philadelphia : The John C. Winston Company
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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ong strips.This waterproof coat is another Eskimo inven-tion that deserves careful attention. It is wornover the furs, it weighs nothing, it has a hoodattached and will not leak. Waterproof bootsand even coats are made also of salmon skin andthis material is used very extensively for makingwaterproof bags. Sealskin with hair removedand well oiled is used for the best waterproofboots. Mens and womens tunics are sometimes madeof bird skins, the mens usually of the skins fromthe breasts of geese and the womens from theskins of the breasts of various ducks. Thesegarments are often very beautiful. A womens workbag contains always an assort-ment of sinews taken from the white whale, thewalrus or the deer. These are shredded andtwisted into thread and used for sewing. Italso contains needles made of ivory, thimblesof tough seal skin, bodkins, needle-case of boneor ivory and the uluok or womans knife. Among the Kuskwogamiut the men wear labrets,one in either side of the lower lip. They are210
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A WOMAN S COAT MADE OF DUCK SKINS made of ivory or of stone. The men and womenalike wear earrings of ivory and beads. Elaborateheadgear is sometimes worn by the women whenthey dress up. An example is shown on platefacing page 220. It belonged to the same womanthat owned the precious birdskin coat shown oppo-site this page. Both these articles would be re-served by the owner for the dances, festivals andother great occasions in which the Kuskwogamiutdelight, which take an important place in theirsocial life and make up a large part of eachwinters programme. FOOD The Kuskwogamiut, like their Innuit brethreneverywhere, are children of the sea; they lookto the sea for their living and not to the land.The mountains are the abode of spirits, hostileto mankind, lying in wait for the hunter. Onthe other hand, they enjoy the freedom of thesea, which is their favorite hunting ground.The whale has always been the principal quarryof these hunters of the deep. When the icebreaks loose in June and

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