Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1874-02-04
StFong.Minded Women.

| rights movement is q new idea. II
dates back as far as the days of Theseus
when Hypolita, the Queen Of the Anna.
IONS, was vanquished by the Greciar
hero, who compelled that strong g-minded
women to marry him. Shakespeare, in
the Midsummer Nights Dream" has
made very charming use of that an.
cient tradition, as, no doubt, all ouI
readers well know.
Even in the present generation these
female warriors exist in the Kingdom
Of Dahomey; their principal drill con-
sists in yelling, firing, and then running
at full speed out of danger.
The ancient Amazons, however, seem
to have been of far superior race OF
beings to the black heroines Of Africa,
if We may Judge from what Herodotus
says Of the Amazons.
"These Amazons, says Herodotus
(Book iv., 110-11O, "the Scythians call
Aiorpata; and this name in the Greek
means man-slayers, for they call man
aior, and oatd means to kill" He goes
on to tell us that, with lively, womanly
fury, these Amazons, being captured
by the Greeks and taken away, "as
many as could fill three ships" rose
against their captors, when asleep, and
cut them all to pieces. But when they
had done that, they could not navigate
the ships, and were carried at the mercy
of the winds to q part OF the coast Of
Scythia- The Scythians, q herd of
whose horses they stole, thought they
were set Of smaller and more impudeut
men, and gave the impertinent creatures
beating, till, by their dead bodies,
they found that their enemies were
women. They then changed their tao
tics, and sent out only the young men
to make love to them and SO these
cruel man-slayers were subdued.
1t is q very pretty story. There are
two or three mastery touches in it that
raise it in our esteem, while, at the
same time, they prove the truthfulness
Of the Father Of History. Who that
knows men and women would not swear
that this was true? Herodotus, who
visited the descendants Of these ANA
IONS, is accounting for q corrupted
speech. l. The men were not able to
learn the language of the women, but
the women soon acquired that OF the
men. 2. The SauromstB (their descen-
dants)use the Scythian language, speak
ing it corruptly from the first. since
the Amazons never learned it correctly.
Ask any of the teachers at the ladies'
colleges il that is not the touch of a
master. 3. When the women under
stood the men, they (the men) spoke to
them as follows "We have parents
and possessions Chat men all over /;
let us, then, no longer lead this kind of
life, but come to our people, and live
with them and (here they put their
arms round the warlike young ladies)
we will have You as our wives, and none
other"
tits very pleasant episode, and would
make fine picture. The ladies, how
ever, were equal to the occasion. 1--WE
could live with you," they said, ''but
not with your womankind. What would
they think Of us? We ride, shoot, throw
the iavelin, kill people and wild beasts
they sit at home, or ride in wagons.
and mind household affairs. If you
desire to prove yourselves honest men,
go to your parents, claim your property
then come back and marry us, and let
us live by ourselves"
Herodotus does not tell us what the
Scythian young ladies said as to whole
posse of their bravest and most mar
riageable men being thus carried off.
The young men, taking their sweet
hearts advice, went home, claimed their
fortunes and goods, and came back to
their warlike brides; but, having got
thus far, it was not in the Amazon, or
woman nature, not to go further. The
next morning, they cried out, "Alarm
and fear are upon us (poor Amazons y;
we have deprived you of your parents,
them of you. What will they think of
us? But since you consider us worthy
to be your wives, let us leave this
9 untry which We have invaded, and,
having crossed the River Tanais, let us
live there" The poor men yielded;
and hence, says sly old Herodotus, the
descendants speak bad Scythian-just
as Mrs. Malaprop or Mrs. Partington
might speak bad English, never having
caught the by-words cleverly-adding,
q Sauromatian virgin may, not marry
until she has killed an enemy. "Some
Of them, therefore, die of old age. with
out being married. not being able to
satisfy the law.