Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1886-03-27
RABBITS AND HATS.
How Skins From the One Help to
Make the Other.
Men and Their Hcad-Gear-Ihe Invention
of Felt Hats-The SILK Hats History
-A~ustralia's kabbit-A Rabbit
Law Murder.

Five centuries ago the first felt hats
of which any written record has been
preserved were worn in Europe. Pre-
vious to that time all head coverings
had been knitted OF made of cloth.
When Caesar invaded Gaul and Albion
he found their inhabitants ~bareheaded
and dressed in skins, and he left them
only the Roman dress, which at best
included a light cap. The invasion of
the SaXons gave to the Britons the
wooden cap called holt, from which our
modern term hats is derived. For
many centuries after silk and satin and
velye; We're the fayorite materials from
which to fashion the hpadgcar OF peo-
pie rich enough to have any choice in
the matter. The poor went b]archeadpd
or in rude caps of coarse cloth. or skin,
worn with the fur out. like the cat-skin
cap still popular with the toughs Of
London, Thus, from Biblical times
down to the thirteenth century. the
fashion in dressing the head had. as far
a the COMMON people of the earth
WIZ rpI'tiHeu' naI'IS Gl'lgeu' ana
rai'','A lIo' 'ilo9En 70 Il"Ne 'neIr gen
va" "PPeaI"lte inherent,
~ AN'iENI fhLt HATS
nv nis' iel' n"'> were maze from
ANUS IN'I,' anu aller" ara from Inc
shIn, VI p'oler', l"e latiyr materla. con
1IluiHs " Go use" IN recent times
NV 'n'i'Se rom ANN SKIN u" "pa,mr
y 'nI'''" "l'io"s great GIN
,"iS' 'i" l"o it'"i" VI subsequent
tn|ae' n 'n' il'''Ii"I ana the manu-
nnj = n''N "o'." loIIll HtTIhl"E
y, CURIOUS tn"p'er IN economic ana
po,.''tai as wen AZ industrial history
Ill. Il SaN.oel,.n Ce'.'IN we 't"oe
""ii;;i, a'" 'os Po.S.'3'S an lau certain
ftIi.oos, % "niIn '"TS were JeaI-
ousls "a.cIiui' ana they haa rules n
,"o,;nn "h,On' "nuei plel'A' oi pro-
uon, e. "'Lt.S anu I'No'IhS ',aue'
\ ~ utlt'et anu - rum polh'
nnPl,S w. 'V''oiH HlHH ~oeconilnS
an,d""i ~ u'q ueliialu' SolHe Oh the
49, inn.n. NT' NV ''v" u ihaNIhg
ntha. ain' D 1,H''l anu P"I'tf Oh
ah,o;naJ l"o ne" mas when
boJ ~ u"l' y "eii-castorS,
so"n u "nl"To VI cHeaPneHS' ana
III, VI '"iSeil P",'ollAeu ny the
pt,ho nu'' "S beaver was d prouuct
Lal"ma o'oiI'' 'aha"' 'heh
wh;aL i.'li0. iue .laue o.
tha nu, uIe'"I'u - ~ INJURED py
- "I'i'' ,"e '"''u Vi ila'lrr'
e. W. , Ine .uo'tInnlenI 10 inter-
loof III cue loroaue the
Gnu'"lo anu s"ie ol o~ehll-caNtorS'
u t"o huIiuIeu iINres oeIng nm
P'seu Oh lhe manufacturers, with con-
% VI men s'o'h'
N'sPi'T 'nH proAlol'loll' however
'"e Puoiic uelllahu Tor deml-caStors
'on'iliueu' ana merchants continued to
Se'l 'henl' me law was then made
hiole stringent for me llrst oiiense
eNPu'>loh from the gnild was the pen
any, WIN a me oil Two thousand
nNIes' III Tor a repetition OF the Of
,'nse d iilt OF three thousand IlHres,
nan 10 'he ihiorher, whiie persistence
III 'le SAFE was punished by imprison-
mei'' Many heihous crimes were in
th0se days punished less severely, and
sun the severity proved Intellectual,
An attempt wa made TO remedy the
injustice n hardship by ailiNing a
stamp to all hats already manufac-
lnred' ana TO allow "A period to elapSe
lor using up the material prepared be-
lore 'he PRONUNCIATION OF these ordi-
hahces' n compromise could not
ne strictly carried Out. New hats still
con'lhued TO be made and it was not
uil the middle OF the eighteenth cen
Jury ina the State tolerated the sale of
"~eni'-cas'orS'
relt mas were worn TO any extent in
hhglahu lor the nrst IN IN l1lO or
-. inelt MANUFACTURE hau been AT
'nai 'line JUST introduced there. Some
Oh tne DC chronicles OF the time pre-
serve vague stories apout the manufac-
'ure OF ieit caps long before, out 1t Is
ceriaih tha' 'here Is no ueinite proof OF
such an industry ana Il II was prac-
llcea AT All 1t was IN such a small and
mooes' way as TO nave escaped general
houce' Besides, no feit caps of a
period anterior to Elizabeth are pre-
served IN any collections, which is very
fan proof that none existed to be pre-.