, the
ancient country of the Jews. To a mill of this sort our Saviour alluded
when, with reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, he said: 'Two
women shall be grinding at a mill, the one shall be taken and the other
left.'

"This mill is much preferable to that used at present in upper Egypt for
making the dhourra bread. It is a smooth stone, placed on an inclined
plane, upon which the grain is spread, which is made into meal by
rubbing another stone up and down upon it.

"Our first water mills were of that description denominated tub-mills.
It consists of a perpendicular shaft, to the lower end of which an
horizontal wheel of about four or five feet diameter is attached, the
upper end passes through the bedstone and carries the runner after the
manner of a trundlehead. These mills were built with very little expense,
and many of them answered the purpose very well.

"Instead of bolting cloths, sifters were in general use. These were made
of deer skins in the state of parchment, stretched over a hoop and
perforated with a hot wire.

"Our clothing was all of domestic manufacture. We had no other resource
for clothing, and this, indeed, was a poor one. The crops of flax often
failed, and the sheep were destroyed by the wolves. Linsey, which is
made of flax and wool, the former the chain and the latter the filling,
was the warmest and most substantial cloth we could make. Almost every
house contained a loom, and almost every woman was a weaver.

"Every family tanned their own leather. The tan vat was a large trough
sunk to the upper edge in the ground. A quantity of bark was easily
obtained every spring in clearing and fencing land. This, after drying,
was brought in, and in wet days was shaved and pounded on a block of
wood with an axe or mallet. Ashes were used in place of lime for taking
off the hair. Bears' oil, hogs' lard, and tallow answered the place of
fish oil. The leather, to be sure, was coarse; but it was substantially
good. The operation of currying was performed by a drawing-knife with
its edge turned, after the manner of a currying-knife. The blocking for
the leather was made of soot and hogs' lard.

"Almost every family contained its own tailors and shoemakers. Those who
could not make shoes, could make shoepacks. These, like moccasins, were
made of a single piece on the top of the foot. This was about two inches
broad, and circular at the lower end. To this the main piece of leather
was sewed, wit