It may be said to last six months if worn while hunting, or a year if only used at times, in traveling and while idle, as is comparatively the case in the summer season. A complete suit of skin will last the whole year round, its actual cost being only the labor of dressing, and as time in the summer is of no value to them it may be said to cost in reality nothing if not ornamented. Blankets and cloth are not damaged by wet but do not resist the cold. Skins are impervious to cold and wind but are destroyed by being wet, hence the necessity and advantage of wearing the one in summer and the other in winter, independent of the filthy nature of skins when long worn, and of the capability of woolens to be cleansed by washing. The dress of a mounted warrior (pl. 76), as in battle or in the dance, would be as follows, the cost being estimated as before:
Buffalo robe painted with battle scenes and garnished with porcupine quills; best; 6 robes $18.00 Skin shirt and leggings garnished with human hair and porcupine quills, valued at 1 horse or 10 robes 30.00 War-eagle feather cap, largest kind; price, 2 horses, 10 robes each 60.00 Necklace of bear’s claws wrought on otter skin, 6 robes 18.00 Feathers of the war eagle on shield, lance, and horse, 10 robes 30.00 Garnished moccasins, 1 robe 3.00 Shell ear ornaments, 4 robes 12.00 ------ Total 171.00
Another fancy dress would cost as follows:
Scarlet blanket, 4 robes, at $3 $12.00 Beads on same, 10 robes 30.00 Skin shirt and leggings garnished with porcupine quills and trimmed with ermine, 20 robes 60.00 Bear’s-claw necklace, 6 robes 18.00 Soldier’s cap of magpie feathers, tipped with red and fringed with ermine, 10 robes 30.00 Brass-wire arm bands, 3 robes 9.00 Eagle feathers on lance and shield, 6 robes 18.00 Shell ear ornaments and moccasins, 4 robes 12.00 ------ Total 189.00
Both of the above dresses are principally of their own manufacture; yet if a trader wishes to purchase them he has great difficulty in doing so, even by paying the above prices in merchandise, of which they always stand in need; indeed, they seldom can be induced to part with them on any terms unless forced to sell to supply some reverse by loss of property which has happened to their families. The reason is that they are scarce, difficult to replace, and also it is the wish of the warriors to wear them during their lives on all public occasions and to be clothed with them when they die. Two tails of the war eagle of 12 feathers each would be worth two horses if wrought into a cap, or something more than a horse without. Usually the value of the tail feathers of this bird among any of the tribes of whom we write is $2 each in merchandise in this country, or 15 feathers for a horse.