<P> Robert Louis Stevenson mentions "pigtail" referring to hair and then to "pigtail tobacco" in the first and fourth chapters of Treasure Island, respectively . </P> <P> Most modern dictionaries still define "pigtail" as a single tight braid . However, many speakers use the term to describe two symmetrical bunches of hair on either side of the head, braided or not . </P> <P> There are numerous styles of pigtails in which a person may wear their hair . They may be braided, straightened, beaded, ribboned, in buns, fishtailed, and even French braided . Pigtails can be placed on different parts of a person's head: high, low, or to the side . </P> <P> In some regions of China, traditional culture related the wearing of pigtails to a girl's marital status . A young, unmarried, Chinese girl would often wear two buns, or bundles of hair on either side of the head to display her availability to prospective husbands . This style of pigtails is sometimes referred to as "ox horns ." However, when this girl would marry, the two pigtails, or buns, would be replaced with just one, thus indicating her marriage . </P>

Where did the term pig tails come from