Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-29
FIVE GIRL FARMERS
Who Pitched in and Helped
Their Father.
NOT AFRAID OF WORK
AN oUT-oF-DooR LIFE WITH
PRACTICAL RESULTS.
Never Dismayed by Obstacles and
Learning by Personal Ex-
perience.
Written for Tie Evening Star.

The day of the Experimentation
fancy-work girl is over. The members OF
the fair are reaching out beyond for
mer narrow restrictions, seeking to test
their abilities and attain comfortable re-
muneraticn in new callings and it has been
| my privilege and pleasure to know five
girl farmers (sisters), whose success has
come to them as result of doing well with
| their own hands what was being only poorly
done by hired help.
Out here in the west l have found the
people-the farmers particularly, very hos
pitable. In the cities there is more or less
of the grab-and-look-out-for spirit;
but those who till the soil generous,
share their blessings and their sorrows, par
ticularly the latter, with one another with
out stint.
But it is my intention at this time to
give sketch OF the girl farmers, as l
know Them and other impressions will have
to await another opportunity.
The mother of the five girls l have in
mind died some years since OF lung trouble,
and the father. who is not strong, but who
takes great pride in his daughters, deemed
it wise to have them lead an out-of-door
| life In order to.accomplish this he decided to
buy ranch. The purchase was made ana
the family established themselves in their
| new home. full of plans and hopes for the
future. Their knowledge of farming was
limited. ana III tile spring IL i!til was DC
cured to take charge of the work. He did
not prove satisfactory, as under his man
agement the farm was not paying expenses,
and there WAS not much prospect for i'm
provement. These ambitious girls saw that
| something had to be DONE and after don
ming their thinking caps and talking affairs
over among themselves they one day as
tonished their father by announcing to him
that they intended to to the work of
the farm themselves and let hired help
alone.
The father astounded but what
could he, a poor. helpless man, do. Against
the armed opinion of five women he was
helpless, and. a result, his daughters
carried the day, and at once entered upon
the work of running the farm. The eldest
daughter has reached the advanced age of
twenty-five, and it was decided that she
lshould be mistress of the establishment.
She does the cooking. attends to the work
of the house. makes the butter (abOut thir
| ty-two pounds each week. and. in fact
looks after all matters under the roof tree.
The second daughter is quiet, and it would
be difficult to define her work She is al
ways busy-pullS weeds. hoes melons or
does anything that is to be done. saying
nothing about it, and reminding one of
| those who follow the injunction: Don't
let your right hand know what your left
hand doeth.'' She is a fne-looking girl
one of those personalities who will look
well in silks or in the poorest costume
without adornment Her greatest adorn-
| ment is God given, and is in evidence in
her magnificent suit of hair and in her
queenly carriage. The former is always
well arranged, and the little loose blouse
which Is her field jacket, is becoming
as would be a coat of fur on a lady of
fashion. When she comes from the field
arrayed in an old short skirt and soiled,
torn apron, the costume is forgotten. and you
only realize that you are standing in the
presence of a lady. who. while labor. ng
with her hands in the field, has yielded up
none of the graces or accomplishments
that mark the true lady.
The Sandwich Girl
Perhaps the most interesting of the five
is the third daughter. AS a general thing
the middle child is the most insignificant
of the family. There is distinction in
being the oldest or youngest or the only
boy or girl but my sympathy goes out to
the child who forms the Sandwich How
ever, in this family there are three middle
| ones, which makes a difference.
But, to return to my subject one would
not want to see a finer specimen of young
womanhCod than this nineteen-year- old
girl. Tall, such perfect physique. full
of life and enthusiastic one feels better
after a conversation with her. She sinks
self entirely, her ideals are high, and it is
not just clear how the family could do
| without Bess- She has ploughed the
ground used the hoe. weeded on her hands
and knees milks eight or ten cows night
and morning, the chickens are hers. and
yesterday when l saw her she was digging
bitches for irrigating. She had not been
instructed but had used her eyes, ears and
brain in observation; the oats needed water
and she must put it on. Her desc. Upton
of her work was very interesting. She told
of her difficulties in going through the tall
oats and getting water on them. Those
difficulties were all due to skirts I sug
gested that she boomers when at
that kind of work, Whereupon, blushing
and laughing, she confessed that she be-
came so desperate that she went into the
house to don a pair of her fathers trou-
| sers. but alas, they were too tight, she
then resorted to an old skirt which She
cut off at the knees, and a pair of her
fathers boots. Then. she whispered, land
when 1 got to the ditch 1 even took off the
boots and went in barefoOted." She is as
pretty picture. and in the winter when
ing ranch for water. one would not have
wished a sweeter sight than she made
coming up the road in her fathers long
coat, boots and hat
Their Kind Heart.
In the meantime this same woman-ruled
but indulgent father would wish to don
some of his apparel, and must needs find
which daughter it was gracing. One
day he came in desperation to
neighbor and said: Mrs. c.. they have
even taken my pantaloons. He was the
picture of distress. When asked for an
explanation. the girls this tale unfolded
Inc nlreu man naQ only one pair OF
trousers and was caught in a storm. The
tender hearted girls. wishing to prevent the
man from being sick resorted to their
fathers wardrobe This same father was
the proud possessor of three pairs of trou-
sers. and may be supposed, they were
classed as best Tor daygo-to-meetinO.
second best. (which graced his own per-
SOM, and his old ones, for field work. The
latter were examined but were considered
too shabby to offer to any one. and so it
was finally decided that the best ones
must be loaned. These girls. like most of
the feminine race. generally act on the i'm
pulse of thought, and the hired man
was soon feeling as fine as the proverbial
peafowl. When the father had occasion to
array himself in his best trousers they were
not to be found, and he could not account
for his loss. Finally calling to his daugh-
tiers he said: Girls, you have worn what
you could, but where my trousers?''
Then Bess confessed to the loan. winding
up with, but, papa, we didn't expect him
to keep them He has worn them for
two days. and we don't know how to get
them off him. Then began family
council, and it ended, as was usual in such
matters, in an appeal to the little lady
fbo odxyioo of