Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-10-28

5hoN' -
The dearth of leather also drove the
,oople to all sorts of grotcsque expedi-
pDts Sole leather especially, owing TO
no difficulty which the small tanneries
orrT,erienced in its production. was ex-
.rdmely scarce. Wood which had long
Non worn to very limited extent by
.be slaves in some localities, now came
INTO general use in themaking of shoes.
wooden shoe was among the very first
;nventions patented under the Confed-
nrate government. In the beginning a
considerable variety of shapes prevailed.
Came could do no better than dig out
a ride wooden receptacle for the foot,
. travestv on the Sabot worn by the
French peasants; a strip of leather be-
inc attached to the top, by means OF
which the clog was secured to the ankle
But by far the best and most comfort
able style, and one which was adopted
whenever the additional leather required
was to be had, was a simple sole OF ash,
willow. or some light wood, to which
NIL leathern uppers were fastened with
tacks. At first these were made so
thick, in order to insure durability, that
among their various other effects was
that OF adding very sensibly to the stat
ure of the community. Later on it was
found better TO make the soles thinner,
and protect them from wear by mailing
on their bottoms light irons. similar in
shape to horsehoes. They were neces-
sarlly the noisest shoes ever worn, al
WAYS announcing the approach of their
wearers at a good round distance When
fine air was clear and the ground frozen,
one was by this means kept well APP
prised of the movements of his immedi-
ATE neghbors. Especially did their tell
tale clatter make them the abomination
Of the negro in his nocturnal rambles.
The dismay of nervous people and care
ful housewives their effect indoors was
indeed something terrific, though after
irons came into vogue and lessened the
jmpacting surface, the clatter was toned
down TO something under the tramp of
horse. Nor were they much less de-
structiye to floors, while carpets simply
did not exist in their wake. Despite
the scrubbings and scourlngs of a quar-
Ter century, their marks are vet TO be
seen in some houses.
The use of wooden bottoms for shoes
was by no means confined to the negroes
They were worn bv the majority of la
boring people, as well as by many of
both sexes who had been reared in affiu-
ence The scarcity of the last winter
Of the war drove whole families into
them except the little feet which could
not be trusted to steer such craft, but
bore their shares OF martyrdom by being
imprisoned indoors throughout the live
long dreary months.
Great skill and caution were requisite
to keep afoot in wooden bottoms at all.
A queer spectacle il was too, to see ones
fellow-beings stepping gingerly around,
as if there were universal misgivings as
to the safeneSs of the earth crust One
may forget his first feat with firearms
and even his first exploit on skates, but
never his first fight on-or, to be accu-
rate, his first abduction by-wooden bot.
toms. If the soles. which in clumsy
attempt TO fit the foot We're shaped like
rockers. were once set in motion, they
persisted in ineXorably fitting one for
ward, especially if descending a hill, till
voition was utterly lost, and nothing
short of I'm ascent or fall could arrest
them, However, in time they became
comparatively manageable, one getting
able 10 choose his own path, as well rs
to have some small voice in stoppages.
Uppers We're made of such random
pieces of leather or of ANYTHING bearing
the faintest sembance OF leather, that
could be lighted on Carriage curtains
and buggy tons were acceptable In
some cases old morocco pocket books
were converted INTO cnildren's shoes;
while many ladies managed to fashion
Themselves sort of moccasln out of the
gmo,t heterogeneous and unpromising
materials Woe To the careless wight
who suffered his saddied horse to stand
out near church, store, or post-of1ice at
Ter uightfall, The chances were that
when he went to mount he would find
that some one had appropriated his sad
die skirts for sole leather, unless indeed
he had forestalled such an act by appro-
pnatjng them to that end himself
DQrd Dgdge, in AHquSt atlantic.