Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-30
WOMEN AT THE BAT.
A Novel Game OF Base Ball Between
Teams OF Cofored Girls.

TeAms OF SlTio]
Pt ilsd,l, hia Press.
II poor, patient, melancholic Job
could have seer the game OF base
ball played yesterday If ernoon at
Lsmokin, Pa. between the Delly
Warden and Captain Jiuks club, OF
South Chester, be would have laughed
heartily. The two clubs were COM
posed exclusively of colored women
Some Of them were attired In or
dinaty female gasb, but some
were not. Three Ct the players In the
Dolly Varde en- club wore salt. bag "Jer.
seys' over their %petticoats with holes
cut for the arms and legs. When they
ran they looked like sugar cured hams
on %stilts, and when they remained
m~o,ionless and perpendicular they
most resembled Dore's pictures of
Beejzebub. They ran Ike deer, threw
the ball like q boy, with the right
arm, and batted with lussy grace and
freedom from restraint, that was to
say the least, novel.
The grounds we're decidedly rural.
On one side was q scrap of woods, on
another the railroad, on tho third q
muddy brook, and, fronting on the
field, on the remaining side, there an
a row of dilspidsted wooden shanties,
upon the roof, Of which, as we'll as on
the q Adjacent fences, were perched as
miscellaneous an assemblage OF col
ored folks as ever the sun looked
down upon. The Dolly Warden club
wss 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, q lank, dusky
lass, who wore a striped calico dress,
stockings to match, button shoes
minus the buttons, and an old sun
bonnet that looked as II II had been
baked by the suns of 1000 summers.
Jennie tossed up a battered copper
penny. The Dolly Vardens shouted
"Heads!' and, after a scramble, 1t
was found In the long green graes,
heads up. The first inning was com
paratively u%neventful. Fannie Watts,
the catcher, nearly broke her back
reacking for q z'gzag foul. Ella Hsr.
rls batted q ball over Into the woods,
The center fielder, In climbing
the fence, tore her shirt, and In
rummaglng among the underbrush for
the missing ball, ran a thorn In the
big toe of her right foot, whereat she
sat down on a stump and wept and
delayed the game fifteen minutes
hunting for the thorn. The Captain
links captain, Fannie Watts, went to
the bat. She drove a high fly, away
out pas; the left fielder, and then ran
around the bases twice before It was
recovered. The Dolly Vardens 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 q
raoabble.
Martha Mustard broke her bat
banging 1t against the home. plate,
and Anna Maria Jones sent a "Qround.
er" skipping along the muddy grass
to the pitcher, Ella Robertson. That
indu .rious and agile young oolored
woman attempted to catch it In he,
apron, but it whistled through a hole
that abe didd't know Yves there, and
hit Philopens Morris, the short stop,
on the nose.
There were no other interesting
episodes until the final inning, tn,
fifteenth. The Dolly Vardeps had 6;
rune and the Captain JiDks 62. Tn,
excitement Was great. Fanny Watt
knocked the ball into the water can
fling 1t with grease, and dirt ant
grass. Jennie Pepper allowed Ann,
Maria Jonas to hit at four balls be.
cause the former declared the first bal
was a fcu', although she hsdn't hit a
1t OF all. There wss smother sqaabble
Philopena Morris ripped the ball Oh
high fly that went down The Gimme
, Of one of the houses. Hannah Kate
knocked the frat base mistress dow,
, and tore her salt bag Jersey. Ron
Feely hit the umpire In tho head wit
!, the bat for calling her out or q fou'
' Maria Thompson ran around the coura
, with the ball in her pocket t
keep from being put out, an
dared any body to lay their hand
t on her. Susie Corbitt tripped and 70
and plowed up the ground with he
dusky nose, filling her ears with grAs,
. Martha Mustard . away with th
ball and has not since been found
and the gsme was declared q draw
q with 67 runs scored on both sideI
TIE match broke up In a free 6gh
= and will DO continued some day nel
q week. Both clubs walksd back
Chester lively a. hornets, q melal
n oholy array Of disjointed knuckle
d ragged dresses, torn salt bag Jerse!
and bruised faces, dusty, eIhsustt
n and looking like . band of "Jubil'
d Singers" on an off night.