Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-07-01
OUR WOMEN--Wif is Worth
But Sixty Cents, Assertion of Eng
Hsh Judge

require, for a family OF -four growing
children and two adults. five quarts Of
milk daily-this in addition to the frui
and vegetables mentioned. Would thi:
be living like primitive people? I trov
not.
Most primitive people in northern eli
mates lived largely on a diet OF flesh
Sometimes they were cannibals, and ate
their captured enemies. They were not
in the least hnicky about eating un-
cooked meat. Our own Indians. 1t is
said, tore the liver from the slain buffalo
and ate 1t raw. Rain-in-the-Face was &C
cused of eating the heart of Tom Custer,
with no preliminary cooking. If the
charge is true, Rain-in-the-Face de-
voured the heart. not in the way of diet,
but to gain the heroism of the man to
whom 1t belonged.
But few vegetables were available for
the Indians, wild turnip, camas. bitter
root, etc. These were dried, as was fruit,
and generally added to the dried and
pounded meat. Some Indians gathered
wild rice, n others raised corn. This
last could not be done, however, unless
the corn-raisers were far enough removed
from primitive ways to live in villages.
Indians ate when so inclined. and to
repletion on occasions, both equally rep
rehensible from the standpoint of the
modern dietitian. There were also for
them periods of involuntary fasting.
when they frightened their belts to lessen
the pain of their stomachs.
What diseases they had we do not
know, although some have been mem
toned by early travellers In this region.
Probably what contributed most to keep
ing the men healthy was their custom
of going almost naked in the summer
season. The undetermined violet rays of
the sun had nothing to intercept them,
and did their work thoroughly.
1 have never heard that other than
mothers milk was included in the diet
OF indian children. 1t was as well. for
1t would have been impossible to keep
it clean.
The truth is that this whole question
of diet and manner of eating is as IN
settled as the waves Of the ocean. What
is prescribed today. is interdicted to-
morrow. All kinds of things eatable and
UNBEATABLE are recommended. One man.
not long ago. claimed that health was
to be found in eating grass a la Nebu-
chadnezzar. This fad was not adopted
to any great extent.
Then how shall we eat? Primitive peo-
pie wasted no time Fletcherizing. They
gulped their food. and this fashion of
eating is the advice of some present day
authorities, who state that the apostle
of much chewing was the victim of his
own teachings. He did not give his di-
gestive organs enough to do.
l nave dwelt on this subject at con-
siderable length, to show that 1t Is not
the women. but the doctors who are at
fault, as they are apparently blind lead
ers of the blind. II one Of them were
qualified to speak ex cathedra on this
vexed question of diet, the women would
not fail to conform, and civilization
might hav a chance. We owe a great
deal to the doctors, but they have proved
themselves lacking in i~nfallibility on the
W subjects Of dress and diet.
Connected with his food subject is the
information that Miss Florence Fallgat-
ter, once state supervisor of home eco
nomics for Montana, and who for the
past year supplied the place of Miss
Gladys Brenagan, head Of the home eco
Monies department of Montana State COL
lege, was appointed in March federal
agent of home economics, mi federal
supervisor of Smith-Hughes instruction
of home economics in Montana high
schools. Inc also In other schools In
western and central-western states.
In the Butte Y. M. c.. A. a coaching
class for women has been organized to
instruct women who care to enter this
business of coaching for baseball or
track. Fancy what our g~randmothers
would have said IN reading such an an
nouncementi
A Montana college president not long
ago dwelt on the fact that children are
the greatest asset Of any nation; and
then spoke mainly on the rearing of
boys. If civilization depends OF sixty
cen women should not the girls have q
fair share of attention? The old idea of
the natural supremacy of the male is
rapidly going into the discard.