The Greeley tribune., 1904-05-26
THE JUNGLE BEAUTY
SHE PLUCkS HER WARDROBE FRCH
THE TREES AND VINES.
Lace Bark Is the Favorite Hall Dre>s
Fabric OF the ScmiciNilired nclle of
the West Indies - Living Jewels
That Outshine the Diamond.


That Outshine the Diamond.
Down in the tropical jungles of Cen.
trail America and the West Indies tie
head of the family is not worried hy
milliners' and dressmakers' bills. Tie
| semicivilzed belle of these lands know ;
how to get nearly the whole of her cos
tune from the jungle She manufaC-
lures it herself from the materials she
gathers from nature Though she may
be able i'll rare cases TO get from tho
one shop ten or fifteen miles away q
few yards of cloth with which to maxi
| her dress, any trimming she may wis
to put upon it must be searched for iu
the woods.
Lace bark is her favorite material for
making anything light and dainty
| This lace bark is the film which covers
| the heart of the lace bark tree. Tho
natives carefully remove it and soak
| il in running water for three o. -four
| days In order to get of the gum am
unnecessary fiber. After that 1t is
| bleached on the sands by the river and
>prinkled now and then to whiten it
When II has become creamy white
IL Is pressed with hot iron or heat
ed stone and is ready for use, 1t has II
fine lacy appearance and runs into
more artistic patterns than any manu-
factured article. When made into a
dress it is wonderfully beautiful.
The jungle girl uses it sparingly on
her ordinary clothes. but for her ball
dress hounce after tlounce Is used to
give fluffy look to the skirts. She
knows that it becomes her as nothing
else would
Her jewelry consists of beautifully
colored seeds strung together in the
form of necklaces, bracelets and tiaras.
In addition to these, on the night of
the ball she catches the brilliant fire
flies which swarm in the jungle and
artistically arranges them in her dusky
locks. The jungle girl would not ex-
change her ''peenie wallahs," as she
calls the tiretiies, for the diamonds Of
the northern belle.
The jungle girls hats are a marvel
to behold. She weaves them herself
from the jippi jappa grass, and can get
any shape or style she fancies. She
trims them with the netty fiber of the
cocoanut palm and the gorgeous wings
of the mountain parrakeet which is
shot and brought home by her father
and brother. Even her parasol and
umbrella are supplied by kindly nature.
When the sun is too hot or the rain
too heavy u big p1aintain or banana
leaf does as we'll as anything bought in
the largest stores of an American city.
A creole belle is as fond of perfume
as the daintiest American woman and
is just as particular that 1t shall be Of |
the best kind She goes to much more |
trouble to procure it, but then she |
knows that it is always pure and fresh.
She first picks her fresh flowers, and
then. by some process handed down
from one general ation to another, she die |
tlls 1t.
The secret method is often known to |
only few families, and they would not |
give it away for any sum Of money. |
The lucky holders Of the secret are Of |
course envied by all who know them. |
Although others may receive presents !
of the much valued scent from those in |
the secret, they cannot make 1t them |
selves and therefore cannot afford to be
as lavish with it as they wish. |
The tropical girls soap is procured |
on the way to the bath. AS she walks |
down to the river to bathe she stops |
here and there to gather soap berries |
and cuts a piece of stick called "chew-
stick" which she uses as toothbrush. |
She chews the end of it until 1t be-
comes quite soft and froth gathers at
the end She then rubs her teeth well |
with it. This Is the best toothbrush on
earth, as it not only prevents the teeth
from decaying, but keeps them beauti
fully white and clean. People in other
countries, knowing the value of this
chewstick above all others as a denti
frice, have it powdered and exported to
them.
In many parts of South America the
natives cannot buy cloth to make their
clothes, SO they have to spin it them
selves out of cocoanut fiber, river
weeds and bamboo fiber. The cloth
woven from the bamboo fiber is very
soft and silky.
Unlike the West Indians, the South
American belle wears shoes of kind.
These are made of a coarse woven ma
terial like sailcloth, which is attached
to soles of rawhide. They are the most
comfortable shoes imaginable and are
used by the soldiers of South America
when on the march. They are called
"alpagattas," and Americans who have
Travelled in South America invariably
bring them home to their wives and
daughters for bath slippers. Those
who are lucky enough to have pair
would not exchange them for any 9th
er slippers, however costly. No other