Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1890-02-05
HISTORY or SHOES.
Primitive Foot-Wearlwas Probably Made
of Woven Reeds or Skins.

Primitive Foot-wearlwas Probably Made
of Woven Reeds or Skins.
Nobody knows who was the first shoe
maker There must have been time
when every body went barefooted, and
the first shoes wete probably made of
woven reeds or skins. The original
shoemaker doubtless sought comfort
more than style.
The Celt, who at times wandered over
moor or morass, at others over stony
mountains, invented shoe that suited
his purpose exactly. A sole Of heavy
hides protected his feet from sharp
stones, while upper or legs Of lighter
skins protected his ankles and legs from
thorns and bushes The buskin was so
constructed that the water exuded from
IL as soon as the foot ceased to be i'm
mersed. In the modern shoe, the idea
is that water be kept out not let out
The Celtic buskin was tough and elias.
tic, and could be replaced wherever
there were untanned skins at hand.
Every Celt was his own shoemaker.
With the Norman conquest came the
introduction into the British Isles of
tanned leather, which had long been in
use in Normandy, where it had been in
troduced by the Romans.
Shoes then began to take on style,
and the styles have never been dupli-
Gated in later days. From close-ftting
shoes fashion went to long, pointed
toes, which, in time, grew so long that
they had to be fastened to the wearer's
knees.
Shoes were gorgeous affairs in the
middle ages. King Richard, the Lion
hearted, had his boots stamped with
gold. John Lakeland, his brother, wore
boots spotted with golden circles; while
Henry III. wore boots checkered with
golden lines, every square of which was
enriched with lion. Cardinal Wolsey's
shoes were
OF gold and stone precious,
Costing many thousand pounds.
Sir Walter Raleigh wore shoes stud
ded with diamonds, said to have cost
ESQ, 200. The gallants in Charles ii. 8
time wore their high boot tops turned
down to the ankles to show the gorgeous
lace with which they were lined.
High-heeled boots were worn by la
dies for three parts ofsthe eighteenth
century. They raised their fair wearers
some inches, rendering walking difficult
and running impossible.
But these fashions were confined to
the rich. The poor wore shoes of wood,
reeds and untanned leather. The High
landers made brogans out Of untanned
deer-hide, and the southern nations wore
cloth sandals and slippers.
1t was not until the year 1900 that an
Englishman invented rights and lefts;"
previously both shoes were shaped ex.
actly alike.
So far as we can discover the aborigi-
nal tribes of America never went bare
footed. They always made and wore
moccasins, the easiest shoe ever invent
ed. On the other hand, the Australian
natives knew nothing Of shoes, and the
natives of Africa are in the same box to
this day.
The Chinese make their shoes of wood
and paper, and can not remember when
they began to make them. A Chinese
shoe is warm In winter, cool in summer
and always easy to the foot.
Superstition, as usual, has busted her.
self greatly about shoes; but it is not
worth while to cite all the silly sayings
about them. There is no significance
about the way people wear their shoes,
either at heel, toe or side, although un-
tidy foot wear is doubtless some indica-
ton of carelessness See that you have
comfortable shoe, keep it tidy, and bad
luck will never bother you.-Golden