The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1880-07-08
Can women Drive,

never learn how TO drive a horse prop
erlyT remarks some irra.e..msn as he
inspects tired animal and finds the
bride over Its ears and the bits half
way down its throat.
but women can drive" cries q
champion Of the sex. ''Don't they
drive seven or eight miles to market
with vegetables or loads of hay2 Don't
they take their babies out to ride
whenever they can get hold of horse3
Why there never was q woman who
couldn't driYe, and some Of them can
handle a horse much better than their
husbands can"
"Can women duve2 and do you let
them handle your best horses9" were
the questions put to Q good-natured
livery-keeper by an interested party.
"DriVei" he answered. 81 should
think they could; but as to letting
them our best horses, that is another
matter. We have horses in our stables
that few men could drive. We keep
what we call safe horses for ladies' use !;
the kind that will go anywhere il you
Just guide them-old family nags, sem
sible enough to trot along and mind
their own business, and not fret il they
are pulled two ways at once"
"Do you OBJECT to letting horses out
for women to driver
mo, indeed; we have from twelve
to fifteen ladies week come to US for
horses, and We give them good ones,
too; but, somehow, women fret horses
when they drive them, so we don't
care to give them high-spirited ami
mails. Now look at that sorrel, point
ing to one from which the harness had
just been removed. 81 let that horse
to bit of q woman with wrists no big
ger than my two fingers. didn't
want to let it 90, because it's such an
ugly puller. told her it had q mouth
like iron, but she said she wanted to
take an old auat that was visiting her
out to see the town, and she drove off
quietly enough. But half an hour af-
ter ! saw her coming down Woodward
avenue like q streak of lightning, ev-
erybody running to get out OF the way,
and the old aunt hanging on for dear
life. She just had the lines wound
around those little wrists, and braced
her feet against the dash board. and
when she came to corner whisked
round on one wheel. The rig came in
all right, but that horse won't get its
breath for q week.
"Do they often meet with accidents
and have smash-upp
"No. It is curious, but woman
will take team through dozen hair
breadth escapes and bring it back all
right. We have any amount Of trouble
with men, who take our best rigs, get
on spree and break things to pieces.
A woman Is either more cautious, or
she will call upon every man in sight
to help her out of the scrape. They
are more apt to lose their heads in q
crowd or collision, but there 10 most
always some special providence vt hand
to help them. II you notice. the most
disastrous runawsys happen when some
man has the reins"
Further talk developed the fact that
women were not considerate in their
management Of horses. They forget
to blanket them In winter and to tie
them in the shade in the sumner.
They sometimes use the reins as hitch
ing straps and haye q settled dislike to
learning proper names for harness.
Not one in q hundred could tell the
difference between the surcinRie
and the msrtiDgAle, or had the least
idea to which end of the animal the
crupper belonged, and II compelled to
divesr horse Of its trappings, would
undo every buckle in the service and
take the collar of over the animals
head, = to all Of which the intelligent
beast would submit. as il charmed by
being steadily talked to during the
process In the witcning tones OF q
Woman's voice.
All Of this may be libel on the sex,
but it 10 certainly true that when An
old family horse, with Q ten-minute
gait, comes se-sawing down the street
with Q comicslly reckless air of run
niAg away, . WomAn's head looks out
from under the buggy top, woman's
hand guides the steed in its eccentric
or bit, and Woman's voice shouts in
distinct tones, "Wh-o-o-a-ai" at the
same moment that the reins are jerked
and the whip applied, while pedestri.
ans seud TO the sidewalk in terror.
However liable . woman 10 to run over
. COW or . street oar, she will always
stop or turn out Tor 3 baby. This is
one Of the ibstincts Of her maternal
heart 10 which even s'gst upl gI-an-g"
is sacrificed.