Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-08-31
What Couple of Brave Wisconsin Girls
Have Done Up the Chippewa
A Good Lesson for the
Strong Minded

From the Milwaukee Wisconsin
In our rambles "Up the Chippe-
wa" few days ago, we CHANGED
upon a dusky, brown. faced cir
blowing out twenty acre corn field
She was rugged in 8 snuff,colored
"bloomer," with straw hat and
good, honest number seven boots
There was no sham about her. She
was evidently all girl, and working
with will. She had been in the
neld since early morning, taking
long strides behind a spirited horse
with the lines thrown across her
shoulder, and both hands firmly al
the plow. 1t was just "good fun, =
she said, to take care of twenty acres,
and away she strobe through the
long rows-turning corners, kicking
over sods, and never thought of rest
or whoa" till the dinner horn SCUM
ded across the field.
On inquiry, we learned that our
cornteld heroine was one of two
New Hampshire girls who migrated
with their parents to Eau Claire,
some dozen years ago. They had
little means, but were ofgood work.
ing stock. They bargained for a
quarter section of wild land and set
about making a farm. There were
no boys in the family. The girls
were young, bright, healthy and full
OF pluck aud yigor. Their mother
dressed them in boomers and gave
them their choice, in>doors or out
From the start they took the place
of boys they were not afraid of dust
or sunshine they never complained;
they never tired out; they seldom
missed a day from the fields through
all the seasons, from earliest spring
70 latest autumn. AS they grew old.
er, they grew tough and wiry, and
were alike ready at handling teams,
breaking colts, building bridges,
opening roads, fording creeks, clear
log meadows, loading hay, binding
grain or mounting a straw stack
In good seasons, they cut eighty
tons of hay and eighty acres of grain.
In rainy seasons, they had to bring
out their hay "by hand" earryiny it
on poles, knee-deep through sloughs
and marshes. In winter they at
tended school aud took care of sixty
head of cattle, daawing hay from the
swamps in the coolest weather.
They hired no help except at harvest
ing. They did their own trading
and marketing, and could never be
ontwitted by any of the store chaps
at Eau Claire.
The girls are now eighteen and
twenty years of age, and have done
more farm work than any two boys
in the county. Their father, begin
ming with nothing, is now rich, with
broad fields and thousands of ready
stamps, mostly achieved through the
grit and energy of his daughters.
During the present season the girls
have "let up a little on their out
door accomplishments, and are only
eultivating twenty acres of corn for
their own amusement. They have
built them spacious residence
They attend balls and parties, go a
trouting, drive their own teams, and
occasionally give the boys a chance
to show their spunk and gallantry.-
Of course such girls are objects OF
excitement and interest in their
neighborhood. They are looked up
on as capital prizes" and young
fellows are ready to break then
necks for them. They are now right
in their freshest bloom, with thoughts
of love and romance beginning to
steal about the back of necks and
brains /; and what may seem. as
staange, they are neither coarse nor
masculine in appearance shey are
simply round, trim, sprightiy, full
breasted girls, wita resolution IN
their eye, and plenty of good sense
in their heads.
1t may be interesting to female
politicians to know that these Chip
pewa valley girls never whine or de,
claim about their rights or "posi-
ton" They saw rough work to be
done-work most needed ia our
Western eountry-.and asking odds o.
nobody, they went in bravely or
their muscle and did it. They have
not eackIed at conventions. They
have never sat with Miss Anthony
or Lucy Stone Blackwell. They
have fairly won much higher seat
among the queens of American in.
dustry.