It is not unusual for the women to display considerable taste in ornamenting their garments, using the steel-gray pelt of the harp seal to contrast with the black of the harbor seal, and so on. The edges of the hood and sleeves are frequently trimmed with skin from a dark colored young dog; or a strip of polar bear skin, whose long white hairs shed the rain better than those of any other mammal.
Fig. 37. Eskimo women’s
deerskin coat (back).
Fig. 38.—Eskimo woman’s
deerskin coat (side).
It is not rare to find loops of sinew or of sealskin attached to the breast or back of a woman’s garments. These are for tying small articles, such as a needle case or a snuff-bag, to the clothing for convenience and to prevent loss.
A peculiar style of ornamentation is shown in Fig. 39 and 40, No. 3005, a woman’s coat from Fort Chimo. The front of the skirt is fringed with little lead drops, bean-shaped in the upper row and pear-shaped in the lower, and pierced so that they can be sewed on. These lead drops are furnished by the trader at the price of about a cent and a half each, in trade. The trimming of this frock cost, therefore, about $4. The four objects dangling from the front of the frock are pewter spoon-bowls. Across the breast is a fringe of short strings of different colored beads, red, black, yellow, white, and blue. Jingling ornaments are much prized.