Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 104, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 April 1912 — CRADLES OF VARIOUS KINDS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CRADLES OF VARIOUS KINDS

Customs Differ as to Highly Important Matter of Transporting Baby 1 From Place to Place.

mgjnnßHEN the first mother P lcked U P her first child, \ wTOXval to carry it from where it »qi TjftH was to where she wantSreUftrynC ed it, the first step in nwffiffifl the great business of

fetching and carrying was taken. Since then many thousands of devices for carrying the baby have been tried; but it cannot be said that the oldest of all problems in traffic has yet been finally and satisfactorily solved. The New Guinea baby lives in a net suspended from its mother’s neck, or is allowed' to hang from a convenient peg in the dwelling, and the infants of tropical America spend much of their time in hammocks. The Africans never invented any device for the convenience, of their little ones, either at rest or traveling. Usually the negro mother gathers her child in the folds of her shawl or other garment. If it happens that she wears no garment to serve as a sort of sling In which to carry the baby, the youngster clings airound her neck. A European Invention. Wheeled carriages for babies were devised by Europeans, consisting, in their simplest form, of an oblong frame with a crude receptacle for the infant, and two wheels attached to the crossbar. More commonly European mothers, and American mothers of European descent, carry their babies upon the left arm. Of all methods of carrying the baby, this is the worst, wrenching the spine and distorting the body. Pictures of the Madonna represent her as carrying the Christ-child in this manner, although It is safe to say that •be never did it. Both the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Hebrews carried their children astride their shoulders (Isaiah xlix: 22)./It does not appear that the Greeks used cradles for their children, but the Romans did, representations of their devices bearing some resemblance to those used by the Sioux Indians. Rigid cradles in which the child Is placed, and tightly laced or strapped there, are found in northern Europe, northern Asia and North America. The cradles of the Laplanders are hollowed out of a log, with a hood for the protection of the child’s head. The Sar moyed cradle is described as "a box shaped like a coffin, and laced with narrow strips of hide, in which the child is placed, wrapped in furs.” The Yakut cradle is said to be “Shaped like a coal scuttle'’; and that of the Tongue, inhabiting the shores of the sea of Okhotsk, is a box lined with reindeer fur, closing up tightly, with a valve of leather for the admission of air. Common to Russian Empire. Hie baby’s bed and carriage, made together, or with the bed firmly attached to the carriage, is common to almost every one of the medley of peoples of the Russian empire, including the Georgians, Tartars, Nogals, Kalmucks, Yakuts, Buriats, Ostiaks, Samoyeds and others. The general similarity of these cradles to those used by the North American Indians may, possibly, be Considered an argument in favor of the opinion that the American tribes are of Asiatic origin. More probably the era&ea used by afl these tribes and peoples, inhabiting widely separated regions, were de-

vised to suit climatic conditions, i<pj|| because of the needs created by nomadic habits of the people. ThAsj| the cradles of the tribes of Russia and % Siberia resemble those of the tMttjjigm of North America is doubtless due to the fact that all lived largely by hunting. They, therefore, devised beds for tbeir Httle ones that were easily tran*> r f| ported, and in which the babte» «|H reasonably safe from accidental t&M jury or long journeys, and well protected from the cold. Although there is a certain similar- 1 ity of design in the cradles used b| the tribespeople of North America*. ; the whole way from Alaska to Mexico, there are great differences in the materials used, in the methods em- - ployed for fastening the babies in receptacles, In the child’s wrappings •§, and in ornamention. Many of these i divergences may be traced to climaHS influences, and the natural resource* of the regions la which the tribes Among the Northern Tribes. . jv*|| Many of the tribes of Alaska sndf| northwestern Canada make cradles of birch bark, bending it into the form of a trough, adorning it with poremi: pine quills, and lining it with soft fur. The Sioux and other tribes of the northern plains region formerly made their cradles of with the hair left on, bendiifg the ■ hide into the shape of a trough, wataA as the tribes farther north do with birch bark. The Kiowas, Coihancbes and other tribes of the southern plains region removed the hair from the buffalo hides (owing, perhaps, to <S*!l warmer climate) and lashed the dressed Skins to a lattice of flat sticks. The Iroquois, Mohegans, Delawares and most of the other tribes of the eastern and northern states made board cradles, about two and ij a half feet long and ten Inches wide at the foot, becoming wider at the head. To this, the conventional bed, made of skins, was fastened. The TJtes and Nez Percea similarly form their cradles of kite- 1 shaped boards, often beautifully ornamented, to which the bed is attached, with protective hood to shield the in- < fant’s face and head from the sun and elements. Dugout cradles are made by the Indians of the North, i Pacific coast, and basket-work cradles by many tribes of California, , Oregon, Washington and Nevada. Often the basket cradles are made like little chairs, in which the babf sits, with its feet free. No doubt this departure from the usual custom is due to the mildness of the climate. Hurdle cradles consisting of a number of canes or sticks arranged in an , oblong hoop frame, are used by tea Mojaves, Yumas and Wichitas. Th# J Apaches, Navajos and Pueblos combine the basket board and hurdle types, protecting the child’s face and head with a hood or awning. The Navajos make the bed out of skins, heavily laced with leather thongs, but 1 the Pueblos usually make use of cloth, % purchased from the trading started® for the bed. Burden Well Distributed. ill Most of the tribes place bands or straps upon the rigid frame of the - cradle, so arranged that they can he placed around the mother’s forehead*'! permitting the cradle to rest upon her hack. The burden is thus well ST ™th method tee boby common to the mothers of civilized communities. Frequently another strap is placed at the top of may be swung from the potfinfei of a saddle, suspended from the limb of A tree, or hung upon a nail driven W J Strangely enough, the Indian mother never places the cradle, with the baby in it, fiat upon the ground. j@ is always hung up by the strap proa nearly upright position against the wall or some other convenient sup* shredded bark or feathers are alto produce a flattening or other dissometimes fastened to the awning or elsewhere on the cradle, to serve aa Often charms and anmlets are proamong the yarious tribes relating to grown its use and secrete it in a holaffect the life or fqrtune of 11 tempted to soil tbo cradle in' sliver uOiioio ii wouiti noiu. Aizioug, * *‘l | t yt J - v