Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-09-27
CONFEDERATE DRESS.
HOW THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH
 CLOTHED THEMSELVES.


 Fasfioning Garments from Crude Mate-
 rials-spinninc, Dyeing, Weaving.
 Costly thy habit as thy purse can buyn was maxim of necessity in the hard times; for there was no raiment the subject of bar ter or sale which was inexpensive. Sporadic instances taken at random prove the general rule In August, 1861, a private citizens coat and vest, made of five yards of coarse home spun cloth, cost s23O exclusive of the price paid for the making. The trimmings consisted of old cravats; and for the cutting and putting together, a country tailor charged $50. It is safe to say that the private citizen looked a v,rioable guy in his new suit, in spite of its heavy drain upon his pocketboOk
 In January, 1865, the material for lady's dress which before the war would have cost S10 could uut be hou-N-. fol ilSs than $500 The masrulins mind ts ne,,:;:l! to the task of guessing how erost q sy ., n- gct have been had for bol-Hst ''Oroueit =. ,.-h che 1lnes;' for i'll spi;v nt r.l+:a1!l sy ..c...;'r, nd un- falteTii!T l.- F,'' .Vn ;st = ..' ti,- e the wOIn..ec ~ ts@ i,o>- -..+rF. tr =. . ist,ring to the ree .- ". ''.i,ve$ @.G t,. f.r,..,aits at hcIne, the y@s.-." yr&:.,. 2' g.. ,-e days are cTets'on Fl.H ' --ve -. .-', < "er - ttC fash ions Gs lrn!!..-- ..- , ,.. - .,.5-si--,l I,pds
 
 ural that they >nouId be ,1 Interested, even though that interest could ill the main not reach beyond theory. Without it they often would have had q charm the less and a pang the mOre Any feminine garment in the shape of cloak or bonnet or dress which chauccd to come from the north was readily awarded its need of praise, and reproduced by sharp eyed observers, so far as the scarcity of materials would admit
 But fashOns rules were necessarily much relaxed in the southern Confectionery so far practice went when even such articles as pins brought through the blockade sold for SIP paper, and needles for S10, with hot enough of either.
 The superstition expressed in the couplet, See pin, and pick it up,
 All the day you'll have good luck | gained it's converts hy the score; more how ever, aS '"H h@ readily nagined, for the sake 1 of the l,i.l i,=t!i, which it was a stroke of happy tt.rt,.::c i0 find al:d seize, than of any other sovi luck that was to accompany the i finding. The broken needle of Confederate times did not go into the fire or out of the window, h;tt was carefully laid aside until : the rcd sealing wax of the ransacked desks | and secretaries lent it q head wherewith to appear handsome and useful pin. To obtain the bare materials out of which to fashion garments for the family and for the servants soon became a 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. Carding combs of a rough pattern were constructed for the 1 purpose of Verting the raw cotton into ! batting, and thence into rolls of uniform length and size for spinning. The hum of the spindle and the cfank of the loom trealle 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 O seemingly sublime indifference to the mighty l struggle that was convuIsing a 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 shall prophecy of them in the future, they were true to every trust reposed ill them; and with a most tre- mendouS power for direst evil ill their pos session, the negroes of the south in the days of the civil war did naught but good. If the ''colored troops'' of the Union army ''fou ht nobly," the slaves of the southern plantation so bore themselves in those stirring times as 10 met no %ina!!er need of praise.
 
 stantial tv%tu w,ru woven, cut and fash io:.ei! IL. E.lr rli, fer whites and blacks Plenti, ui C.c s o1 lGE re-entorced the array of Wuu4i ri co,ton and many little flax whtei v-h4t, lIs tde t3;,ys of peace has since move, 4.;-'l ,> .N.or.i itl it's coriy gilded and har} ,,},. ! .>.- - Fo.. .0'. 't some aesthe- r .rj .. '.! -,-, l.: ..s of its former ..--.~,,-'. -ue Of its tiny ;! ,.v-.
 4bo si:2 .. .-: .. n, of the cop D. < .. ,u, ". :e l~eiIs were ,.-i;-...':s ..>.-. .-...7 woven We uHs.. ''. ,.r = 4...~3 tat ''a hand :.. v . .'"nbination oi ;-.2. il boiling l va, =, .,- -y.iowH may be obt>i-.l,. r.. !" ..... ~,!..ag water upon other uoH.,n..4 It ;:"cts of ''sassafras, 5 swamp bay ,4ilu butterfly root" The same authorities tell Us that vivid purples, reds and greens" were produced from a S 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 great similarity of quality and texture existed in the homespun cloth, h,~ the . enumeration of the foregoing means of dyeing clearly demonstrates that there was at least opportunity for as great diversity of color as distinguished the famous coat of Joseph; :; though the reader of today is aptto look with 7 some suspicion on the conspicuous forward 7 v ness of the adjectives vivid" brilliant" ''splendid," which always accompanied these , talismanic recipes. Strong thread for sewing was evolved from the little flax wheels For any unusually i; handsome work, if by any odd chance such 7 work should happen to be demanded, sewing silk was procured in an emergency by ravel- ing the fringes of old silk shawls or picking to pieces silk scraps which had survived l times touch, and carding, combing, and 2 twisting them into fine threads. These little ; silken thanks" were sometimes so prettily colored hy means of the dyes that have been 7 described, as to became in the eyes of the t womankind of that generation almost as ., beautiful as the many shaded, dainty filoselles of the present are to the women of today.-A. c. Gordon in The Century.
 Bees and Carrier Pigeons. 0 The owner of some looming pigeons at Hamm bet that on fine day twelve of his