The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-09-25
GOING TO THE FACTORY
Plunkett Tells of Woman's Trials
During the War.
For The Constitution

cook up weeks rations and pack corn and
fodder in the wagon and bundle up bed quilts,
the same as if they were going to move to
Texas, preparatory to starting of to the fac
tory to get q little old bunch of thread to make
the filling Of their homespun dresses and SIGH
like.
"There was always an understanding be-
twixt the wimmin of adiining settlements
when they would 90 to the factory, and on a
day appointed the wagons with white sheets
for covers would begin to congregate at the
crossroads soon in the morning, and when all
had arrived they would start up the big road
and they would make line as long as brig
ade wagon train.
"There was many more wimmin along than
represented the ownership OF the wagons, for
there was many poor woman that didn't
have no wagon, and these was welcome to 90
erlong in the company and have their luggage
and the children that was too small to leave at
home hauled, ana thus, going to the factory
was bigger thing than you could make any
OF this snce-the-war generation believe.
"The factories that the folks from Meri-
wether, Pike, Coweta, Clayton, Spalding,
Monroe, etc, went to was erway down in Up
son and Talbot, as far as sixty and seventy
miles from some Of the homes on this side, and
L guess the same factories was visited by peo-
pie covering the same radius all Ground
them.
There was mighty few factories in Georgia
ana this made what few there was always
crowded with wimmin and children, eamped
Ground 'waitin' their turn to get thread. The
factory managers had to get UP a system in
letting out their thread and so they required
the wimmin to form into line the same as
soldiers, and then fellow would stand at a
window and give out the thread to each one in
turn and they had to make it a rule that II
any one broke line they would have to 60 foot.
This was the best that could be done, for be-
fore they established this rule there was so
much crowding and pushing that they got
erlong slower than they did the other way.
"What would these since-the-war wimmin
think of standing in line for twenty-four
hours to get to pay seven or eight dollars for
bunch of thread that they wouldn't pick up in
the big road these times? 1t seems strange to
the young generation, these sort of things do,
but they are facts, and that's what makes me
say that the wimmin done the real suffering in
the war.
"I've seed some mighty bad sights on these
factory expeditions, for was old and rheu-
matte and the wimmin always made me go
erlong with 'em, jest to say they had man
erlong but couldn't do 'em much good.
zone rainy night when we had struck camp
on our way back from the factory three or four
of the children began to cough croopy and we
seed that we were going to have a night of it.
The old wimmin got ready some tobacco and
fixed poultices, and some of 'em said that lye
from oak ashes was good for Group and they
had some ready, and it warn't no great while
before we had to 30 to using these things, for
the children began to choke more and more
and to bark with the Group at every breath,
till 1t looked like that some OF EN- would die in
spite of all that could be done, but we soon got
'em all right but one little curly-headed GIRL
that everybody said was the sweetest child on
the trip, and she was bound to die, so they all
said.
cold Sister Brown was sitting on box
holding this little girl in her lap, and all that
l could do was to hobble Ground and hold the
torch for EN- to put things in the little child's
mouth with spoon, and the young mother
was standing over her little girl, every once
and erwhile droppin' down ON her knees by
her. till some of EN- said that If Or. Caldwell
could be got from Zebulon that he could save
the child, and it was no sooner, mentioned
than the young mother lit on to the widest
horse III the whole teams, and put out for Zeb-
ulon as fast as the horse could 60.
1.-THE night was dark and the rain was fall
ing, but that young mother didn't care for
nothing. and I'd knowed her a many time to
squeal at a mouse running by her and flee from
tue echo of her own runbling in the darkness
but she was brave this night somehow, and
she plunged into the creek without stopping
TO think whether it would SWIM and she was
in Zebulon and had DR.. Caldwell up before
you'd think about it these days, and then they
started ON the race back to the camp.
"The doctor was good rider, and he had
good horse, but he couldn't keep up, and the
young woman kept in front, and every now
and then she'd rein in her horse and beg the
doctor to hurry and save her little girl. The
doctor was doing his best, but when they
struck the creek on the way back it was
swimming, though it warn't that way when
she went erlong. The doctor told her to be
cautious, for the creek was risin mighty fast
but she Jest cried and begged him to hurry
but the doctor stood on the edge of the water
and refused to plunge in and be drowned, and
she wrung her hands and gathered up the
reins and said IN goin 'front.' and before the
doctor could do anything her horse was plung-
ing in the water, and the current struck 'em
and took en- down stream, and the young wo-
man lost her hold on the horse and was strug-
ling in the water.
"'The doctor didn't wait no longer He lit
often his horse and plunged right in and swan
to'her and caught her by the hair and held her
off and up outen the water till they struck the
bank on the other side, and she'd no sooner
got into water where they could wade, till she
grabbed the doctors hand and went pulling
him on toward the camp.
"The doctor was what they called mighty
dignitied man, but he was in n trot as he come
up to the camp, and the young mother didn't
turn erloose his hand till he was right beside
her little girl, and then he give it some lobelia
and SIGH like and wrapped a wet cloth Ground
its neck and done other things till the little
thing began 10 breathe all right, and then we
was all glad and thanked the doctor.
1--WE seed sights at these factories. One
time thar was said to be seven or eight hun
bred wiInmin waitin to get thread at one of
among the wimmin that these factory folks
didn't treat 'em right. and they resolved 10
have the thread BY force if they couldn't get it
no other way. They seed the manager and
offered what money they had and was refused
and then commenced scrOuging and er push
in TO get into the factory. tho like of which /
had never seed before, and 1 hope will never
see ergin. II might have been wrong and
might have looked bad 70 see them wimmin
takin' the thread and scuhiin the same rs
men, hut it was war times and il was hard
times, and they was stintiu' and staryln while
their husbands was tghtin', and they didn't
have much use fur felers that kept outen the
war by running these factories, aud 1 guess it
is all right"
"But," continued the old man, after pause,
"as hard rs il was to get thread and 10 get
wool rolls, these wimmin would take the most
of what they did get and make it up into
clothes and socks and gloves for the men who
was in the army, and then the settlement
would get together and make up a box and
send 1t on, and nine times out OF ten the box
would get lost ON the way, and when they'd
find out their loved ones had failed to receive
IL they'd Jest set down and cry an hour or two,
ami then get up and 90 tospinuin' aud weavin'
and the same thing would repeat itself from
time to time.