Occasionally open sandals held on by three or four thongs were worn by Atsugewi and Yana.
[Illustration: Maidu snowshoe with raw-hide lashings]
[Illustration: Snowshoe of about eighteen inches in diameter (after Dixon)]
Knee length leggings of various materials were common in winter. These were tied on with buckskin strips at ankle and knee. Yana used hip-length pantleg type leggings held on with waist bands. Atsugewi sometimes employed fur pieces, twined tule, or spiral wrap-around fur strip leggings. Maidu used deerhide leggings with the hair side inside. These went from ankles to above the knees where they were tied, and were held close to the leg by an outside spirally wound thong from top to bottom.
Snowshoes were a necessity too in the rigorous climate of even the lower portions of the areas inhabited by tribes of the Lassen area, particularly in those of the Atsugewi and mountain Maidu. Snowshoes of the former Indians were circular in plan; those of the latter were oval. Snowshoes were fashioned from small green wooden limbs shaped while hot, and then crisscrossed with strips of buckskin or hide with the fur side down for better traction. Atsugewi used green juniper limbs for the purpose. Since the whole foot was bound firmly to this footgear, there was no heel play as in the case of white mans’ snowshoes.
Of Atsugewi standards of beauty Garth states: “The ideal woman was short but plump and solidly built so that she could do much work. A slim woman was considered too weak, and a very tall woman was made fun of and called lohkata (stick woman). Heavy breasts, a straight slim nose, large eyes, long black hair, and small feet were all admirable qualities. A girl with big feet was likely to be lazy, also a small foot was desirable because it would not take so large a moccasin. A mother pressed her girl child’s foot together to make it slender. The ideal man was of average height and was heavy set. If a child had a flat nose, his mother pinched it and tried to give it a higher bridge. Bow legs, it was said, might be straightened by the mother when the child was young. Also a child’s ears were pressed against his head; if the ears stood out, this was thought to indicate poor hearing. A slim hand indicated a lazy person; a short stubby hand signified a good worker.”