Show INDIAN WOMEN MAKING THE FAMOUS PANAMA HATS r t n L V I r i iF t 1 F M Me Mil e f il iL While the so called Panama hats are oro made In various islands ot of the West IndIes ns an well ell as In South the real reat and only genuine articles come from Guayaquil In Ecuador which II is the tho great center center of lima tho export trade There they are made by Indian women 1 a peculiar grass or palm fiber being used and each hat requiring the labor ot of several months The selected mate material material rial Is carefully blenched find and softened and the operation ot of plaiting some sometimes sometimes times carried on under water The best beet panamas like lIko the tho best seldom get beyond the borders ot of the country In whIch they are produced being eagerly bought by the native gentry Who know a lino sombrero when they sea It and Ia pay enormous prices fur tor bats ot of time the highest quality |