San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-10-20

gained It's converts by the score; more, how
ever, as can be readily imagined, for the sake
of the pin itself, which it was a stroke Of
happy fortune to find and seize, than Of any
other good luck that was to accompany the
finding. The broken needle of Confederate
times did not 20 into the fire or out of the
window, but was carefully laid aside until
the red sealing wax Of the ransacked desks
and secretaries lent it a head wherewlth to
appear as a handsome and useful pin. 10
obtain the bare materials out OF which to
fashion garments for the family and for the
servants soon became serious question. The
house carpenter and the blacksmith were
called into service to this end, and cotton
once more became king, though of a greatly
diminished sovereignty. Cardlng combs OF
a rough pattern were constructed for the
purpose of converting the raw cotton into
batting, and thence into rolls of uniform
length and size for spinning. The hum OF
the spindle and the clank of the loom treadle
were the martial music with which the
women at home met the fierce attacks Of the
legions of cold and nakedneSs.
Spinning wheels, reels, bobbins, looms, and
all the appurtenances for the weaving OF
cloth were made and used at home; and the
toilers in the cotton fields and the spinners in
the loom shed worked on contentedly, with
seemingly sublime indifference to the mighty
struggle that was CONFUSING continent for
their sakes OF this dusky people it may
here be said that, no matter what philanthro-
pists politicians, or philosophers have said
of them in the past or shall prophesy of
them in the future, they were true to every
trust reposed in them; and with most ire
mendous power for direst evil in their pos
session, the negroes of the south in the days
of the civil war did naught but good II
the "colored troops" of the Union army
'sfou-ht nobly," the slaves of the southern
plantation so bore themselves in those stirring
times as to merit no smaller need of praise.
Cotton and wooden fabrics of firm and sub
stantial texture were woven, cut and fash
toned into garments for whites and blacks
Plentiful crops of fax REINFORCED the array
of wool and cotton and many little flax
wheel which in the days of peace has since
moved north to adorn in its newly gilded and
beribboned state the boudoir of some asthe-
tic girl might tell pathetic tales of its former
place of residence if the tongue of its tiny
spindle had but speech.
The dyes of the forest wood barks, of the
peras from the numerous copPeras wells were
utilized to color the cloth thus woven. We
read in the current newspapers that "a hand
some brown dye is made by q combination
of red oak bark and blue stone in boiling
water; and that "a brilliant yellow" may be
obtained by pouring boiling water upon
other component parts OF 'sassafras,
swamp bay and butterfly root" The same
authorities tell US that vivid puppies,
reds and green's were produced from n
composition Of coal oil and sorghum, tinted
with the appropriate tree bark; though OF
coal oil for other purposes there was all too
little. If a great similarity Of quality AID
texture existed in the honespun cloth, the
enumeration of the foregoing means OF dyeing
clearly demonstrates that there was at least
opportunity for as great diversity of colo" Cs
distinguished the famous coat Of Joseph;
though the reader of today is aptto look with
some suspicion on the conspicuous forward
ness of the adjectfves vivid" brilliant
splendid" which always accompanied these
talismanic recipes
Strong thread for sewing was evolved from
the little fax wheels For any unusually
handsome work, if by any odd chance such
work should happen to be demanded, sewing
silk was procured i'll an emergency by raveI
ing the frinEeS of old silk shawlS or picking
to pieces silk scraps which had survived
times touch, and carding, combing, anC
twisting them into fine threads. These LITTLE
silken hanks" were sometimes SO prettlly
colored by means of the dyes that have beer
described as to become in the eyes of thu
womankind of that generation almost a
beautiful as the many shaded, dainty filoeelle
of the present are to the women of today.-A
c. Gordon in The Century.