Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-09-03


While thcv produce for expectation the
the hest tobacco for cigarettes in The world,
9, amsieurs say, dried Or, turtls-egg but
ter and vauil, Urom two TO Eve collars
toe pound !. by far TIE greatest staple AK
porte are the bats. There atou7ds II the
iores q smar lsn-pa'm tree, shich usrty
exceeds too feet IN height. i is called
tonsonsxa Nv The peruvisrs, lar50racs by
tie Braz,lians. j, Is found in the inter- r
OF peru. Ecuador, New Granada and Vensz-
rs,s. usnaiir away from the Pacific slope,
aud hns b en- cultivated with indifferent
success in Braz.l. The only place whsrs It
d. rishes to great cxteat on the Pacific
eos.t is IN the Ecusdorian province Of Ma
raw, north OF Guaysquil. 1hi. 10 tho OF her
centre or the fret quality Panama hst'
.-rde and manufacture, aud the only rival
Of Mayabambs.
The people Of white descent and the In.
dian half breeds are the makers of the hats
10 question. at Moy abambA each man has
his own house and lands. He cultivates .
amall quantity Of Indian corn, pineapples,
inadioea and sweet potatoes for himself and
family, and cepim or Guinea grass for his
mule. No hats are made in anything like
that which We would call "f.ctory,h but
in each mans house.
The pajs (straw) is thus prepared: The
| leaves OF the bonbonsce are carefully gath
| cred, 50 that the life Of the tree ID not in
jeopardy then the Indian Sits the leaf
with small knife, his eve alone guiding
the hand, 80 that the right size is obtained.
70 will observe that all Panama hats have
straw of different sizes. Nothing can 10
moro primitive than all the appliances
brought to bear in the production Of the
hat Tbs STRAW" as the split leaf 10 now
called is placed in the dew for three nights
in SUCCESSION, and during the three inter
vening days in the shade. This cu,ls up
tho straw, and gives it that frm, round ap-
p.arance always TO be noticed in this kind
Of hat. The straw is now ready for plait
ing, which operation 10 like that Of oil
suA~ plating. The children mako the
coarssr hats, the adults the fine article. The
platter be 'ins with well washed hands, and
Is he must constantly vet HE straw Ia .
pot Of the purest fresh water, his work is
sure to cone forth in the cleanest possible
condition.
When one, two or more hats are finished,
the maker repairs 70 some store (sithsr
German, French or Eaglish) to sell his
work. lie viii never 50 to sell except at
night, when it 10 easier TO deceive - to
color, defects, &c. Sometimes . clerk Or
agent Of tho Moyabamba stores will 20
from house 10 house in the country, and II
be can collect dozen hats, it 10 considered
. good days work. hat which sells al
the rate Of 81 (gold) tho dozen, requires
one week to make. An eighty dollar hat
requires from four to six months. Refer
ence was made to the makers going to town
to sell only at night. They go in numbers,
and resort TO every subtsrfugs TO get .
large price. and TO sell poor article for
superior enc. The skill Of the buyer is re
markable. lie knows the halt breed will
ask three times Is much as the hat is worth
The &C Of the purchaser runs rapidly over
each hai, and at glance can SEQ whether il
is made by man. woman or by child;
whehes it is uneven, detective, starchcd
up, bad in color, or vice rersa. The maker,
oftentimes not satisfied with the decision,
takes back the hat-passes it TO another
Indian, who goes out and comes in, as il
he bad Just arrived, and offers the hat a.
an entirely new one. But the willy pur.
chaser is so shi.hl that the best Of than
can tell three days afterwards If the hat
has come uadcf his inspection
After the purchases are made the h.ts
sorted according to form, fineness and color
Then comes new washing in clean water
and scrubbng with brush, and after that
sulphur fumigston finishes the work. The
hats nre pacSed a fat a. possible in bales
fof one hundred pounds each, and started
On Indians backs for the water navigation
Of the Amazon. hey are accompanied
sometimes by ono Of tho purchasers, though
oltener they ars sent on commission. Thou
sands Of dozens are sent to Para. whence
they are taken 20 Pernambuco, Bahia and
Rio do Japcric.