The Winslow mail., 1899-01-28
THEY CARRY PISTOLS
Feminine Chicagoans Prepare for
Hold-Up Men.
But the Absence Of Pockets in Their
Dresses CoTnpe!s Them to Secrete
the Weapons in Their
Pct1icoats.

Up-to-(late Chicago women are carry
ing reviewers wherevith to do TO death
he aud9cious footpad who shall Care
0 attack them. Having no hip pocket
or any other kind OF pocket. for that
nlatter-In coat Or gown in which to
5cstow the revolver Oh. pistol, the Chi
ago woman is carrying ii in her petit
coat-where she couldn't by any pos
sibiEty get at it in hurry.
In defense of The seemingly question
able wisdom Of carrying the pistol in a
3etticoat pocket the women who are in
Gulging in this little diversion urge the
fact that they haven't anywhere else to
carry it. This is the manner in which
| Chicago club woman who is credited
With having drawn the thoughts of
/ large numbers of her sisters from the
/ woman suffrage and silk petticoat ques-
/ tions toward the pocket-pistol craze
slipped into the habit of putting her
/ own silk retticOat to such an unusual
use. For several days she had been pur-
sued by newspaper and social versions
/ Ct the annual footpsd scare story. As
/ the business which fate compels her to
follow often takes and keeps her out
!ate at night, while she is By nature
/ q timid and shrinking norsel Of fem
! ininity, she grew nervous. But 10 way
cut CT the difficulty offered itself until
a masculine friend suggested that she
carry a revolver. Next day that wise
woman wen% downtown and purchased
& regular darling of q mother-of-pearl-
handled pistol. Then she took it out
into the back yard and created a terri
iJle sorrow for her next-door neighbor.
Ir shooting at the shed, directly in
front Of her, she killed the $50 Angora
pussy Who was disPorting herselfin the
yard to the left. \ pair Of pigeons in
the yard to the right suffered extinc-
tiOn on her second and third efforts
1T hitting that barn door. Then the
woman with the new pistol proudly
slipped it into the long-3ost pocket Of
her best silk petticoat and declared
that she really didn't care whether she
! could hit barn door or not; she just
knew she could kill footpad if he at
| tempted to interfere with her.
The very next night she was out late,
and as she made her way under the ele-
waited railroad she saw q man walking
toward her. keeping carefully il the
shadow Of the tresties. At least that
is what she then thought he was doing
Now she is willing to admit that poss1-
! bly, lie was merely crossing the street
like herself, or waiting for train
Dreathless and trembling she reached
wildly fer the pistol-and this time the
unexpected did not happen. She could
discover Tie whereabouts CT neither
ristol nor the opening of her dress. by
the time the opening had been located
! the man was nearly block away. She
! herself was more than block away III
the other direction. While searching
for her pistol she had unconsclously
taken TO her heels. Had the man really
attacked her she would have been
caught in a terribly helpless position,
for at the moment of their meeting both
hands were so occupied in trying to get
inside that opening thatthey were prac-
tically tied.
Two of this womar's converts to the
petticoat-pistol habit also had an anus
| ING experience q night or two ago. The
conversation at the dinner table had
turned largely upon footpads and: high
wav robbers, and the two girls, who
were going cut to spend tie evening,
grew extremely shivery. They started
off, and Just as they turned down the
block in which the house to be visited
! stood they saw before'them a man slow
| ly lettering along. Behind them
strolled another hardened criminal.
Both girls ''just knew" that the two
villains were in league and would pres
emily close in upon them and rob them
of all their valuables, SO they arranged
a plan Of action.
"If he stops or comes any nearer,
they agreed, referring to the unsuspect-
ing man in front, well shoot just to
i1npress hirG, and if that wretch behind
us attempts to pass us he'll get a taste
Of Lead
But this is what actually happened:
The man in front, looking for a number
in the dark, stepped suddenly, just as
they came up to him. Immediately both
girls made dart for the nearest house.
which happened 10 be a huge apartment
building.
COW! Oh, Murder! Thieves!" They
screamed, forgetting all about the re-
rolver, and forthwith proceeded to ring
every bell in the hallway promptly and
frantically The unfortunate men out
on the sidewalk, fancying the girls i'll
or in trouble, hurried into the hallway
after them. The girls, scared almost to
death, flew up the stairs just as the &C.
cupants of all the flats came tearing
down them. The girl with the revolver
tripped, fell, and-presto! pistol shot
sent all he spectators scattering. Nnen
the patrol wagon arrived and the girls
were given a chance to explain them
selves there was much laughter.
Still another ghastly story is going
the rounds about a well-known club
woman who quite forgot the pistol in
her petticoat pocket when rudely at
tackled by a genuine robber. and after
ward attempted to shoot her own hus-
band when he came up with her a
little later And still another sad an
ectote, quite authentic if current re-
pert is TO be believed, tells how sec
ond prominent club woman proudly re-
lared the story of the perfectly lovely