Having thus given a view of the persons of the Indians, we may proceed
to consider the manner in which they are clothed and ornamented. This
last object might have been expected to be a very secondary one, among
tribes whose means of subsistence are so scanty and precarious; but, so
far is this from being the case, that there is scarcely any pursuit which
occupies so much of their time and regard. They have availed themselves
of European intercourse to procure each a small mirror, in which, from
time to time, they view their personal decorations, taking care that
everything shall be in the most perfect order. Embellishment, however,
is not much expended on actual clothing, which is simple, and chiefly
arranged with a view to convenience. Instead of shoes, they wear what are
termed moccasins, consisting of one strip of soft leather wrapped round
the foot, and fastened in front and behind. Europeans, walking over hard
roads, soon knock these to pieces; but the Indian, tripping over snow
or grass, finds them a light and agreeable _chaussure_. Upward to the
middle of the thigh, a piece of leather or cloth, tightly fitted to the
limb, serves instead of pantaloons, stockings, and boots; it is sometimes
sewed on so close as never to be taken off. To a string or girdle round
the waist are fastened two aprons, one before and the other at the back,
each somewhat more than a foot square and these are connected by a piece
of cloth like a truss, often used also as a capacious pocket. The use
of breeches they have always repelled with contempt, as cumbrous and
effeminate. As an article of female dress, they would consider them less
objectionable; but that the limbs of a warrior should be thus manacled,
appears to them utterly preposterous. They were particularly scandalized
at seeing an officer have them fastened over the shoulder by braces, and
never after gave him any name but Tied-Breech.
The garments now enumerated form the whole of their permanent dress. On
occasions of ceremony, indeed, or when exposed to cold, they put over
it a short shirt fastened at the neck and wrists, and above it a long
loose robe, closed or held together in front. For this purpose they now
generally prefer an English blanket. All these articles were originally
fabricated from the skins of wild animals; but at present, unless for
the moccasins, and sometimes the leggins, European stuffs are preferred.
The dress of the female scarcely differs from that of the male, except
that the apron reaches down to the knees; and even this is said to have
been adopted since their acquaintance with civilized nations. The early
French writers relate an amusing anecdote to prove how little dress was
considered as making a distinction between the sexes. The Ursuline nuns,
having educated a Huron girl, presented her, on her marriage to one
of her countrymen, with a complete and handsome suit of clothes in the
Parisian style. They were much surprised, some days after, to see the
husband, who had ungenerously seized the whole of his bride’s attire and
arrayed himself in it, parading back and forward in front of the convent,
and betraying every symptom of the most extravagant exultation. This was
farther heightened when he observed the ladies crowding to the window to
see him, and a universal smile spread over their countenances.
These vestments, as already observed, are simple, and adapted only for
use. To gratify his passionate love of ornament, the Indian seeks chiefly
to load his person with certain glittering appendages. Before the arrival
of Europeans, shells and feathers took the lead; but, since that period,
these commodities have been nearly supplanted by beads, rings, bracelets,
and similar toys, which are inserted profusely into various parts of
his apparel, particularly the little apron in front. The chiefs usually
wear a breastplate ornamented with them; and among all classes it is
an object of the greatest ambition to have the largest possible number
suspended from the ear. That organ, therefore, is not bored, but slit to
such an extent that a stick of wax may be passed through the aperture,
which is then loaded with all the baubles that can be mustered; and if
the weight of these gradually draw down the yielding flap till it rest on
the shoulder, and the ornaments themselves cover the breast, the Indian
has reached his utmost height of finery. This, however, is a precarious
splendour; the ear becomes more and more unfit to support the burden,
when at length some accident, the branch of a tree, or even a twitch by a
waggish comrade, lays at his feet all his decorations, with the portion
of flesh to which they were attached. Weld saw very few who had preserved
this organ entire through life. The adjustment of the hair, again, is
an object of especial study. As already observed, the greater part is
generally eradicated, leaving only a tuft, varying in shape and place,
according to taste and national custom, but usually encircling the crown.
This lock is stuck full of feathers, wings of birds, shells, and every
kind of fantastic ornament. The women wear theirs long and flowing, and
contrive to collect a considerable number of ornaments for it, as well as
for their ears and dress.
But it is upon his skin that the American warrior chiefly lavishes his
powers of embellishment. His taste in doing so is very different from
ours. “While the European,” says Creuxius, “studies to keep his skin
clean, and free from every extraneous substance, the Indian’s aim is,
that his, by the accumulation of oil, grease, and paint, may shine like
that of a roasted pig.” Soot scraped from the bottoms of kettles, the
juices of herbs, having a green, yellow, and, above all, a vermilion
tint, rendered adhesive by combination with oil and grease, are lavishly
employed to adorn his person, or, according to our idea, to render it
hideous. Black and red, alternating with each other in varied stripes,
are the favourite tints. Some blacken the face, leaving in the middle
a red circle, including the upper lip and tip of the nose; others
have a red spot on each ear, or one eye black and the other of a red
colour. In war the black tint is profusely laid on, the others being
only employed to heighten its effect, and give to the countenance a
terrific expression. M. de Tracy, when governor of Canada, was told by
his Indian allies, that, with his good-humoured face, he would never
inspire the enemy with any degree of awe. They besought him to place
himself under their brush, when they would soon make him such that his
very aspect would strike terror. The breast, arms, and legs are the seat
of more permanent impressions, analogous to the tattooing of the South
Sea Islanders. The colours are either elaborately rubbed in, or fixed
by slight incisions with needles and sharp-pointed bones. His guardian
spirit, and the animal that forms the symbol of his tribe, are the first
objects delineated. After this, every memorable exploit, and particularly
the enemies whom he has slain and scalped, are diligently graven on some
part of his figure; so that the body of an aged warrior contains the
history of his life.