The Oregon daily journal., November 29, 1908, Page 28, Image 28

XHE OREGON , SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND,, SUNDAY HORNING, NCmsEsfc 29, 1908
fin
h
15
1
mi s 4 A
The Different Activities
of 'Those Who. Have
oougni 10 neip i neir
Country
i
71 USKETS cracked and bullets filled
' the air like kail. Volley after vol.
- f ley thundered over the battlefield.
'Clouds of smoke swept over the struggling
masses of men, and melting into the air,
showed the desperate battle lines and revealed
the terror! of war.
the midst of this bloody melee, this
Horror of warfare, a woman moved, a brave,
'Courageous woman, who passed from man to
man, lifting cups of water to their mouths,
giving drink to the injured.
t In the awful fray she moved fearlessly
this heroine of the Revolution a woman
whose name still rings like clarion notes in
American history. And how Molly Pitcher,
when her husband fell, leaf ed to the gun and
fed the death-dealing fires is a story of womanly-courage
which remains a shining example
W the young of the land.
"X- There followed in the Civil War other
heroines -women who fought in regiments,
rfsked death as spies and nursed the sick and
wounded. Since the' n womanly heroism has
not died; indeed, women have proved them
selves heroines in all ages.
In one age a Judith cut the head from
'Holofernes, in another a Cleopatra led her
forces', although to defeat; a Queen Boadicea
'headed the Saxons, a Joan of Arc saved
'France; a Ranee of Jansee inspired fight in
the languishing soldiers of India, and still
later a Florence Nightingale, a Clara Barton
Tutve proved their patriotism by noble and
unselfish work for humanity.
v A woman with a lamp shall stand
: . In tna great history of the land.
A noble type of food.
Heroic womanhood. Loot fellow.
MONO the bravest and purest, while most dra
, f niatlc. of heroines of battles the figure of Joan
J JL. of Arc stands out resplendent a figure of
! courage, high hope, honor and . unselfish en
deavor which no man hero has ever surpassed. Mark
Twain wrote of this peerless heroine:
' As the years and decades drifted by, and the spectacle
, of the marveloba child's meteor-flight across the war fir
, -mement of-France and ita c-itlnctlon in the smoke clouds
of the stake receded, deeper and deeper into the put and
, errew ever more strause and wonderful and divine and
pathetic, I came to comprehend and recognise her at laat
, for what she was the most uoble life that was ever born
. fat this world save only One
'"Naturally the background of her life, the settings
Of 'battle and warfare make It heroic, cause It to stand
out above the acts of other women for mankind. In
the days of her need France had her heroine. And for
alt reward," wrote the pitted biographer, "the French
king, whom sue had crowned, stood supine and Indif
ferent while others took the nobie child, the moat In
nocent, the most lovely. Hie most adorable the ages
"have produced, and burned her alive at the stake."
,' Jn all times, when there was a great need, who
earn valiantly to the service of men? Who has led
armies of rescuers, nurses of the sick, noble bands of
relief on battlefields. Just au Joan led the French
armies to Victory? Who founded the greatest society
for the alleviation of the sick and wounded in times
of distress and trouble? Who, when an age needed
each a movement, started a world-wide crusade
against a traffic that was degrading and brutalizing
nations? Who, when the time was at hand, wrote a
book that was largely Instrumental in freeing a race
from slavery? In each time and each case a woman!
HEROINES OF TODAY
We have our heroines today, women who are lead
1 Ing quiet and effective armies. A Jane Addams, who
devotes ber life making; American citizens of foreign
era; a Helen Gould, who gives her wealth for the care
of aick soldiers during; war and provides places of
recreation for soldiers and sailors; a Mrs. Humphry
Ward, who devotes most of her time to the allevia
tion of tbe poor of London and the founding of play
grounds and places of recreation for the little ones
all have in them the same spirit which inspired Joan
of Arc, Molly Pitcher and the intrepid women who
fought during the Civil War.
