Indians of Manhattan Island and vicinity - (1921) (14784748505)

Identifier: indiansofmanhatt00skin_0 (find matches)
Title: Indians of Manhattan Island and vicinity /
Year: 1921 (1920s)
Authors: Skinner, Alanson, 1886-1925.
Subjects: Manhattan Indians Indians of North America
Publisher: (New York) : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: Columbia University Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: The Durst Organization



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spended from their necks.The reason for wearing their knives in this position, old Indians of someof the centra) western tribes declare, was so that they could be morereadily seized at a moments notice. Besides his deerskin tobacco pouchwith its dyed hair and porcupine quill embroidery and leathern fringe,each warrior carried a war club, carved of wood, with a ball-shaped headset at right angles from the handle, and a six-foot bow and a quiver con-taining flint. bone, or antler-tipped arrows. The women were differently clot lied from the men. They oftenwore their hair in a braid, over which they drew a square cap orna-mented with wampum. Presumably this hair dress was similar to thatused by the Winnebago and Sauk and Fox women of the middle westtoday, examples of which may be found in the cases in the WoodlandHall under the various tribal designations. The women, like the men. were naked to the waist. save for the robe,which was shifted to side to side, according to whence the coldest
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A MOHAWK CHIEF FROM THE MOHAWK VALLEY His totem was the Wolf, which is showmbeside him.From an engraving in the possession of the New York Historical Society. IXDIAXS OF MANHATTAN ISLAND 7 wind blew. They wore, however, knee leggings instead of the hip lengthstyle of the warriors, and wrapped about their waists a single squarepiece of fringed leather, which was open at one side. Sometimes theseskirts were not made of leather, hut instead were of cloth woven fromIndian hemp, such as was also used to make hags. The women coveredtheir gala costumes with wampum beads, and quill or hair embroidery,so that some of the old chroniclers declare that a dress of this sort wasoften worth above 300 guilders. Of course the women, like the men,protected their feet with dainty soft-soled moccasins. The houses or wigwams of the Manhattan and their neighbors werenever the conical shaped, leather-covered, painted tipis so often shown inillustrations. Lodges of that type were found only in the Great Plaiindiansofmanhatt00skin_0