Evening journal., 1889-09-10
WHIPPING THE CAT.
THE WAY THE SHOEMAKER WORKED
FIFTY YEARS AGO.

He Trnmped from House to House and
Worked Up the Leather the Farmer Had
Tanned ne Knew His Business Thor
oughIy and Was Wen Informed Man.
"Any occasion today, bossF
perhaps so What's your stintg"
Il can box the craft"
"Where did You have your last bench"
AT Goodht & Selem's, but the last six
months I've been whipping the cat through
Rural county"
However strange and unmeaning the above
conversation may seem TO the average reader,
to the old fashioned shoemaker it is quite
familiar. and will bring TO his mind the time
when be himself may have asked ''shop
boss ii he had any occasion today" instead
Of asking the now familiar question. "Have
you a vacant jobp
1t is asserted that fifty years ago the shoe
makers were distinguished above all other
operatives for their thoughtfulness, shrewd-
ness, logical power and the knowledge which
they derived from books Their reputation
In this respect has been characterized as
unique
sHOEMAKERs WHO WE'RE GREAT.
Again, many knights of the awl have bro
ken the bars Of circumstances and climbed
the steps where flames proud temple shines
affair" Was it not Linn@us, a shoemaker,
who founded the science Of botanyi Did not
Wmckelman, a shoemaker disclose the beau
ties and marvels Of antique sculpturei Who
was the mainstay Of the society Of anti
luariansi John Bond, a shoemaker Who
wrote the Farmers Boyf Bloomfield, a
shoemaker Who founded the Society Of
Friendsl John Fox, sbcs or. Who
started the Baptist mission i1zzzz William
Carey, a shoemaker
That the shoemakers' craft has been pro
life of so many noted persons has been much
commented on, and many reasons therefor
have been advanced Ye olden shoemaker
was very different style Of parsonage from
the shoemaker of today In those far off
days the shoemaker went from house to
house, "whipping the cat" as it was termed,
carrying his kit and bench with him 1t is
possible that his mingling in varied com
partnership, his acquaintance with new
scenes, the exchanging Of ideas, and the
reading Of new books, all tended to make him
the philosopher that he was But the adj
vent of machinery revolutionized the trade,
aud now the shoe operative follows some
particular branch Of shoemalling for his live
lihood
In the various processes of the making Of
factory shoes the work is divided and subdi
vided, so that the amount Of labor perform
ed upon a shoe by any one operative is limit
ed 1t is the constant repetition Of his allot
ment Of work that makes the operative an ex
pert in that particular branch, or, as th'
shoemaker Of twenty years ago would tern
it, bis stint" Thus it was that the ''sho'
boss would ask, 'What is your stintT'-
meaning what part Of the shoe do you worl
on. II the shoemaker who was looking FOL
an occasion" 10 work. happened to under
stand his business In all its detail from tn
making of an infants shoe to that Of lei
boo4 he would say, II can box the craft"
WHIPPING THE cAT.n
In early days the farmer would take to tn
tanner hides 30 be tanned; when returned tn
leather was carefully laid away until som
son Of st. Cvispin came "whipping the cat
through that section. As this only occurre
about once year the advent of the shoe
maker was an event of great Importance
particularly TO the younger members of tn
family, for it meant 70 them not only 'neV
shoes, but the covering OF many a new bal
numerous whip lashes, shoe strings aud othe
tribes that make glad the childish heart.
the shoemaker happened 10 be a young ma
an unmarried then the maidens' heart bea
in that uncertain way that maidens' heart
are sometimes won't to do, for the shoemake
was looked upon as a very desirable catch.
| .AisT gsctlqps big Re9eb Ia sope fayorit
6offatr h5 void PROCEED 70 take the neasuf
OF those Of the family for whom new shoe
were to be made. Sometimes the farmer ha
lasts Of his own, but II he had not and ther
happened TO be none suitable among III
me0ger stock carried by the shoemaker, last
had 30 be got Thus successful "whippe
Of the catn was expected 10 possess some {
the carpenters handicraft as well as that
the shoemaker.
The farmer was usually prepared for tn
emergency by having at hand several piec
Of well seasoned beech or rock maple The
by the use of saws, chisel draw knife, i'll
aud rasps, carried for the purpose, the sho
maker would make his lasts, and althoug
they might not have been made in quite
shapely a manner or upon so scientific pri
ciple as are lasts in the later days, they a
swered tho requirements of those times qui
as well as the "Dayballs' or Parrots of Il
present.
Using the foot as a model, the journeym'
would cut his pattern. He would then c
out the ''uppers" While the uppers we
on the "crimping forms" he would occul
his time in doing whatever patching or 9th
repairing was to be done.
Factory shoe pegs" were sometimes TO
had, but more frequently the shoemaker ma
J his own, and they were quite as good as a
that could be purchased.
As only one last for each size was mac
! one shoe had to be completed before anotf
could be lasted.
p. AS the stock Of shoes for the coming u
g had TO be made and the process was slow,
8 shoemaker's visit would bequite an extend
o one, the usual time being about three wee
to provide for the wants of a family Of seN
n or eight persons six wtsSs would scarce suffi
Tho pay amounted to about s. a week "
, board and lodging As the visit Of the sh
y maker was known 70 all the neighbors q
: would call around every evening In order
y hear him tell his funny stories or free
= mind upon the various topics Of the day
Tom Candlen In brakes Magazine.
Rr4,fea ~ Man