360 Percy Wells Bidwell 



men have been content with two suits of clothes, called the every- 

 day clothes, and the Sabbath-day clothes. The former were usually 

 of two sorts, those for labour, and those for common society. Those 

 for labour in the summer were a check homespun linen shirt, a pair 

 of plain tow-cloth trowsers, and a vest generally much worn, for- 

 merly with, but more modernly without sleeves; or simply a brown 

 tow-cloth frock and trowsers, and sometimes a pair of old shoes tied 

 with leather strings, and a felt hat, or an old beaver hat stiffened and 

 worn white with age. For the winter season they wore a check blue 

 and white woolen shirt, a pair of buck-skin breeches, a pair of white, 

 or if of the best kind, deep blue home-made woolen stockings, and a 

 pair of double soled cowhide shoes, blacked on the flesh side, tied with 

 leather strings; and, to secure the feet and legs against snow, a pair 

 of leggins, which, for the most part, were a pair of worn out stockings, 

 with the bottom and toe of the foot cut off, drawn over the stocking 

 and shoe, and tied fast to the heel and over the vamp of the shoe; 

 or if of the best kind, they were knit on purpose of white yarn, and 

 they answered for boots on all occasions; an old plain cloth vest 

 with sleeves, lined with a cloth called drugget: an old plain cloth 

 great coat, commonly brown, wrapped around the body, and tied 

 with a list or belt: or as a substitute for them, a buck-skin leather 

 waistcoat and a leather apron of tanned sheep-skin fastened round the 

 waist, and the top of it supported with a loop about the neck, and a 

 hat as above, or a woolen cap drawn over the ears. 



"For ordinary society in summer, they were clad in a check linen 

 homespun shirt and trowsers, or linen breeches, white homespun 

 linen stockings, and cowhide single soled shoes, a vest with sleeves 

 usually of plain brown cloth, a handkerchief around the neck, a 

 check cap, and a hat in part worn. 



''In winter they were clad as above described for summer except 

 that they assumed, if they had it, a better great coat, a neckcloth 

 and a hat that might be considered as second best. Their Sabbath-day 

 suit for winter, was like that last mentioned, except that their stock- 

 ings were cormnonly deep blue, their leather breeches were clean and 

 of a buff colour, they added a straight-bodied plain coat and a white 

 holland cap, and sometimes a wig with a clean beaver hat. For the 

 summer it was a check holland shirt, brown linen breeches and stock- 

 ings, single soled cow hide shoes with buckles, a plain cloth and some- 

 times a broadcloth and velvet vest, without sleeves: the shirt-sleeves 

 tied above the elbows with arm strings of ferreting of various colours, 



