THE FIRST YEARS OE THE REPUBLIC. 



29 



work by some one else. Another charge more curious 

 was for " currying a pair of boot legs," eight cents ; and 

 another, "to a dogskin," thirty-three cents. The frag- 

 ment of skin from a calf's head was called a "pate," and 

 twenty of these pates were sold for a dollar and sixty- 

 seven cents. 



Some idea of the magnitude of this little tannery may 

 be gained from its charges to Joshua Loring, the leather 

 and harness merchant of Hingham in 1805. Twenty- 

 seven sheepskins at forty cents each were charged that 

 year and ninety-three sheepskins the next. There was 



Joel Willcutt's Cobbling Shop, Elm Street. 

 Built 1791. Used as post office 1806 to 1837. 



tanned for the same man one hogskin for a dollar, and it 

 must have been used by Joshua Loring in making saddles. 



Another tannery that some persons now remember was 

 near the site of the present Masonic building, just across 

 James River. Here stood in later years a shop for butch- 

 ering, and both industries were of use in the support of 

 the townspeople. 



But leavmg the tanneries, all extinct long ago, an inter- 

 esting project at Little Harbor merits our attention. 



It was the scheme of Elisha Doane and some others to 



