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THE SUNNY SOUTH
WN7H P/tGE
Mexico s War with the Yaquis
for S'he Sunny South
AS it ever been held
that the war policy of
the United States gov
ernment against the
formerly rebellious
Apaches was inhuman
or unwarrantable?"
The question was sub
stantially the first ut
terance of General Luis
E. Torres, military gov
ernor of the state of
Sonora, in the lnter _
view granted me on the
subject of Mexico's
dealings with the hos
tile Yaquis of this sec
tion, And there was
something in the tones of the speaker
that suggested entire confidence in the
,ground whereon, as a chief factor in
the • miDaien airninst
cine
was
pen
icai
me
and
By JOSE DE OLIVARES
vmci tactor
mpaign against the Indians in
n °n. his Principles were based It
this “something" in the speech and
" 1,1 Ule speech anc
1 ral boar,n K of the distinguished Mex-
iluit. from the beginning, impressed
nlore th,ln his exalted rank
dignified presence. The absolute
uni.i'icncss, however, of the quality re-
terrei to. in a man of his war-like call
ing for a time rendered its exact nature,
jnd' I'-rniinabl•. Then by degrees I came
•rpict and to appreciate it in~Tht.
hi 11 ustfulness that at once dom-
h,s character, and required in
rs all that it gave,
mdertaking to investigate the actual
connected with the present Yaqui
concerning which during the two
d ns progress so many conflicting i
have been published, it had oc-
io me that the first authority to
l "as tin- tnan under whose, imme-
ii>ervision the campaign is being
'■ - 1. Hence, instead of making ap-
-fizough Uie customary chan-
With all his incorrigibleness. I still have
hopes for the Yaqui. and will yet elimi
nate his vioious tendencies. And of this.
I assure you.” concluded the general,
with unmistakable sincerity in his tones.
“notwithstanding the seeming harshness
of the measures I have been forced to
employ in effectual*' crushing his spirit
of rebelliousness. I have a far deeper in
terest in the welfare of the Yaqui than
any of those who, without the least
knowledge of his true character, are
seeking to uphold and encourage him in
his crusade against civilization.”
- JOSE DE OLIVARES.
New Zealand's Wonderful Freaks
By FRANK G CARPENTER
Yaqui war chiefs and followers
dians. For years we were impelled, in
the face of the most trying discourage
ments. to hope for a better solution of
the Yaqui problem. Our policy was to j
accord the Indians, from the outstart,
every privilege enjoyed by the average
citizen of Mexico, in tihe belief that such
a course would in time create of him a
valuable fadtor in the permanent settle
ment of the country. To this end lie was
allowed to roam at will throughout the
entife north-west territory. If ho chose i
to work for others, the great haciendas !
offered him no lack of employment, while j
if more independently disposed, ire was i
given tiie preference of settling on what
ever public lands b< st suited his fancy. [
The result was that a larger portion of j
the tribe located themselves in the Rio
Yaqui district, a, remote but. exceedingly |
fertile section in the southeastern part of
the wliiLe settlers are destroying liis mes-
quite trees! It is these mesquite trees
that constitute, to so great an extent, his
wilderness retreat, and they cover the
most fertile public lands in the state."
“What specific trouble led to the pres
ent war?” I inquired.
“It was the building of the great irriga
tion canal which has its source in the Rio
Yaqui." stated the general. “At the close
of the last Yaqui war. in 1897. the Indians
were allotted seven pueblos, representing
something like 112.000 acres of choice land
in the vallev of the Rio Yaqui. A portion
of this land, however, lies too high for
irrigation from the river direct, and was
therefore comparatively unproductive. To
render this land available for agricultural
purposes, tiro Mexican government "short
ly afterwards gave an American company
a concession to run a canal front the Rio
Mexican troops campaigning against the Yaquis
t.fla for permission to enter the hostile
. aqui country, I proceeded direct to the
r apital of Sonora and applied in person
to General Torres for the desired priv-
loge, together with a statement of his
own convictions on the subject of the
rebellion.
I found the general at bis beautiful
' iome in the suburbs of Hermosillo, to
vhich he had just returned after an ar
duous trip into the hi.irt of the Indian
■ountry. Notwithstanding his evident
Physical exhaustion, he received me with
customary Mexican hospitality, assuring
me that his house was at my disposal
so long as I chose to remain, an assur
ance which tiie kindly look in Ms frank
eyes in no sense belied. And certainly no
prospect could have been more delightful
than a protracted sojourn in the languor
ous atmosphere of his semi-tropical re
treat. However, there was no other way
Than to put aside all such allurements,
for the brief interval I spent at lle.rmo-
sillo was entirely occupied with the in
ti rview accorded me.
