The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-04-27
4 UTOMOBILE COATS MADE OF HUMMING BIRD SKIM

The very latest thing in women's cos
tumes-the t"derner cri," as they say in
dear Paris-is a "three-quarter" coat of
humming bird skins, reaching TO the
knee.
Expensive? Well, you may better be-
lieve it. Such a coat costs $4,000. 1t is
garment reserved exclusively for the use
of the fortunate women whom million
aires delight to adorn.
Think how many thousands of the skins
of these tiny feathered creatures must
be required to compose a coat. But there
are some parts of the world where hum
ming birds may still be obtained in num-
bers sufficient to meet even such a de-
mand.
The humming bird coat is specially
adapted for automobile wear. 1t demands
sunshine for the display of its brilliant
beauty. A woman clad in such garment
is an animated rainbow; she literally
scintillates.
Cleopatra, the most famous for extrav-
agance of all the women of history dis
solved in vinegar at a banquet one of the
two largest existing pearls, in order TO
win bet which she had made with Mark
Antony to the effect that she could give
dinner that would cost more money
than any on record. Similarly, there are
many of her sex today who exhaust in
genuity in devising methods whereby
squandering may be accomplished on an
unprecedented scale
New opportunities for spending are al
ways in demand. There is in Paris a
fashionable slipper maker, who recently
put together a pair of slippers which he
regarded as his chef d'oeuvre-though. to
tell the truth. it hardly occurred to him
that he could sell them They were
mere curiosity, as he considered. being
fashioned wholly of the breasts of hum
ming birds
Soft, glistening things they were, shad-
! ing from emerald to gold, and from ruby
to emerald. as the light fell upon them
from different angles. The slipper artist
made them for the sheer joy of working
on such dainty things He did not care
to sell them. But along came an Amer
lean millionaire with a brand new and
(of course) very beautiful wife How
much were they? Twenty-Five hundred
dollars. Done! The slippers were sold.
Could the lady wear them? She had
already settled that question by putting
them on-though the slipper-maker had
imagined them at least size too small
for any grown womans foot. But the
American woman from Louisiana
whence this lady camel possesses, ii is
said, the smallest foot in the world. The
Cinderella story was repeated in real
life.
But how about the "hummers?" AL |
though not very long ago among the (,
most numerous feathered species, they
cannot, if fashion demands such slaugh- |
ter. long survive. In fact, they are al |
ready threatened with extinction. I'm |
less the reckless killing Of them can be |
stopped. these birds-most interesting for
the reason that they are peculiar to |
America, none Of them being found in |
the old world-must soon pass away.
The business of killing them has been |
conducted on an almost incredible scale. |
One learns of 5000 skins of the ruby-and-
topaz humming bird alone shipped from
a Brazilian port in a single consignment.
In one week there were sold at auction
in London $4,000 humming bird skins!
So great 10 the demand for humming
bird skins by the millinery trade that
residents OF many parts OF Brazil EN-.
ploy their slaves in collecting and pre-
pairing them for European markets, and
vast numbers are shipped annually from
Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Pernambuco
But the principal focus of this feather
ed family is in Ecuador, where more
than 100 species are found. Colombia,
also. is very productive hunting ground
for humming Birds which are bought up