The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1883-08-08
WOMEN AT THE BAT.

skin on either side.
(To BE coNTINUED.)
WONEN AT THE BAT.
A Novel Game OF Base Ball Between
Teams ofC0l0red Girls.
From the PHILADELPHIA Pres.
Ifpoor patient, melancholic Job could
have seen the game of base ball played
Friday afternoon at Lamokin, Pennsyl-
vania, between the Dolly Warden and the
Captain Jinks Clubs, Of South Chester,
he would have laughed heartily. The
two clubs were composed exclusively of
young colored women. Some of them
were attired in ordinary female garb, but
some were not. Three of the players in
the Dolly Warden club wore salt-bag
Jerseys over their petticoats with holes
cut for the arms and legs. When they
ran they looked like sugar-cured hams
on stills, and when they remained mo-
tionless and perpendicular they most
rescmbled Dore's pictures of Beelzebub.
They ran like deer, threw the ball like a
boy, with the right arm, and batted with
lusty grace and freedom from restraint,
that was to say the least, novel.
The grounds were decidedly rural. On
one side was a scrap of woods, on another
the railroad, on the third a muddy brook,
and, fronting the field, on the remaining
side, there ran row Of dilapidated wood
Ell shanties, upon the roofs of which, as
well as on the adjacent fences, were
perched as miscellaneous an assemblage
of colored folks as ever the sun looked
down upon. The Dolly Warden club was
the first to arrive, headed by Ella Harris,
the captain and catcher. The Captain
Jinks club was two minutes and thirty
seconds late by the brass watch of Jennie
Pepper, the umpire, lank, dusky lass
who wore striped calico dress, stockings
to match, button shoes minus the but
tons, and an old sunbonnet that looked
as if it had been baked by the suns of
1900 summers. Jennie tossed up bat
tered copper penny. The Dolly vardens
shouted "Heads!' and, after scramble,
it was found in the long green grass, heads
up. The first inning was comparatively
uneventful. Fannie Watts, the catcher,
nearly broke her back reaching for zig
zag foul. Ella Harris batted ball over
into the woods. The center-felder in
climbing the fence, tore her shirt, and in
rummaging among the underbrush for
the missing ball, ran thorn in the big
toe OF her right foot, whereat she sat
down on stump and wept and DELAYED
the game fifteen minutes hunting for the
thorn. The Dolly Vardens were retired
with two runs. The Captain Jinks cap
tain, Fannie Watts, went to the bat. She
drove high fly, away out past the left
fielder, and ran around the bases twice
before it was recovered. The Dolly Var
dens stoutly maintained that only one
run could be scored, but Fannie Watts
slapped the scorer in the face, and made
her put down two runs. Then there was
squabble.
Martha Mustard broke her bat bang.
ing it against the home-plate, and Anna
Maria Jones sent "grounder" skipping
along the muddy grass to the pitcher
Ella Robertson. That industrious and
agile young colored woman attempted to
catch it in her apron, but it whistled
through hole that she didn't know was
there, and hit Philopena Morris, the
short stop, on the nose.
There were no other interesting cpl
sodes until the final inning, the fifteenth
The Dolly Vardens had sixty-three runf
and the Captain Jinks sixty-two. The
excitement was great. Fannie Wattt
knocked the ball into the water can
filing it with grease, and dirt and grass
Jennie Pepper allowed Anna Maria Jonel
to hit at four balls because the former
declared the first ball was foul, although
she hadn't hit at it at all. There . wal
another squabble. Philopena Morris
ripped the ball on high fly that went
down the chimney of one of the houses
Hannah Hates knocked the first bas'
mistress down and tore her salt-bas
Jersey. Rose Feely hit the umpire il
the head with the hat for calling her ou
on foul. Maria Thompson ran arount
the course with the ball in the pocket t.
keep from being put out, and dared any
body to lay their hands on her. SUSIE
Corbatt tripped and fell and ploughed VI
the ground with her dusky nose, fillini
her ears with grass. Martha Mustard
ran away with the ball and has not sine
been found, and the game was declares
drsw, with sixty-seven runs scored dl
both sides. The match broke up in
free fight. Both clubs walked back t.
Chester lively as hornets, melancholy
array of disjointed knuckles, ragget
dresses, torn salt-bag Jerseys" AM
bruised faces, dusty, exhausted and look
ING like band of "Jubilee Singers" OF
an of night.
Human calculation cannot limit til
influence of one atom of wholesome
knowledge, patiently acquired, modestl!
possessed and faithfully used.
De heart dat is born good il al'er
good, an de heart dat is born bid can
not be changed. De bad heart may maxi
| .,,~,,lr,oea hat do fr,,lv DnOl