For fifteen years," continued the gen-
< al, alter the slight pause following up-
thc incontrovertible question with
vhich he had prefixed his statement.
‘ ; have been, in one capacity or another,
identified with the task or civilizing the
Yaquis. And for twelve of those, years,
e mracterized though they were by re
peated outbreaks on tiie part of the In
dia us, 1 never once, gave over the hope
; d belief that 1 would live to see tiie
< . when they would constitute a pow-
, f l element in the population of So-
j • Throughout this interval the va-
as traits of the Indian character have
b "u my closest study. I have seen tribe,
after tribe in the adjoining United States
min- to the warpath for identically the
same reasons as those that have influ-
lpviei-d the Yaquis, namely, a general an-
I i nhy for civilization in its every form,
v are no two natures more similar
ii those of the Yaqui and Apache.
a t land for the purpose of cultiva-
t that either have demanded, but un
it) i i territory wherein they might piF-
i it ir savage tendencies without re-
ptraiiu The United States government
\ t-i-y early adopted the theory that there
Was absolutely no dependence to be
placed in an Apache so long as the least
freedom were allowed him. Accordingly,
a persistent round-np was inaugurated,
and when taken alive he was shut up on
a cloudy guarded reservation. But even
thi policy proved ineffectual, and it was
not until a large percentage of the tribe,
were exterminated and the most refrac
tory "f its members removed to far-away
that peace and progress in the
former Apache country was established.
Had the Mexican government been dis
pos’d, at the outstart, to adopt like meas-
uri in its dealings with the Yaquis, the
trih" would long ago have been thorough
ly under control.
“But,'' I interposed, “is it not true that
in the present- war you are pursuing a
similar course with ibhe Yaquis?"
“Precisely,” was the frank rejoinder.
'"And it was in justification of this policy
that I have cited the precedent establish
ed by the United States government. The
inly difference in the two circumstances
1 - in the lateness on our part in tesort-
t i” such drastic methods with the la
the state. Here they lived after the man
ner of the average uncivilized Indian, de
pending on game and the very least
amount of corn !they could raise, for an
existence. At times, as necessity com
pelled it, some of the tribe would pro
ceed to other parts of the state, where
they would work for a short While only
to return again to their wilderness re
treat, there to live in idleness so long
as theu'r earnings would permit. Repeated
efforts were made by the Mexican gov
ernment to induce the Indians to cultivate
rich lands of which they had possessed
themselves, but without avail. And not
onlv did they resent every such effort to
ward their own development, but like
wise opposed the improvement and culti
vation of any part of the country in their
vicinity. Their oppositon, moreover, was
not in the nature of mere protest, but of
the massacre and robbery of all who dared
violate their barbarous principles. This
violent perversity on the part of the
Yaquis is the direct cause of all the
bloody warfare that for years has 'been
waged in the rural districts of Sonora.
“It has been stated that the Yaquis
are fighting for tlieir lands, which is an
error. The Yaquis think nothing of the
country for what it wiii produce. It is
Yaquii into tiie country to the southward,
under the condition that it should be so
constructed as to furnish water to such
portions of the Indian lands as could not
otherwise be irrigated. But after tiie
work had progressed to a considerable
extent, the old spinit of rebelliousness on
the oart of the Indians against the en
croachments of civilization again prevail
ed. and without the slightest warning
they fell to murdering every white settler
they could find dn the region. This act
on the part of the Yaquis was the bitter
est disappointment of mv life, for it de
stroyed all mv hopes of ever being able
to resolve them into a peaceful, progres
sive community. It was then that I felt
compelled to recommend to the Mexican
government that the tribe be entirely dis
membered. To effectually accomplish
this it was necessary to deport the pris
oners. as fast as they were captured, to
parts of the public sufficiently remote to
insure tlieir inability to return. It lias
been stated that these captives were sent
to Yucatan, which is absurdly erroneous,
as that district is likewise infested with
rebellious Indians. Such Yaqui prisoners
as I have thus far had sent out of the
country wore mostly taken to the state of
Jalisco, one of the most beautiful sections
Gereral Luis E Torres, Sonora Torres and Jose de Olivares
the advance of civilization they are
lighting. In behalf of the Mexican gov
ernment I have repeatedly made special
allotments of agricultural land to those
IndSans and furnished them with abun
dant corn and wheat .for planting pur
poses The latter, however, they would
almost invariably trade for mescal, their
favorite liquor, or else cat outright, with
the result that none of the land assigned
to them has been to any extent culti
vated. Such a thing will never be when
a Yaqui will come to me and say. I have
cultivated all the land you have given
me and have need of more, but "hat
he will receive all that he may require.
