The makers of these goods are wholly the poor, ignorant half-breeds, who spring from the Canadian French and the Indian. Finding that hats, as well as the skins of the animals they trapped, could be traded for, the family talent was brought into use to produce something that might contribute to their meagre subsistence. So during the winter season, while the men hunted the muskrat, the Indian women and children plaited straw and made hats, which, on the opening of spring, were carried with the skins obtained by the hunters, to the towns, where they were exchanged for food, drink, clothing and ammunition. To the advantages of soil and climate is attributed that purity of color, brilliancy of enamel, toughness of fibre and elasticity of texture which are recommendations of the Mackinaw. Added to these natural qualities was the advantage of a peculiar treatment given to the straw by the natives, who employed a whitening or bleaching process without the use of chemicals, giving increased beauty to the article. During the prosperity of Mackinaw straw plaiting, a prominent character among the half-breeds was one Madame Lousseux, a sturdy, aged matron, with twelve hearty daughters, who, inheriting their mother's prolific nature, were in turn each the proprietress of a family of a dozen boys and girls. They all appeared to inherit the old lady's natural ability and wonderful expertness, and surpassed all competitors in the plaiting of the straw. The choicest products in braid and hats came from the Lousseux family. In 1834, and for many years after, these goods were sold and used only as ordinary harvest hats. It now seems surprising that an article possessing such attractive merits should have occupied a secondary position and been so long in establishing the reputation it finally secured. The first person, as far as discovered, who used this article for retail purposes as a genteel and fashionable hat, was Henry Griswold in the year 1845, who did business in the then little and obscure town of Racine, Wisconsin. The Raciners must have been people of an appreciative and refined taste, as it appears that Mr. Griswold sold the hat for several seasons to his own advantage. Prior to 1846 these goods were sold in New York by Leland, Mellen & Co., at that time the largest wholesale hat firm in the country. Mr. Mellen retired from business in 1851. In reply to a personal inquiry of the writer in the year 1874, Mr. Mellen wrote from Framingham, Mass., as follows: