Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1923-09-12

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tic products were the superfine cash
mere shawls that were the last word
in clothing accessories to the smartly
dressed women of tina West two gen.
erations or more ago.
Back in the reign of Napoleon Bona.
parte, when that temporarily devoted
husband was looking for rare gifts to
please the fancy of his charming and
gracious wife, he bought one of the
most beautiful Of the shawls for her,
and from that time on the KashmiI
shawls ran long and brilliant course
at the court of tickle fashion and
Srinagar developed an industry which
kept the shuttle flying through 10000
looms in the state.
Beautiful Shawl Patterns.
About the same time American
whalers and sailing vessels that were
blowing the Pacific, exploring, naming
and remaining islands in the South
seas, made their way into the ports OF
India in order that the women wait
ing at home for the welcome sign of
sail night add to their collections Of
treasure one of those priced light
wraps which have become renowned
for the glowing harmony, depth and
enduring qualities of it's brilliant
colors.
One of the most beautiful of the
elaborate designs was the cone pat
tern; another general favorite being
the ring shawl, which, though not
at all transparent, is so soft that 1t
can easily be drawn through a finger
ring. Fortunate indeed was the WON
an who happened to possess one laden
with the delicate embroidery which
made them so handsome and so costly |
The production of shawls in Kash-
mir, however, has fallen off within
the last 70 or 80 years and is almost
non-existent today. The Franco-Prus-
sian war sealed their doom, and the
famine in India during 1877-79 played
havoc among the weavers. It is said
that if it were not for the fact that
according to the treaty between the
state of Kashmir and the British gov
eminent six pairs of shawls of fine
quality must be paid yearly, probably
even the knowledge of the art itself
would die out among the natives,
though it has been practiced since the
days of Emperor Baber, the first Of
the Great Mcguls, who ruled India in
the early part Of the Sixteenth CEN
fury. In those days and for centuries
afterward the beautiful shawl woven
and embroidered by the Kashmiri
maiden was the chief object in the
dowry she brought her husband.
The queer part of the story is that
these exotic things are not made Of
wool of sheep, nor do all the animals
live in Kashmir. In our everyday
parlance, the word cashmere is incor.
rectly applied to material made from
the finest grade Of the wool Of merino
sheep raised in Spain, but the real
product is made from the soft, very
fine and short underwood of the shawl
goat which lives for the most part in
the mountainous regions of Tibet
There are several varieties of this So
called wool, but on the finest of it the
maharaja Of Kashmir has a monopoly.
Transportation a Drawback.
In addition to shawl-weaving the
Kashmiri have long been famous for
gold and other metal work, embroid-
cry, and for the production of that
most concentrated and costly Of per-
fumes, altar, from the roses that grow
in such profusion in this fortunate
valley.
Since artistic products are usually
of great value in small bulk, no doubt
the economics of Kashmirs Transport
tation problem have helped to turn
the energies Of the country into such
manufactures. In the slow-moving
bullock carts the trip Of freight into
or out Of Kashmir to the nearest rail-
road requires close to 10 days, while
even the carrying Of the mail In faster
conveyances usually requires three
days. The difficulties and slowness Of
transportation adds perhaps $25 ton
to the cost Of the products moved.
But for this transportation problem
Kashmir might supply all India with
the fruits of the temperate zone
Since there is no reasonable outlet for
fruits and vegetables, and since only
a limited number of tourists enters
Kashmir, living there is surprisingly
cheap. Labor, too, is cheap; and the
absence of motorboats in this aquatic
paradise Is ascribed by economists to
the fact that the labor of five oars
men for a day is less costly than one
gallon OF the meager supply of gaso-
line that finds its way into the coun-
try.