Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-28
THE RED DANDANA,

IL A Philadclphian who was in Washing
! ton when Congress closed for the present
Christmas holidays. remarks upon the
! hale and hearty appearance OF Senator
4'ettus. who Is 81 years old. and refers
1 to the fact that that gentleman and bis
| colleague Mr.. Morgan, both uAe bandana
/ handkerchief, which are described by
| him as ''haring specimens Of the bandane
variety, but Of silk and very soft. We
are further informed that sometimes
both the Alabamians will have out their
handkerchief ct the same time, which
ADDS some variety to the Democratic side
! Of the Senate
| The Dispatch is glad to hear OF its old
{ffriend the red bandana. again. 1t had
iHdropped out Of our sight entirely. This
lis a generation that esteens it not The
Hast time we heard OF it in the Senate
4 chamber it was vigorously flourished by
lthat sturdy son Of Virginia. Allen w.
Thurman. In the presidential campaign
lief 1885, when he ran on our ticket w.sh
itMr. Cleveland. the bandana became q
] Fort Of battle-Gag of our party. It was
! put forth in all sizes and colors, and was
woven Of many different materials. and
FLOR few weeks was often to be seen IN
tsuse But this renaissance of the bandana
was not Of long duration. It's continuance
! might have been protracted had our party
sNon, not lost, in that campaign.
4 There was once time when thousands
iEcf bandanas were annually sold in the
lsouth. Some were Of very fine and cost
| " fabric. but the greater number were
| OF Gotten. The latter were in urgent requi-
siticn by the negro women. Many g
southernar will remember his nanny"
with a bright red turban on her head;
her black skin shining: her white teeth
showing; her appearance consequential
I,and happy: her whole costume pic
turesque.
No more the negress wears the bandana.
It is eschewed by ier as badge Of slav-
Fiery. So far as our observation extends.
it has gone out Of fashion entirely wan
the women Moron the other hand, or
other foot-are brogues any longer in
vogue with the 'fiel' hams" Perhaps
these. too. are associated with slavery.
or it may be that changes in the shoe
trade have induced the darkies to aban-
don brogues for q Shower. but less last
Ing. shoe. And. by the way, there vas
time during the war, when not even the
good. honest clumsy old brogue could be
obtained for the negroes. Then we made
a shoe whereof the sole was OF wood,
and the uppers OF leather.
We remember cold frosty dawn. late
in the war. when a gang OF about hun
,dred negro men came marching down
Broad street to go to Wor.. on the forti-
flcations just beyond the city limits. They
ali wore wooden bottomed shoes and their
changing footballs echoed and Te-ecnoed on
the stones of the deserted street, while
the light-hearted. careless fellows made
merry with laughter, and Jest. and song
But tbs negroes were not the only per-
sons in Virginia who wore wooden bot
toned shoes in those days OF scantiness
and pinchins poverty. They were not
shoes to march in comfortably and
hence were not in favor in the army.
but well-to-do country ladies might be
seen wearing them.
That also was the day OF the knitting
needle. the use OF which every girl learn
ed before she ceased playing with her
dolls. II was also ..nae when the loom.
long before discarded and sent TO some
old garnet or lumber-roern. was restored to
use and nearly every family once more
made its own cloths and clothes, too.
But what has all this to do with the
red bandana? Nothing-yet much Mr..
1PeItus and Mr.. Morgan will understand!
we. who were dwellers here in the his
toric past-"in the land where We were
tireaming''-have q language and senti-
raent OF our own. Yes; the Senators will!
understand. They remember the cotton
bandana days. Plantation life has not
faded from their memories. They can
recall the turbaned ''r1ammies," the child
ren nesting in their nurses arms. and
the sound Of song and banjo coming from,
the cabin homes. If it were not Soft
they were not gentlemen OF sentiment
they might have followed the vain and
foolish world of fashion and given up
their nne old bandana handkercliefs.
-----------