News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-09-27
PROGRESSIVE WESTERN WOMEN.
Making Fortunes in Mining, Land
Speculations and Horse-Raising.

kansas City Letter to Denver Republican,
A Mrs. Augusta Wilson is at the head
OF a land syndicate in the Neosho Val
ley. Besides engaging in q number of
pubhc-splrited enterprises, she conducts
q newspaper and has skilfully laid out
town. 1t is not little amusing to see
one section of it labeled "WidoWs' Col
ony. This has decided smack of the
Princess Ida's' territory. At this
writing the library building of Parsons.
ran, IS up for sale, with every proba-
D!llty OF its being purchased by the city.
MIS-. Wilson has donated $4,000 in
money and 5000 volumes of her own
collecting to the founding of free cir
culating library to be controlled by the
municipal authorities.
Another Western woman who has
stepped out of the line usually laid down
for her sex is Mrs. W. NJ. Dills, of
Springfield, near Independence, Mo.
She was originally from the Blue Grass
region of Kentucky, and is known MS
the 'best Judge of horsehesh" in this
valley. She is a fine-looking woman of
torty-tive, with beautiful, soft, black
eyes, and gracious manner. She is an
1nSly OI trottcrs aud --soId Rays
Although Mrs. Dills is thoroughly al
home among the valuable stud of the
stable, she has reared n creditable fami-
ly, and was known as a beauty in her
younger days. Like most of the West
etn women of business she is South
erner all through. Indeed | find that
these children Of luxury, when pushed
into the world, make a greater success
of life than the harder women further
north 1t has grown into fashion to
suppose that q woman must come from
New England if she shows an aptitude
for business. This is certainly not the
case.
Mrs. Dills's sister, Mrs. Fannie A.
Kerr. is one of the most interesting of
the enterprising women abOui here. She
is strikingly handsome, with large bril-
liant black eyes and fine figure. She
is about forty years of age, but might
easily pass for younger, only that
grown son calls her mother.
Mrs. Kerr received high school edu-
cation at Louisville, KY, and began to
turn her attention towards mining seven
years ago, because she believed there
was money it. She is bent on getting
rich as fast ns she can, and Is already
quoted at 100000 Her mine, the
Svlph, is located on Battle Mountain,
near Leadville. 1t is the only mine
managed entirely by women, there being
fiftv stock owners, most OF whom live NJ
st. Louis. Recently Mrs. Kerr was
present at q conference of representative
Western miners with the Kansas City
Mining Exchange, and took part IN the
proceedings lust as man would have
done. When Mrs. Kerr originally pur-
chased the Sylph she hired man to at,
tend to the business, but when she tound
this did not pay at all she undertook the
entire control herself. She employed
good engineer and superintendent, and
| they have already worked tunnel 6OO
feet into the mountain and are taxing
out ore right along. The general run
ASSAYS high, and four pockets nave
welded 81, 600 ton. l found the lady
at her home 1920 Charlotte street, Kan
/ sas CITY. and was shown at once into her
Office. A large desk stood IN the middle
of the room, which was further suppiled
with a few chairs. Maps locating the
mine hung upon the walls. The apart
ment was evidently pNrlor, office and re,
ception room, and was guiltless OF all
| feminine adornments. Mrs. Kerr pc
Iiaves in the power of money, and that
/ II is inst as possible for women to make
| II os for men to do so. She says mining
means sure fortune if you go about 1t
light. and that the secret of success is
to apply yourself to business without