But such thriftiness is entirely foreign
to the Yaqui character, and the most se
rious complaint he has ever raised is that
Home of General lorres,
of Mexico, where renewed endeavors are
being made toward their civilization.”
“How many Indians do you estimate
are now on the warpath?" I asked.
“That is difficult to determine,” answer
ed the general. “It is my belief, however,
that their number has been reduced to
not more than 300; and these in turn are
broken up into numerous marauding
bands. Besides, iiicir numbers fluctuate,
for at times members of the hostile fac
tion will leave the mountains, and, pass
ing • themselves off as peaceable Indians,
proceed to the haciendas and secure
work. Then with the proceeds of their
labor they will purchase ammunition and
return to the hostile country. Thus, it
will be seen that the Indian problem
her*/'in Sonora is a very, intricate ope.
The very mozo who serves my. table today
rriay, a week hence, by lying in ambusft
• fdr.fne among the hills, while the purse
I who attends mv household is. perhaps
1 using, her wages to supply the .warring
[ Indians with cartridge^." .
v-dAVle.-ii-.the present war is at an end.
yrril' the surviving-Indians' be allowed to
reoccupy .the valley of the Rio Yaqui?" I
inquired. " j
“Not as a tribe,” was the response. I
“Experience has demonstrated that the j
rural districts will never be safe so long
as the Yaquis are permitted to band
themselves together. There are always !
’ disturbing elements among them, whose
( influence might at any time precipitate
another outbreak. The Yaqui is naturally
of an incendiary disposition, and it takes
little to arouse his hunger for destruc
tiveness. We have endeavored for years
to rectify his tendency to viciousness. but
to no avail. When the missionary prints
who went among them attempted^ to
preach industry and peace, their influence
with tiie Indians was thenceforth irre
trievably lost. On the other hand, they
would listen with eagerness to the voice
of an insurrectory spirit. For this reason
it will fee roy future policy to keep the
Indians apart. Although obliged to re
sort lin a measure to deportation. I am
aot in favor of carrying it to extremes.
CopyritfBt 1901 'f
would you like to
meet a bird as tall as a
giraffe. which lays
eggs as big as a pump
kin? You can see the
Image of one at Christ
church. New Zealand.
Ton can see a baker's
dozen of skeleto"”=
showing the gigantic
monster in the differ
ent stages of its growth
and behind glass you
can see some of the
real eggs laid by it a
century or more ago.
when it trod the soil
of this country. I re
fer to the great moa. supposed to be the
biggest bird ever created. I sat down
before the model of it in Christchurch.
New Zealand, and made some notes de
scribing it. Its tail as the bird stands on
the floor is just as high as my bead
and its ankle is as big around as my
ralf. Its gigantic body, covered with
gray feathers, might have been modeled
out of a small haystack, and its tall,
thin neck is stretched so high above
its breast that the whole could not
possibly lie squeezed into the average
parlor. It has no wings, but its lee-s
are as strong as those of a camel, and
it looks quite as big. Its feet have claws
much like those of a turkey save that
thev are enormous in size and each a foot
*°I^doubt not the original could have
stamped out the life of a man at one
blow. Beside one of the moa skeletons
was placed the skeleton of an ordinary
man; the head of the bird rising at least
eight feet above the skull of the man.
Tiie bones were real bones found in this
part of New Zealand; they are joined to
gether by wires.
The first bones of the moa were dis
covered about sixty years ago. The bird
existed in New Zealand within a very
recent period and there are Maoris who
will tell you that their forefathers hunt
ed it. The probability, however, is that
it antedates 1110" advent of the Maoris,
but there is no doubt that It was once
eaten in great numbers, for in the old
ovens which have been excavated quan
tities of cooked moa bones have been
found. But as to when that time was
and who the moa hunters were no one
knows.
