The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1878-07-25
A FEMALE BASEBALL CLUB.
The Disastrous Resu is - hich Followed an
Attempt to organize One in Danbury
From the Daubury News


Attempt to organize One in Danbury.
[From the Danbury News
The only attempt on record of Dan
bury trying to organize female base
ball club occurred last week. 1t was
rather lncipient affair, but it demon
strated everything necessary, and in
that particular answered every purpose
lhe idea was cogitated and carried out
by SIX young ladies. 1T was merely de.
signed for an experiment on which to
| base future action. The young ladies
were at the house of one of their num-
Der when the subject was brought up.
| Inc premises are capa@rn7-e e-,d include
| quite piece o. turf. rom the
street by several drUop4- ,xuriant.
old-fashiOned apple trees. Ine young
LADY OF the house has brother who is
fond Of baseball, and has the necessary
machinery for game. This was taken
out on the turf under the trees. The
ladies assembled and divided themselves
into two mines of three each. The first
three took the bat, and the second three
went to the bases-one as catcher, one
as pitcher, and the other as chaser-or,
more technically, fielder. The pitcher
was lovely brunette, with eyes full of
dead earnestness. The catcher and bat
ter were blondes, with faces afame with
expectation. The pitcher took the ball,
braced herself, put her arm straight out
from her shoulder, then moved it around
to her back without modifying in the
least it's delightful frigidity, and then
threw it. The batter did not catch it
| w 10 I1o
directly at the batter when she aimed it.
The fielder got long pole and soon
succeeded in poking the ball from an
apple tree back Of the pitcher, where it
had lodged. Business was then resumed
again, although with faint semblance
OF uneasiness generally visible.
The pitcher was very red in the face,
and said, 81 declare /" several times.
This time she took more careful aim,
but still neglected to look in some other
direction than toward the batter, and
the ball was presently poked out Of
another tree.
"Why, this is dreadful" said the bat
ter, whose nerves had been kept at a
pretty stiff tension.
Perfectly dreadful" chimed in the
catcher, with long sigh.
II think you had better get up in one
OF the trees" mildly suggested the
fielder to the batter
These observations somewhat nettled
the pitcher, and she declared she would
not try again. Whereupon change
was msde with the fielder. She was Ger
tainly more sensible. Just as soon as
she was ready to let drive she shut her
eyes so tight as to loosen two of her
puffs and pull out her back comb, and
madly fired away. The ball flew directly
at the batter, which so startled that
lady, who had the bat clinched in both
hands with desperate GRIP, that she in
voluntarily cried, ooh, my !" and let it
drop, and ran. This movement un-
covered the catcher, who had both hands
extended about three feet apart, in readi-
ness for the catch, but, being intently
absorbed in studying the coil on the
back of the batter's head, she was not
able to recover ia time, and the ball
caught her in the bodice with sufficient
force to deprive her of all her breath,
which left her lips with ear-piercing
shrillness. There was lull in the pro-
ceedings for ten minutes TO enable the
catcher to take some camphor and the
other members of the club to arrange
their hair.
The batter again took position, when
one of the party, discovering that she
was holding the bat very much as a
woman carries a broom when she is
after a COW in the garden, showed her
that the tip must rest on the ground
and at her right side, with her body
tri6e inclined in that direction. The
suggester took the bat and showed just
how it was done, and brought around
the bat with such vehemence as to al
most carry her from her feet, and to
nearly brain the catcher. That party
shivered, and moved back some fifteen
feet.
The batter took her place, and laid
the tip of the bat on the ground, and
the pitcher shut her eyes again as tight
ly as before, and let drive. The felder
had taken the precaution to get back of
tree, Or otherwise she must have been
disfgured for life. The ball was re-
covered. The pitcher looked heated
and vexed. She didn't throw it this
time. She just gave it a pitching mo-
ton, but, not letting go of it in time, it
went over her head, and caused her to
sit down with considerable unexpected
ness. Fet
Thereupon she declared she would
never throw another ball as long as she
lived, and changed off with the catcher.
This young lady was somewhat deter
mined, which argued success. Then she
looked in an altogether different direc-
ton from that to the batter.
And this did the business. The bat
ter was ready. She had a tight hold Of
the bat. Just as soon as she saw the
ball start, she made a tremendous lunge
with the bat, let 60 of it, and turned
around in time to catch the ball in the
small of her back, while the bat, being on
it's own hook, and, seeing stone figure
holding vase Of flowers, neatly clipped
off it's arms at the elbow and let the
flowers to the ground. -...-K
H. There was a chorus of screams. and