Bismarck weekly tribune., 1889-07-05
pLUNKETT ON WIMIN.

PLUNKETT ON WIMIN.
LOVE OF DRESS OFFSET BY sAcRl-
FIcE IN TRouBLoUS TIMES.
How Fashions Changed and Were Fol-
lowed-The Women Of Richmond Dur
Ing the Battle of Seven Pines-How
Their Goodness Was Shown.
IA girl will suffer agonies and smile all the
time just to be in the fashion" said Plunkett
as he took his seat and stuffed the tobacco in
his pipe.
"1n their courting days." ventured Brown.
"They will draw their corset strings so
tight that they pant like lizard and er fel-
force number four shoe on number seven
foot and skip erround as frisky as er lamb,
while they are suffering agonies that would
put any man in the hospital"
''1n their courting days" said Brown.
''ToT1NG" LOADS OF DRY GOODS.
II can remember" said Plunkett, 'when
it was the fashion to be pale and sickly look
ing, and the girls would poultice their faces
and hands with meal dough to bleach 'em,
and they'd be SO fincky that they'd cut pea
in two for a mouthful and swear they had a
bate when they had only eat half biscuit
And :hen pretty soon the craze got on the
red order, and the poke berries were gathered
and rubbed on their faces, and when they'd
get hot and perspire the pokeberry juice
would streak 'em up the same as an Indian,
but It was the fashion, and whatever is fash
ion is right"
''n it's some other fellows sister," suggest
ed Brown.
"One time," resumed Plunkett, "they had
fashion to look slim and bean pole like, with
out any bumps on themselves, and six yards
of calico would make any of 'em dress, and
then ergin they took a craze to be fat and
chuffy, with big bumps on themselves, and
then it took a good sized dry goods store to
furnish cloth enough to dress one of 'em, and
the cotton they used to make the bumps would
fill good sized hamper basket; I've seed little
puny wimin tote enough dry goods on their
selves to weigh down a strapping fellow.
II know that wars er bad bad thing" re-
sumed Plunhett, after a short pause, sbut
when call to mind the simple ways of our
Georgia wimin in them hard days feel like
the country was blessed by its coming, for
we would never have learned their goodness
in times of peace.
1.-The pretty bonnets that were made from
the scraps of the worn out dress of peaceful
days sheltered faces free from foibles, and the
honespun garments covered forms unwarped
by the strains of fashion. They dressed in
tears and moved as in the presence of death,
as pure as angels and as self-sacriicing as
the men who fought their battles"
"You're right said Brown.
Speaking erbout the wimin in the war;
said Plunkett, as he scratched his head and
knocked the ashes from his pipe, "maSes me
think of the day that the Seven Pines battle
was fought in front of Richmond. l was
there that day, and it was the hottest weather
I'd ever seed. Two of the finest armies that
ever stood facing of each other were there
Mcclellan and Joseph E. Johnston. The
Yankees could see the flags waving on the
capitol of the Confederacy, and it was under
stood that it was going to be the day that
would decide the fate of Richmond and of
the Confederates
HOW BANDAGEs WERE MADE.
"As soon as the first streaks of day broke
in the east it was saluted by the boom, boom,
boom of the big guns captured at Manassas
called Sherman's battery. There were two
guns in that battery called Long Tom and
Laughing Charlie. They had queer ring
to their boom, and it was these guns that sa-
luted the day as it peeped up over the hills
and announced ready for the Confederates
Richmond began to stir. The wimin and
children lit outen bed, the bells began to ring
and the whistles to blow and the people
docked to Main street till there was not stand
ing room on the walks. The fight had COM
menced, the big guns were roaring and the
little guns were like fire in cane brake.
Trains rolled in from Petersburg and Lynch
burg with re-enforcementx They lit from
the cars and started at double quick down
Main street and out to the fight. Knapsacks
begin to be thrown to the right and the left,
and the cutters were filed. Wimin and
children went to piling them up and stood
guard over them, but it was no use, they
were never called for, and it was mighty few
that unslung their knapsacks on Main street
that day that lived to see the end.
LAS the day advanced the hotter it grew.
Every vehicle in the city was pressed into
service to 60 for the wounded, and as they
rolled in the cry for water, water, water
was heard everywhere.
1.-The wimin of Richmond were the first to
discover what was needed. Every bucket
and dipper was pressed, and the old men and
chlldren Went III a run to and from the water
plugs, while the wimin went for provisions.
Tubs and buckets were placed all along the
curbstones on each side of the street filled
with water, and baskets were held by the
wimin, and each soldier was given sand
wich as they double quicked down the line !,
! Ihe wounded were coming in by thou
sands. The news spread that Joseph E. John
ston was shot and Lee had took command.
The doctors were out Of bandages, and the
wimin tore their underclothing and sheets
into strips to bind up the wounds
This young generation are the sons and
daughters of such wimin as these. AS it was
then so it will be ergin, reckon, SO let 'em
rip But it does make me mad to see 'em
fools erbout the fashion. Atlanta Constitu.
tion.
Indian Moccasins.
The shoes or moccasins worn by the North
American Indians are nearly all alike in their