Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-09-25
THE BASKET MAKERS.
VISIT TO A COLONY Tor PRIMITIVE
AND uNREFlNED FOLK.

Work-1Tefhod OF Manufacture
Dantown Is eighty-five miles from New
York. and is reached by the New York.
New Haven and Hartford railroad. via
Stamford and New Canaan. A colony of
basket makers there inhabit d district be-
ginning about four miles north of New
Canaan, running In length about eight
miles, and in width about three miles.
In this baiEwick Is included another set
tlement called JumptCwn. but tho whole
district Is known as Dantown. The set
tlement derives it's name from the first
settlers, whose name was Dan, and ninety
nine hundredths of the people who live
there now are also Dams.
We drove over to Dantown to SEQ If
they were really the uncouth people they
were credited with being. The roads arc
narrow and full of rocks: in fact, the
whole country is nothing but rocks and
On almost impenetrable Jungle. Tho
homes Of tho basket makers are old.
tumble down, ramshacklo affairs, un-
painted, built of oak shingles, one half
of them fallen off, and the balance In a
state of irretrievable decay, fences falling
down, gates with no hinges, the whole
settlement looking as IL o cyclone had
struck Ii away back in revolutionary
war times, and not q stroke of repairs
been put to it since.
VIEW or AN INTERIOR.
For furniture of these houses there Is
nothing but the plainest straight backed
chairs, with basket woven seats, some of
them handed down fapm great grand
fathers time, and some of late domestic
manufacture, but all presenting the same
style and discomfort. The old fashioned
hreplaces are built of wood and plastered
4x1cf
high livers. They eat because it sustains
life. They do not sit long at table, and
they dispense with all of the convention
alities of table etiquette The writer sat
down to dine, or, as the host expressed it,
ito take pot luck, andwas told to pitch
In and help yerself," which he did. The
bill of fare was pork and beans, potatoes,
bread and molneses, and apple sauce, the
young girl of the family remarking: "Say,
maar. of it's dark t'night III git nuther
bag o. them there apples" Whereupon
maar replied: DRY up yer yawp.
The people live ffugally, because they
are compelled. A basket maker must
work early and late to make So week,
and as there are generally dozen young
'nns" about the house, this does not go
far, though the young 'uns" were oil In
q semi-state Of nudity.
Leu buCo0 pSOp1O dIC us content WITH
their lot as O North Carolina clay eater
There is always q market for their baskets.
and they manage to squeezc along on-tho
commonest food SO that they can indulge
In tobacco and get the little brown Jug
filed. The latter is of more absolute
necessity to the majority of the Dantown-
ers than the sack of -four or the fitch of
bacon. Years ago they were famous for
their store of Medford rum, but it is never
seen now. In its place IS rye whisky, and
not the best, either, and now that New
Canaan is a prohibition town, they are
sometimes put to desperate straits for the
wherewithal to wet their whistles.
THE BASKET MAKER AT WORK.
There are no organized workshops. and
the business of setting up baskets Is car
ried on In the kitchen, dining room and
parlor, which is generally all In one room
They are very particular about their tim
Der. They use hickory, white and black
ash and black oak. They use the first cut
Of the log and no other. The bark Is
peeled off. and the log. which is never
over ten inches through, Is split into sec
tions. making it easier 10 handle. They
take section and pound 1t over log Or
rock until 1t slivers. 1t Is then segregated
by peeling the siivers of. which are used
for what i called ehlling" for the baskets.
The standards" are peeled much thicker.
and have the appearance Of q -four barrel
hoop They are tied in bundles. and. IL
not used when green. are soaked IN water
over night, which makes them pliable and
easy to weave. If they do not cut this
wood themselves they are compelled to
pay $16 cord for it; but it Il said that .
great many cut their own wood and are
not particular whose land they cut it
from. Times have changed with the bas-
ket makers. and competition has cheap
ened their product from SO . dozen
twenty years ago to $3.50 dozen now.
And then wood WIS only 80 q cord.
The mode Of basket making is simple.
First the thick sticks arc cut to the re-
Quired length and laid on the ground.
point Of contact they are fastened, and
then comes the work Of weaving the light
or side strips IN and out. One strip is
woven in several times around tho basket
before Ii gives out, when another one Is
tapped on As the weaving continues the
standards arc raised and bent or shaped"
until II has reached the required height.
Then two thicker strips, fat ON one side,
rounded with draw shave on the other,
are clappcd on. The standards, which
project above this band, are twisted
around it and securely fastened. The
handles are put on before the band is.
These arc made Of thick strip trimmed
down smooth, with a notch cut in them,
which abuts against tho band Then the
basket IS turned upside down, and an
other star shaped set Of strips is pushed
up through tie woof Of tho basket. This
IL done SO that the basket can sit on It's
own bottopa. A basket maker has to