The moa eggs were each about a foot
long. One was found some years ago
by a man when digging the foundation
of a house. He had gone down several
feet when he came upon the skeleton
of a man in a sitting posture. The egg
was held in the man's bony fingers in
such a manner as to bring it immediate
ly opposite his mouth, and it is sup
posed that it was placed there with the
idea that the ghost of the dead would
have something to eat during the inter
vals of his long sleep. There were a
stone spear and an ax by the side of
the man. showing that he was probably
a. warrior, and his skull bore evidence
of having received several hnrd knocks,
probably on the battlefield. The egg was
ten inches long and seven incites in diam
eter and its shell was about as thick
as a silver twenty-five-cent piece. Its
inside was perfectly empt~ but whether
time or the dead native had sucked
out the contents the records do not say.
The wingless birds
Tiie moa was wingless. It seems to
have been a giant edition of some of
the strange birds of New Zealand has now.
There are wingless birds in New Zealand
r.-ot larger than good-sized chickens,
which are moas in miniature. I refer to
the kiwis, some of which I have seen
here at Christchurch. The kiwis have
l-.airlike feathers of somewhat the color
of a quail. They have long bills, sharp
at the point, with which they can bcre
down into the mud for worms and tlieir
legs are much like those of the moa.
I ha vc had several of them in my hands
and by feeling carefully l can discover
wiiat seems like a little lump on each side
where the wing ought to be. Otherwise
than this no wings are perceptible.
The kiwi is a night bird. At the college
here, where I saw them, the birds were
penned up like chickens and had to be
brought out of the coop for me to exam
ine them. They seemed almost blinded by
the light and ran about this way and that
in apparent terror. The birds are now
growing very scarce in New Zealand.
The Maoris are fond otf them for food,
land their skins are highly prized as
dresses for the chiefs. They are now only
to be found in the dense beds of ferns
which cover parts of New Zealand. Tt is
very-difficult to catch them, for they looa
mu< h like the dead fern leaves, and they
take refuge in the crevices in the rocks
and in deep holes which they excavate
in tiie ground for their nests.
One of the most curious things about
the kiwi is the size of its egg. It is al
most as big as the bird itself, being of a
enemy white color, as smooth and as
glossy as ivory. Th? kiwi is rapidly be
ing exterminated. The dogs hunt it in
the thicket, and it is now rare that you
find one outside the museums.
The sheep-eating parrot
There is another bird in New Zealand
which is quite as curious as the kiwi.
This is the kea parrot, which eats sheep,
fastening its claws into the wool of the
hack, and digging out the choice bits of
flesh. Thousands of sheep have been de
stroyed by this bird, the loss from them
Icing so great that the government once
rffrred a reward of 75 cents a iiead, when
as many as fifteen thousand keas were
killed In a year. The kea has aristocrat
ic tastes. It does rot care for any part
of tiie sheep except the kidneys and the
fat which sui rounds them. Through sev
eral generations of birds it has learned
by instinct or tradition—whether birds talk
or not, I cannot say—just where the kid
neys lie in the sheep’s anatomy. I am
told that it strikes the right spot every
time, and that it bores a hole into the
side of the sheep right over the kidneys
boring th? hole in with its bill as smooth
as though the flesh was cut round with
a knife.' The kea tears out the kidneys
and the fat, and then leaves the sheep,
w hicli, of course, dies.
There are different theories as'to how
the keas acquired this taste for the finest
of mutton. They' had had nothing but
berries and insects until sheep were in
troduced- Then they began to pick the
meat from the. sheep skins hung up to
dry. Later on they attacked the live
sheep, and '.after a time having discov-
•ered. .iust where the kidneys were, de
voted tlieir labors to no other part.
There' is no dpiibt of the fact that they
lake only the kidneys, and that every
kea knows just where to strike a sheep
the first time. Whether the birds talk
to one another or not I do not know,
but they certainly seem to work
quite as intelligently as though they had
language.
These are. however, but a few of the
freaks which Dame Nature has created in
this out-of-the-way part of the world.
There are others so strange that I hesi
tate to mention them. This is, j*>u know,
the land of the marsupials, or pouch
bearing animals. You have all heard of
the kangaroos, who have a bag attached
to the outside of their bellies in which
they cai-ry their young. There are not
many such in New Zealand. They are
rather to be found in Australia. New
Zealand, however, has marsupial rats,
and I saw at the college here in Christ
church a mouse not much larger than a
good sized cricket which had a pouch on
its belly. In which it carried its young.
This mouse is perhaps the smallest mar
supial known. It Is a part of the bio
logical collection of the college museum
at Christchurch, and was shown me by
Professor Marriner, the chief biologist.