Ja giving time, service and money, women have
tone much for their country. Among the more recent
additions to the list are the names of Mrs. Russell
Cage and Miss Anna Bartlett Warner, wbo presented
to the United States g-overnment Constitution island.
In tbe Hudson river. On behalf of the nation. Presi
dent Roosevelt accepted the island. It will be added
to the United States military reservation at West
point.
Mrs. Page bought the Island and presented it to
tie country within Ave days after bearing that it
as desired as part of the West Point reservation. Al
thiua;h it was worth considerably more, she paid
:id,i00 for It. and because it was sold for the purpose
at such a sacrifice, she named Miss Warner, the
owner, as joint donor.
, This island was considered Invaluable as cart of
fi.e reservation, and a bill appropriating $175,000 to
buy it wns passed by the Senate, but never passed the
Jiouee. Mrs. Sage's alacrity n acquiring It and giving
it to the country is one Instance of her desire to work-f.-.r
the nat'owe welfare. Mrs, Ease lias also-co-oper-
ej with M;s Helfu Gould In Y. M. C. A, work for
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Lady
Henry
Somerset
Ms. ferrcf Seeober Sfowej
for aeveral years has been living- in retirement at
'Fa . - iuinu uoAi tv aouiugivu, xj. ., uuv iimi wvist
Gould are the Brooklyn Navy Yard Y. M. C. A., which
was erected and furnished at a cost of $500,000; the
Fort Leavenworth Y. M. C. A. building, whloh cost
$60,000, and the St. Louis Y. M. C. A. building, which
cost $250,000. Mrs. Russell Sage donated $350,000 for
an annex to the Brooklyn Navy Tard Y. M. C. A. and
$25,000 for a house at Fort McKlnley, In the Philip
pines. Another woman who has proved her patriotism a
world patriotism one may call It is an American, Miss
Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross. Miss Barton
Miss Barton Is a typical American heroine. Born
In a Massachusetts town, as a child she yearned to
get into the world and devote herself to the service
of mankind. Her decision to undertake the nursing
of soldiers was formed while she was working In
the Patent Office. In Washington, during the Civil
War.
She gave 'up her position, and advertised in the
papers of Worcester, Mass., for contributions and do
nations to aid the wounded soldiers. Her request
aroused an Immediate response, and a warehouse was
hired In "Washington to store the donations liberally
fforexo
sent Miss Barton went to the headquarters of Gen
eral Butler and offered her services.
Then began her career of service for the wounded
a career unparalleled save by that of Florence Night
ingale, the noblest woman of England. During the
War Clara Barton gave herself to the sick and In
jured. She stood by the bedside of the dying, nursed
the ill, and was on the field during battles. . In 18M
she was appointed head nurse of the hospitals In the
Army of the James by General Butler. She nursed
4 " SJ
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I sc. i x x
-- Captured by frcfrans. Vazs7sm0
Fsher
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Mrs. Fster
lEW women have passed through such thrill
ing adventures, or have lived under aa
many flags, as Mrs. Kehecca J. Gilleland
Fisher, president of the nmichters of
the Republic of Texas and a native of Pennsyl
vania. Mrs. Fisher is one of the most prominent
women of Texas. She is a charter member of the
Albert Sidney Johnston Chapter, Daughters of the
Confederacy, of that state, and one of two women
honored with membership of therr Own right in the
Texas Veterans' Association.
Her life has been remarkable for stirring inci
dents. After leaving her Pennsylvania home she
lived under four flags in, Texas those of . Mexico,
the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy and the
Stars and Stripes of a united country. Her career
in Texas began with the murder of her parents,
her capture by Indians, hef rescue and other stir
ring events that are aeldom included in a woman's
life history.
"M
' ,",irr ana sailors.
