Prior to the advent of Europeans to the Arctics, fringes of deerskin were the most popular form of ornament for clothing; but to-day the Eskimo women are passionately fond of elaborate beadwork. The beads are of European manufacture, but the design in which they are applied is native. The favourite beads are small and brightly coloured. The native sempstress will also sew two or three coins down the front of the inside jacket and down the tail of the dress, or even the bowls of a few spoons. These clink as they walk, and greatly delight their wearers. The Eskimo tailor has a wonderfully correct eye, and can so scrutinise a figure as to be able to turn out a well-fitting suit of skins without taking a single measurement, or “trying on.” The men’s clothes are plain, without ornamentation, and the fashion of them does not vary with the season. In summer they are lined with the white skins of the baby seal, which are as soft and fleecy as lambs’ wool; in winter, with the skins of the fawn, which are very soft and warm. The Eskimo housewife prides herself greatly upon her store of skins. These, and the soapstone cooking utensils, and the carefully housed poles for the summer tupik, dogs, sled, and kyak, constitute the wealth of a native family. Fine sewing thread is made from the sinew of deer’s legs, scraped and dried. For stouter purposes, seal sinew is used. Eskimo stitching requires to be seen to be appreciated. It is amusing to note that the age of a child can be told at a glance by the length of the tail of its little jacket. Apropos generally of domestic tastes, a word must be added on the women’s hairdressing. The hair is generally parted down the centre and plaited on either side of the face, the two plaits being looped under the ears (reminiscent of the early Victorian style!) and tied in a knot at the back. In some tribes the women gather their hair up and bind it all into a stiff vertical cone on the top of the head. They weave into this stubborn erection every hair which comes out, so that in time a woman’s age may be guessed by the size of her topknot. It used to be the fashion in bygone days to tattoo the face with linear designs, but this has now practically died out. It is a common error of writers upon the Eskimo folk to assert that they oil themselves to keep out the cold, that they drink oil as a food, and revel in grease generally. Nothing of this is correct. The dirtier and the greasier a man is, the colder he is; so every effort is made—not after cleanliness exactly, as that is an impracticable standard—to keep grease from the clothes and the person. When engaged in preparing or cleaning anything very oily, the women remove part of their dress to save it, and afterwards rub away as much of the grease as possible from their hands and arms. Seal oil and melted blubber act as strong purgatives, hence it would be impossible to use them as drink, besides they are required for the lamps.