The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1880-09-09
PIOKET DUTY.

lOAb1 UuI1.
our Tea iers viii reealisot a difficulty
'h-' occurred near Whsjcon, wasbirg-
~ i-ff'tory. last Winter. hetNe o. a
ar. c.srk and one Michael P4dieu
l some isod eiaimedb, botL. which
.-'-i after surrey that resnl,ed in
ulcers iAvor, The latter proceeded to
Ter 'Ning care 10 do il while Mr..
c''fN was asay from home. Mrs
t.aih' VINO, viii her children. vas
uoio'ug her husbands claim. perform
iuk ine picket duty" so graphically
urseFioed by Mrs. Duuiway in her lee
lures, weu1 out accompanied by her
.itiie son, a .l carried d shotgun. and
warned Psddvn 10 stop his work He
refused and a quarrel ensued. Mrs.
Oisfk directed The buy 10 sboot wh.st
ne did, killing Padden Instantly.
Under the law, Mrs. Clark was not
person. She could not take possession
OF land aud hold il in her own right
Tut, as her husbands representative in
bis absence, she WAS acting for him,
doubtless under his orders, aud certainly
under the 80 called protection Of a Gov
ernment that governs women without
allowing them representation, and
taxes them without asking or receiving
their consent. But, as is usual IN such
cases, when a crime was committed, the
legal protector aud head, whose claim
thIs pioueer picket guard was defending,
Was no longer her representative, aud
she at once became responsible rs a
criminal under the laws that denied her
responsibility as al individual. Mother
and son were tried by men, convicted of
mausiaughter by men, aud by men SEN
teneed to the penitentiary. No man,
not even her husband, " hO had placed
her on that homestead claim and left
her there, with her large family Of little
children, alone in the wilderness, had
the gallantry to protect her before the
law by saying 10 the outraged Court, 81
represent this woman; punish me-"
The boy, being OF the protecting sex,
was granted a new trial; but the wife
and mother was conveyed to the peni-
tentiary, where, after repeated abortive
attempts, she al last succeeded in evad-
ing the man made aud mau-admiuis
tered laws Of country thar acknowl-
edges womau's equality in nothing but
the punishment of crime, and ended her
sad career by suicide.
When the mother was taken to the
prison, her younges, child, two years Of
age, and five other little ones were left
on the claim with their father, and the
very first news Of them that the dis
traciei woman received was that her
baby girl, while toddliug around the
yard, was attacked hy n vlclous COW
aud tossed eight or niue feet into the
air. The animals horn tore open the
child's groiu for a length Of six inches,
causing a wound Of a most painful aud
dangerous character.
Let any woman who reads this record
picture, II she can, the imprisoned
mothers agony over this terrible an
noul cement. y" wouier she com
mitted suicide. Tue Courts Of Heaven
are more merciful than the Courts Of
men, for they will not hold woman re-
-ponsible for the crimes OF those who
place her on picket duty on tie out
skirts of cigilizstion, aud when the time
of trial comes refuse 10 act a. her repre-
seUtaiives. Only God snd women know
that womau's trial aud vexation, be-
cause ouly they can comprehend the
nervous distraction OF her vital forces
under the pressure Of Padden's impu.
dence aud her own outraged sense Of
justice.
The NEW NORTHWEST would not, on
general principles, hold woman guilt
less when she commits crime, hut We
insist that she should be recognized a.
equal with man in responsibilities, i'm
muniiies and privileges ere she is
judged equally with himself as vio-
lator Of Law.