;! ( the wore .actable ccntrlbutlens)
of; -Vis I,-'
Y PARENTS. Johnstone and Mary Barbour
Gilleland, were living in Manayunk, then a
Philadelphia suburb, surrounded with every
thing to make life pleasant, when they de
cided to move to Isiaa." 'said Mrs.' Fisher In telling
the etorjr of herlite the other day. ' v V
They, becama enthusiastic over encouraging raV
ports from Texas that they decided to Join the ex
cited throng and wend their war to this, the eup-'
posed Eldorado of the West Hastily and at great ,ao.
rlfice they disposed of their propertjr and set sail for
Galveston with their three children.
j '"Phey were not prepared for the hardships and
privations of frontier life. One of the children died
In a short time. They were ill prepared for the trial
which awaited them. Reaching Texas, they went to
Refugio county, near Don Carlos' ipnch. This proved
to be their last earthly . habitation.
"My father belonged to Captain Tomllnson's com
pany of Texas troops for some months, and when not
actively engaged in warfare vti protecting his own
and other families, removing them' from place to. place
for safety. They frequently had to flee through blind
ing storms, wet and hungry, to- escape Indians and
Mexicans. Families were in constant danger, and had
to be ready at any moment to flee for their lives.
"The day my parents were murdered was one of
the days which youth and old age so much enjoy. It
was In strange contrast with the tragedy at its close.
We were only a few rods from the house. Suddenly
the warwhoop of the Comattches burst upon our ears.
Terror filled all hearts. My father In trying: to reach
the house for weapons waa shot down. Near him, my
mother, clinging to her children and praying God to
spare them, waa also murdered. As she pressed us te
her heart, we were baptised In her blood.
"We were caotured lust as the sun was setting, and
were rescued the next morning.. During the few hours
piowiy
the set-
halted for
the first time, soldiers suddenly cam upon. them. Fir-
t were rescued tne next morning.. 1'urai in i
we were prisoners the Indians never stopped.
iand steadily they poshed their way through '
Tlement to avoid detection. Just as they ha!
ing commenced. .As the battle raged the Indians were
forced to take flight. Thereupon, they pierced my
brother through the body, and. striking me with some
sharp Instrument on the aide of the head, .they left
us for dead.
"We soon recovered, to find ourselves alone in 4be
dark, dense forest, wounded and covered with blood.
Having; been taught to ask God for all things, ws
prayed our hetovenly Father to take care of us. We
asked that He direct us out of that lonely place. I
lifted my wounded brother, so faint and weak, and
soon we came to the edge of the prairie, when 'as far
away as our swimming eyes could see we discovered
a company of horsemen.
"Supposing them to be Indians, I rushed back with
my brother into the woods and hid behind some thick
brush. But those "brave men, on the alert, dashing
from place to place, at last discovered us. Soon we
heard the thud "of horses' hoofs and the voices of our
rescuers calling us by name.' assurlngus they were
our friends, who had come to take care of us. ' Lifting
tbe almost unconscious little sufferer, I carried him
out to them as beet I could.
General Albert Sidney Johnston, later s noted Con
. federate leader, commanded the rescuing party, which
was guided by Lieutenant A. B. Hannum, of the Mata
gorda Rifleman, of Texas. " . - ' . "
.., A home was found for the orphan children with
the family f a clergyman living near the frontier.
(Tne girl was educated at Rentersvllle College, then a
celebrated Texas schoo!, and married the Rev. Orce
reth Fisher. Her brother. -whose life she did so much.,
te save, became a noted writer and poet of Texas.
" ., v. , I '..
wounded French soldiers later during the France
Prussian War, and then devoted all the energy of her
ripened years to founding and building up the great
Red Cross movement, which has been a blessing to
humanity both In war and peace.
In England two stars shine bright in the horlson
of patriotismthose of Florence Nightingale And
Elizabeth Fry. Florence Nightingale, too. Is a world
patriot one whose service was Indeed broader than
. that to one country, which all mankind might claim.
This devoted, woman was born In Florence, Italy.
She was taken to Egypt when a girl,, and there min
istered to sick Arabs. Even as a child she Imagined
her dolls were sick and Injured, and would nurse and
bandage them. At 34 the call came for her life
service. The world was thrilled with the horrors of
the Crimean campaign with the story of 18,000 men
lying In the hospitals; the ground covered with snow.
