Illustrations of the manners, customs, & condition of the North American Indians, Vol. 1 (of 2): With letters and notes, written during eight years of travel and adventure among the wildest and most remarkable tribes now existingCatlin, George
History
Illustrations of the manners, customs, & condition of the North American Indians, Vol. 1 (of 2): With letters and notes, written during eight years of travel and adventure among the wildest and most remarkable tribes now existing
Catlin, George
Indians of North America
The shirt, of which I have spoken, was made of two skins of the
mountain-sheep, beautifully dressed, and sewed together by seams which
rested upon the arms; one skin hanging in front, upon the breast, and
the other falling down upon the back; the head being passed between
them, and they falling over and resting on the shoulders. Across each
shoulder, and somewhat in the form of an epaulette, was a beautiful
band; and down each arm from the neck to the hand was a similar one,
of two inches in width (and crossing the other at right angles on the
shoulder) beautifully embroidered with porcupine quills worked on the
dress, and covering the seams. To the lower edge of these bands the
whole way, at intervals of half an inch, were attached long locks of
black hair, which he had taken with his own hand from the heads of
his enemies whom he had slain in battle, and which he thus wore as a
trophy, and also as an ornament to his dress. The front and back of
the shirt were curiously garnished in several parts with porcupine
quills and paintings of the battles he had fought, and also with
representations of the victims that had fallen by his hand. The bottom
of the dress was bound or hemmed with ermine skins, and tassels of
ermines’ tails were suspended from the arms and the shoulders.
The _Leggings_, which were made of deer skins, beautifully dressed,
and fitting tight to the leg, extended from the feet to the hips, and
were fastened to a belt which was passed around the waist. These, like
the shirt, had a similar band, worked with porcupine quills of richest
dyes, passing down the seam on the outer part of the leg, and fringed
also the whole length of the leg, with the scalp-locks taken from his
enemies’ heads.
The _Moccasins_ were of buckskin, and covered in almost every part with
the beautiful embroidery of porcupines’ quills.
The _Head-dress_, which was superb and truly magnificent, consisted
of a crest of war-eagles’ quills, gracefully falling back from the
forehead over the back part of the head, and extending quite down to
his feet; set the whole way in a profusion of ermine, and surmounted
on the top of the head, with the horns of the buffalo, shaved thin and
highly polished.
The _Necklace_ was made of fifty huge claws or nails of the grizzly
bear, ingeniously arranged on the skin of an otter, and worn, like the
scalp-locks, as a trophy—as an evidence unquestionable, that he had
contended with and overcome that desperate enemy in open combat.
His _Shield_ was made of the hide of the buffalo’s neck, and hardened
with the glue that was taken from its hoofs; its boss was the skin of
a pole-cat, and its edges were fringed with rows of eagles’ quills and
hoofs of the antelope.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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