Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-23
FEMALE COXEYITES
Two Western Girls Who Joined
Sanders Industrials.
CAPTURED WITH THE TRAIN STEALERS
They Were on Their Way to Their
Old Home.
CARED FOR BY KIND ONES
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

Inc IdCl tnat IeOnl ana Eullllne Gordon
Joined Sanders army at-Pueblo. Colo, ac-
companied IL to Topeka in male attire
where their identity was discovered. and
were then sent TO their home in New York
is known to less than a dozen people BY
the merest accident the story has leaked
out here. and. considering the injunctions
Of secrecy made by the federal and railroad
officials, 1t is a wonder that the facts were
ever revealed. That these two young la
dies could so completely disguise their sex
and deceive Gen. Sanders and his aids is
little less than miraculous, but that they
could endure the hard and tedious journey
from Pueblo across the plains of eastern
Colorado and western Kansas and arrive in
Topeka apparently as cheerful as any Of
the imprisoned commonwealers, ready and
willing to continue the journey. seems al
most incredible.
Ten years ago the parents Of these girls
Mr.. and Mrs. Samuel Gordon. left Frank
hnville, N. Y, to seek a home in the west
Emiline and Leoni were their only children.
They were then eleven and thirteen years
old. respectively. Mr.. and Mrs. Gordon first
located In Greeley, Colo, where the hus-
band engaged in the livery business. He
was prospecting. but one day a destructive
fire swept away his stable and burned
twelve of his fine horses. He was left pen
niless and unable to rebuild, so he drifted
over to Buena Vista, where he followed the
occupation of drayman until he died. in
1889. His widow and daughters were left
without any means and were compelled to
fight the battle of life alone and unaided.
They soon removed to Salida, a division
point on the Denver and Rio Grande rail-
road, and started a boarding house. They
managed to get along until last year. when
the panic came and business in Colorado
was paralyzed, when the mother and two
daughters removed to Pueblo. There they
rented little cottage in the suburbs of
town. Two months later Mrs. Gordon was
taken sick, and after a lingering illness OF
four weeks died and was buried by the
county authorities near that city. Left
alone in the world. and without a dollar
Emiline and Leoni Gordon resolved to Sc
cure some kind Of employment and make a
determined effort to save a surplus with
which to pay their way back to their home
In New York state. Emiline secured a po-
sition in a milliner? store, while her elder
sister did sewing and repairing at home;
but IT was hard life, and encouragement
ana disappointment met them at every
turn. All they made went to pay house rent
and living expenses. They had decided last
December TO start for New York May l. As
the time approached and they knew they
would be unable to go, they became dis
couraged, but their determination to over
come all obstacles would assert ITSELF and
they would take comfort in the hope that
the future had better things in store for
them.
Finally. they related their story to
Marshal Nicely in Topeka, Gen. Sanders.
with his 200 commonwealers from Cripple
Creek, arrived in Pueblo and announced
their attention Of going to Washington. A
long interview with Sanders in which he
outlined his plans in the proposed trip to
the national capital, was printed in Pue-
bio paper. which fell into the hands of the
hnNr d.. ~l,s.
cottage one evening breeding over their
disappointment. In the paper in which
Sanders interview was printed was a call
for meeting of local commorwealers the
next evening at the city park, where II
v as proposed to organize two companies to
join Sanders army ard march to WASH
ington.
"Let us go. En-" said Leoni.
"All right" was the quick response end
the decision was made. 1t was in Jest
but IT turned out to be in serious earnest
They had two days to prepare for this
novel and romantic journey, and they
evade detection wouli summon their best
energies.
The first thing to do was to secure a suit
each of mems clothes. They did not have
money .ehough to buy two new suits so
they went to a secondhand store where
they succeeded in trading some of their
household goods in part payment BY a
little remodeling they secured two suits
Il
dition to two wooden shirts, such as are
sold to the miners of Colorado, they were
ready for the trip. Their only object was
to get as near home as possible. and from
their knowledge of the geography of the
country, and as outlined in Sanders inter-
view. Pittsburg, Pa, was fixed upon as the
place where they would leave the army
To this point they had shipped in a box
such of the household articles and trinkets
as they desired TO keep
Joining the Industrfals
On the morning Of the day when the two
new companies were to be organized the
Misses Gordon sent for a barber, who was
directed to "shingle" their hair After
this they waited patiently for nightfall
when they put on male attire and went TO
the park. where 1000 people had congre-
gated. William Shoecraft, an old soldier
who served four years in the Union army.
going out as sergeant of company c, of the
tenth Michigan, from Genesee county. was
making speech and calling for volunteers
score Of miners walked up and signed
the roll, and with them Emiline and Leoni
Gordon. They signed as Cyrus L. and
Thomas G. Gordon. When the company
had been formed Mr.. Shoecraft was unani-
mously chosen captain, who commanded
his men to bivousc on a vacant block near
the park. The young ladies had provided
themselves with blankets and canteens, as
directed in the published notice. and for
the first time in their lives experienced the
pleasures and also hardships OF camp life.
When the engine and six coal cars were
stolen two days later upon which Sanders
army made the wild run across the barren
plains of eastern Colorado and western
Kansas, these two young women enjoyed
the novelty and did not complain of the
privations incident to such a trip until they
arrived at Scott City, where United States
Marshal Nicely and posse arrested the party.
At this point, while the army was roast
ing beef, Capt Shoecraft thought lie de-
tected two feminine voices in his company
The sisters were constantly together, and
while their faces were exceedingly fair, bar
ring the sunburn and coal dust from the
fiat cars on which they rode, there was no
sign of beard. The old captain, who had
been deceived by a woman confederate
spy in male attire during the war Of the re-
bellion, firmly believed his two mysterious
young commonwealers were women. but he
did not disclose his suspicious TO any one
then. Their conduct had been exemplary
in all respects, and II his suppositions were
true he preferred to shield them from ex-
posture. However. he decided to wait until
the army had started for Topeka on the