The Columbus journal., 1885-11-04
WAR TIME ~ExPEDIENTS.

WAR TIME ExPEDIENTS.
Some Facts Illustrating the Proverb that
.Necesstty IL the Mother Of Invention"
Life In the South During the War.
Perhaps, taking everything into con-
~sideration. no portion of the Confed-
eracy 'during our late unphasantness"
was 70 destitute of the n~ecessaries of
life as that portion lying on the South
srn sea board and forming part of the
States of Mississippi. Alabama and
Florida. The great industries Of these
States, that is, that portion situated as
explained above, was timber, lumber.
resin, tar. pitch and ~turpentine. The
soil is not favorable. except in favored
spots, for cultivation. Consisting of
vast level flats, the top soil of loan is
very thin. while immediately beneath it
is q heavy pipe clay. while the only
vegetation that seems to thrive are the
great forests of pine. These. skirting.
the Gulf of Mexico. following the coast
line for several hundred miles. and with
a breadth ranging from n to two
hundred miles, form the well-knOwH
pine meadows. destined in years to
come to be a prolific source OF wealth
to- the South. Perhaps with us.
who resided in this portion of the
COnfederacy. the first necessity. after
the small supply on hand was ex-
hausted. was salt. This was a need
soon felt, and it is unnecessary to add
that q pound of it soon became very
precious. Old brine that had done duty
until it could be used no longer was
boiled down until every particle OF
saline matter was extracted from it,
and the salt thus obtained was again in
its urn used in the same name As
the supply became scarcer and scarcer.
the next method, or rather recourse.
was to dig up the smokc-houSe and to
filter water through the earth thus OBJ
tanned. this in turn being subjected to
the usual process of boiling in order to
obtain the precious condiment. So
scarce did it become as the war wore
on, that when q beeve was killed. in
stead of sailing down in barrels as at
first, it became more economical to cut
the flesh into thin strips and dry it in the
sun. 1t must be confessed that beet
treated in this manner is more palatable
than most persons wOuld imagine. They
who lived neal the coast Jared somewhat
better, for taking the boilers from ths
various saw-mills, they separated
the shells from the flues. and splitting
them into equal halves. a strong head
of wood was fitted into the ends and
thus treated they were placed over a
furnace and filled with the salt water
from the Gulf. Of course the business
had its reyerScs. for sometimes the
blockading squadron. attracted by the
smoke, would move up and with q few
shells completely demolish the salt
works. The salt kettles, being made of
old boilers. were too heavy for the
enemy to carry of. and as no damage
beyond knocking out the wooden heads
could be inflicted, Il e salt manufacturers
would. with indefatigable energy when
the hostile fleet removed to a safe dis
lance, gather up the debris. make q few
repairs and recommence boiling.
The ingenuity of the people was to
replace the various articles of clothing
and the different domestic %luxuries.
Old dresses. old coats were turned and
made over. remodeled and cut down.
The writer remembers we'll what q pang
of envy was awakened within his
bosom going to a ball night to find
that the attentions of the fair ones were
all bestowed on an acquaintance who
made his advent that evening in q
bright. spick, span new par of panta-
looms. made of new ticking. with
broad. blue stripes. cut bias.
Perhaps the easiest problem for us to
solve am i our various troubles was
that of making hats. Fortunately the
supply of palmetto in our Southern
swamps is in a manner speaking mex
haustible. and from this source we were
soon compelled by the course of events
to draw our supply of hats. We soon
learned to improve upon the first rude
models. and when the war was brought
to a close some Of the ladies, especially,
had acquired taste and proficiency.
The palmetto hats they made would not
have reflected discredit upon a fashion
able halter. The heart of the palmetto
is generally selected rs being still held
together. and not being sprouted out
and unfolded into the fan-shaped leaf
SO familiar to travellers in the South.
While in this condition the folds lie one
upon another. and are perfectly white
and pliable. After being severed from
the main trunk it is opened out and
hung in the shade to dry. About
a weeks drying suffices to pre-
pare it for use. 1t is now
separated. each fold from the other.
ard cut into convenient lengths. then d.
vided into little strips about an eighth
of an inch in width. and these in turn
plated or braided together into one con-
tinuous braid until of sufficient length
to make the hat. The hat itself was
always commenced from the center of
the crow by sewing the braid together
in slightly overlapping circles. The
rim. Is a finishing touch. was generally
bound with a braid.
keenly felt WAS the need of ammuni-
ton. Owing to the stringency of the
blockade it soon became almost impos-
sible to obtain either powder or lead.
The latter was the first to give out. and
in order to supply this need all the ma
chinery was taken apart and all the old
boxes, filings. etc. were put to a new
use-converted into shot. As there
were no shot towers the favorite method
was to climb the tallest tree one could
find. melt the lead as we'll as We could
in the top and let the liquid metal drop
into a tub of cold water beneath. The
result thus obtained would scarcely
have awakened envy on the part of
some of our modern shot manufacturers,
but in the language of an old moss
back" who was compelled to resort to
this ~expedient. lit beat nothing all
boiler. "-Detrot Free Press.
DIDN'T KNOW HOW.
The Loss an !ArkahSAW Gentleman Suffered
When His Wife Was-Dlvorced.
rO1ppo1 Wollou u;~;pson IS ~