The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-21

AhAANNAAN - RtauuAeN ana hNWEmHans
The manufacture Of saddles is Of ancient origin
antedaing that Of harness by very many years
It's origin is not well known. It's invention is at
tributed TO the Sall people among the an,ent
Franks, and hence the Latin ssild, saddle. II
Is quite certain that the ancient Romans were uu-
acquainted with the use of either saddle or stir
rups, for Galen observes, in several places, that
tho Roman cavalry, in his time, we're subject to
several diseases Of the hips and legs for want Of
having their feet sustained on horseback: :
and long before him, Hippocratcs had noted that
the Scythians, who were much on horseback
were frequently troubled with deauxons in their
legs, because Of thor legs hanging down. Tue
hIst time we hear Of saddles among the Romans
was lh the year $40, when COnstantius, cndslvor-
ing 20 deprive his brother CODst ntine of the en-.
pire, made head against his army and entering
the squadron where he himself was, threw him
OIL his saddle, ns we are informed by the historian
honaafas. Succeeding cmperOrs mldo many re-
gulatiOns concerning horses, occasionally taking
notice Of saddles. In the TneOIOsan code there
Is resctipt given by the empcr1rs Valentenilu
Iheodo,ius, aud Arcadius, which prescribes the
exact weight Of a saddle, cOndning it to sixty
pounds, including the bride.
The first horsemcu Of whom we have any
account being unaoquaintel with the art OF
governing horses by brides, managed thcm only
with rope or switch, aud The accent of the voice
This was the practice of the Numilnns Gatu-
ltans, Libyans, and Mlsslilus. Tho Roman
youth also learned the art Of lighting without
brides, which was an exercise or lesson ia the
u1dnrgc and hence IL Isl that on the Trsilu eDlumu
soldiers are represented rdiugat full speed With
cut any brides on. In StgtlOrdshire England
some eighty yclrs ago, they had a bride 70
correcting 5cO'diHC icOmen IL was put in the
mouth, and took particular hold of che ton yue
which it enectually kept from stirring and thus
hainesSed, the offender was led through the
streets. A writer OF that diy advocated a NOR
universal use Of the article
In London, as very early day, the several pro-
iessions and trades exercised in that city were
Incorporated into distinct frttcrnitios, governed
ny their partiCu ar laws. Among them we notice
saddlers as being Incorporated hy Edward Iprilr
70 l5Oi In our own country, Pennsylvania, we
believe, was the first State that engaged to any
extent In this highly important and extensive
branch Of industry. The first mention is IN ade
OF saddlers in the Provinces In 1877. In 1904 tue
saduIers and shoCmaEers, and others engaged ia
the WORKING OF leather pettlOned for law to
prohibit its expectation, which was passed the
following year, and thus the difficulties under
which they had laborcd by reason Of a scarcity Of
the proper kind OF stock, were obyated. Soon
after this the manufacture of harness aud sad
dies took its rank among the many other useful
branches then in their nCipicncv. The tanner
and the harness mgkeriu that day did not usually
tarry long behind the first occupants of a new
town. They were necessity TO every village
and leather and harness i'm those days when pack
horses and cumbersome four horse wains were
the medium Of transport, rendered leather a
greater dependence than perhaps in this our.
time
The cheapness Of hides, which were three half
pence per pound, and Of bark furnished i'm the
process Of clearing the land, the abundance of
suitable streams for carrying il on, and the de-
mand for leather created by a rapidly augment
ing population, rendered the business profitable:
and although the leather from want of capital.
was seldom kept as long in the vats gs in Eng
land, it was sufficient to meet the requirements of
the farmer, the teamster, saddler and shoemaker,
and shops were soon found in all the larger
towns where coarse shoes for the laborer and
saddlery aud harness for the neighborhoOl could
be procured.
In no branch of trade has there probably been
greater improvements than in this and one can
readily perceive that the harness of to-day is A
widely different article from that of thirty years
ago,-Shoe and Leather Reporter.