628 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



value of many articles which were in common use in the classic ages. 

 The remark will apply to those of most importance, embraced under the 

 general term of clothing. The painter and sculptor are often eloquent 

 in their praises of the grace and beauty of the ancient wearing apparel, but 

 the simple truth should be stated, that in respect to their actual value as 

 garments, there is but little difference between the tunic, toga, and sandal 

 of the ancients, and the blanket and moccasin of the American Indian. A 

 kind of shoe, inferior to the moccasin, was known to the ancients, but was 

 not in common use. 



The sandal and the shoe may be appropriately taken as symbols repre- 

 senting the state of the useful arts among the ancients and moderns. The 

 arts of the former furnished scanty supplies to the demands of absolute 

 necessity, and were constantly reproduced in the same old mould of custom. 

 The latter having completely satisfied the actual wants of man, are now 

 surrounding him with comforts, conveniences, and luxuries in such profusion 

 as to exceed his most extravagant desires, and although apparently com- 

 plete they seem to be steadily approximating toward a higher point of per- 

 fection. 



The sandal was only a partial covering for that part of the foot which 

 man, as a traveling animal, soon found it absolutely essential to defend. 

 The more common variety did not protect the toes, and we may infer that 

 grave men and matrons, in those far-off ages, were often afflicted with 

 bruises on their pedal extremities, the pain of which our modern boys who 

 have played barefooted on a summer's day, can. fully appreciate. The 

 sandal did not guard the foot against filth, but rather became a recep- 

 tacle for it. Hence arose the necessity of frequently washing the feet. 

 Another serious objection to the sandal is, it will not prevent the foot from 

 expanding into uncomely shapes. All these defects are fully remedied in 

 the modern shoe and boot. They protect the foot from cold, dampness, and 

 dirt, and yet allow its natural perspiration to escape. They preserve the 

 natural form of the foot, and often tend to make it more symmetrical. 



The best material for the boot and shoe is, without doubt, leather ; being 

 manufactured from the natural covering of animals, it is porous, but imper. 

 vious ; strong, yet pliant. The preparations l.nown as leather are of two 

 kinds, which differ widely in their composition, the tawed and the tanned. 

 The first named was probably used by the ancients, and we find no evidence, 

 cither iu history or among relics, that the use of tannic acid was understood, 

 and we may natui-ally infer that " Simon, the tanner, whose house was by 

 the sea-side," alluded to in the New Testament, and all those of his class, 

 were artisans who practiced a kind of taxidermy, by which the skins of ani- 

 mals were merely preserved. 



The manner in w:hich the Indian of the American continent prepares 

 buckskin was probably the primitive mode, and is the basis of all tawed 

 preparations. The deer-skin, after the hair is removed, is covered carefully 

 with a preparation consisting of a mixture of deer's brains with ley made 

 from wood ashes, forming a kind of soap ; it is then thoroughly dried. 



