it be not so close or firm as cloth that is
woven, the bunches between the knots make it sufficiently impervious
to the air, by filling the interstices; and it has the additional
advantage of being softer and more pliable. The woollen garments,
though probably manufactured in the same manner, have the strongest
resemblance to woven cloth. But the various figures, which are very
artificially inserted in them, destroy the supposition of their being
wrought in a loom; it being extremely unlikely that these people
should be so dexterous as to be able to finish such a complex work,
unless immediately by their hands. They are of different degrees of
fineness; some resembling our coarsest rugs or blankets; and others
almost equal to our finest sorts, or even softer, and certainly
warmer. The wool, of which they are made, seems to be taken from
different animals, as the fox and brown _lynx_; the last of which is
by far the finest sort, and, in its natural state, differs little from
the colour of our coarser wools; but the hair, with which the animal
is also covered, being intermixed, its appearance, when wrought, is
somewhat different. The ornamental parts or figures in these garments,
which are disposed with great taste, are commonly of a different
colour, being dyed, chiefly either of a deep brown or of a yellow; the
last of which, when it is new, equals the best in our carpets as to
brightness.

To their taste or design in working figures upon their garments,
corresponds their fondness for carving in every thing they make of
wood. Nothing is without a kind of freeze-work, or the figure of some
animal upon it; but the most general representation is that of the
human face, which is often cut out upon birds, and the other monstrous
figures mentioned before; and even upon their stone and their
bone weapons. The general design of all these things is perfectly
sufficient to convey a knowledge of the object they are intended to
represent; but the carving is not executed with the nicety that a
dexterous artist would bestow even upon an indifferent design. The
same, however, cannot be said of many of the human masks and heads;
where they shew themselves to be ingenious sculptors. They not only
preserve, with great exactness, the general character of their own
faces, but finish the more minute parts with a degree of accuracy in
proportion, and neatness in execution. The strong propensity of this
people to works of this sort, is rema