How. with thirty-sight nurses, Florence Nightin
gale hurried to. the relief Is a story the world has
long related to growing generations. Everywhere
Florence Nightingale and her "angel band," as It was
called, went. She worked day and night, and was so
often along the trenches at night that she became
known as "The Lady With the Lamp." Of those
hardships she wrote to a friend: "Fancy working
Ave nights out of sevea in the trenches'! Fancy being
thirty-six hours In them at a stretch, as they were
all December, lying down, or half lying down, after
forty-eight hours, with no food but raw salt pork,
sprinkled with sugar, rum and biscuit; nothing hot,
because the exhausted soldier could not collect his
own fuel, as he was expected to do."
England has boasted of many women who proved
their patriotism. One reads with a thrill of the noble
work of Elisabeth Fry among the outcasts and pris
oners; of Grace Darling, tbe simple heroine of the
Fame Islands names that glitter like a crown upon
England's brow.
England has not lost her galaxy of patriotic women.
Patriotism necessarily need not be displayed on a
field of battle for there are other battles a nation
must fight; and the work done by the famous novelist,
Mrs. Humphry Ward, In establishing playgrounds for
the children of the poorer sections of London; of Lady
Henry Somerset, wbo inaugurated the war for temper
ance, are of great Importance.
Early In her life Lady Somerset, one of the richest
heiresses In England, became convinced that drink
was the national curse. She saw her work, she felt
the call, and under her guidance the British Women's
Temperance Association grew to a membership of
100,000. Lady Somerset took part In political cam
paigns; there was hardly a city or town in the whole
of England that did not hear her plea for temperance.
FOUNDED FARM COLONY
She founded an industrial farm colony at Dux
hurst, where, under a band of teachers and sisters,
hundreds of women who have been victims of drunk
enness are reformed and restored to a normal healthy
existence.4 In the summer the noble lady takes chil
dren from the slums of London to a section of the
colony where they spend a holiday of a fortnight.
Mrs. Humphry Ward has worked lndefatigably In
the founding of play centers in. London. The centers
had their origin in 1897, when the Passmore Edwards
Settlement in Tavistock was started. . The work be
gan with a total attendance of 6000; It has increased
to 17,000. Therh are now twelve In London noble trib
utes to the efforts of the famous .novelist. .
Patriotism exemplified by efforts for the uplifting
of a race of poor and Ignorant people has never. In a
way, been more strikingly and effectively demonstrated
than by an American novelist, now dead. Mrs. Har
riet Beecher Stowe's book. It is generally acknowl
edged, had a great deal to do with the emancipation
of slaves in America. The story of how "Uncle Tom's
Cabin" was written is well kriown. How it wss pub
lished in a "Washington paper and the furore It caused '
are facts of history. Few bpoks have had so far
reaching and tremendous effects. Mrs. Stowe was a
patriot; she wrote her book from the heart while she
rocked a cradle. It was a work of patriotism which
kindled a nation.
Another woman by her pen aroused the fires of
patriotism in thousands. This was Julia Ward Howe,
who wrote the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" to tbe
sound of which armies marched to fields of battle.
And In the history of our own country there are
Innumerable cases of heroism on the part erf women.
The history of the Civil War abounds with deeds of
Intrepid -women. Women served In the ranks, they
acted as spies, they nursed the sick. ' There were Mrs.
Fanny Rlcketts. who went with- her husband to the
battlefield; Mary A. Brady, who led a corps of women
through the war to attend the sick and wounded;
Kady Browaell, who, with her husband, went to the
front with the First Rhode Island Infantry and fought
as well as any man; Bridget Divers, known aa "Irish'
Biddv," who served with the -First 'Michigan Cavalry
as standard-bearer, nurse, doctor, surgeon. One might,
recall the names of the w-man who have proved their
patriotism ad infinitum, ' ,
l : X ...