Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 3).djvu/268

 are very dexterous with it, and kill at a very great distance. The usual dress of the men consists of a shirt, à l'Européene, which {217} hangs loose, and of a slip of blue cloth about half a yard in length, which serves them as breeches; they put it between their thighs, and fasten the two ends, before and behind, to a sort of girdle. They wear long gaiters, and shoes of stag skins prepared. When full dressed they wear a coat, waistcoat, and hat, but never any breeches. The natives of North America have never been able to adopt that part of our dress. They have only on the top of their heads a tuft of hair, of which they make several tresses, that hang down the sides of the face, and very frequently they attach quills or little silver tubes to the extremities. A great number of them pierce their noses, in order to put rings through, and cut holes in their ears, that hang down two or three inches, by the means of pieces of lead that they fasten to them when they are quite young. They paint their faces red, blue, or black.

A man's shirt and a short petticoat form the dress of the women, who wear also gaiters like the men; they let their hair grow, which is always of a jet black, to its natural length, but they never pierce their noses, nor disfigure their ears. In winter, the men and women, in order to guard against the cold, wrap themselves in a blue rug, which they always {218} carry with them, and which forms an essential part of their luggage.

Near the fort is established a kind of warehouse where the Cherokees carry ginseng and furs, consisting chiefly of bear, stag, and otter skins. They give them in exchange for coarse stuffs, knives, hatchets, and other articles that they stand in need of.

I learnt at West Point, of several persons who make