Another thing he showed mo was a live
lizard which he says is a descendant of
a family of three-eyed lizards. This
lizard is especially puzzling to the scien
tists just now. In the center of the lic-ad
is a third eye, which is c-iearly visible
through the skin of the young animal,
but which becomes thickly covered when
it reaches maturity. Professor Marriner
says there is little doubt but that this
eye was once used. The lizard he show
ed me is about a foot long and, T should
say, two inches in diameter about the.
waist.
I like the black swans of New Zea
land. They are to be seen in all parts of
the island, and you can shoot them any
where along the lakes. They are <jcen
more beautiful than tiie white swans,
their feathers looking like black velvet
plush as they sail along the waters.
Vegetable caterpillars
The curiosities of vegetable life ore
quite as wonderful as those of animal life.
One of the strangest is what is known as
the vegetable caterpillar. This looks like
a perfect caterpillar with a. stem grow
ing out two inches in length. When it is
full grown the sprout comes out and takes
root and grows into a vigorous plant
about eight inches high, with a single
stem, but no lea). Some say that t'ne
caterpillar is a real live caterpillar, but
this I am inclined to doubt. The only
ones I have seen are the plants when they
have been dried after being taken out of
the ground.
I might also speak of New Zealand flax,
a sort of flax which grows in many parts
of the country and Which is now being
harvested largely for export. This flag
has a liber which makes a cloth as beau
tiful as silk. The Japanese are now ex
perimenting with it. and it may eventual
ly be — e of the great products of the
count.. . I have seen it growing in many
places on this island and am told that
thousands of tons are annually exported.
The fiber looks somewhat like Philippine
hemp.
Have you ever head of kauri gum? It
is a solidified turpentine or resin which is
found in great chunks on the top of the
ground and below the surface in the
northern island of New .Zealand. The
lumps are from the size of a walnut to
that of a man's head, and single pieces
have been found weighing as much as
one hundred pounds. This gum is often
as clear as amber, varying greatly in
color. Sometimes it is a rich yellow,
sometimes brown and sometimes just the
color of champagne. It is used as a sub
stitute for amber in 'cigar holders and
pipes, but the most of it is sold to the
manufacturers of varnish. It is by no
means a cheap article and the annual
exports of it amount to several millions
of dollars. In 1S98 not quite ten thousand
tons were exported, the total value of
which was in the neighborhood of $3,000,-
nothing else, tiie kauri gum exporters
being among the chief business men of
Auckland.
This gum comes from the kauri pine, a
tree which is often 15<) feet high and
twelve feet thick. The kauri is about the
best timber of New Zealand, and it is
largely used in building and furniture
making. The glim is the remains of the
great forests of tiie past which have rot
ted away, leaving this imperishable resin.
Some of the trees are barked for their
gum like our turpentine trees of the
southern states. The most, however,
siuil comes from tiie deposits in the
swamps.
Jt is wonderful how few Maoris you see
in traveling through New Zealand. The
aboriginal New Zealander is fast passing
away. There are now about 40,000 left.
They are scattered over the country in
colonies, having their own reservations
and their own villages. They are repre
sented in parliament by four members,
and they are largely governed by their
chiefs, although subject to the laws of
'.he country, i saw many of them in the
Nortli island. The better class dress in
European clothes, both men and women
affecting bright colors.
The men have magnificent physiques.
They are big. broad-shouldered, heavy
weights, with strong necks, big hands
and big feet. They have chocolate brown
complexions, high cueek bones, with noses
more like those of the Anglo-Saxon than
the American Indian. Nearly all of the
men speak English. They are inoffen
sive, ana even when drunk do not raise
as much trouble as our American aborig
ines.
The Maori women
T rather like the Maori women. They
are not especially good looking, but they
seem well disposed, genial and pleasant.
Some of the younger ones are almost
beautiful. At least, they would be were
it not for their custom of tattooing cash-
mere shawl patterns on their chins and '
1 ins. Tiie tattooing turns tiie cherry j
red of their lips to the blackness of ink. i
In fact. I would as soon think of kissing !
an ink bottle as one of these tattooed
Maori maidens.
And, still, if you keep your eyes well
raised the experience might be wortli
the trial. Many of them have rosy com
plexion?. They have luxuriant hair,
heavy eyebrows and beautiful eyes,
liquid black and full of soul. Some of
them are clean, and nearly ail are intel
ligent. Their beauty, however, vanishes
with t ears. They age rapidly, until their
faces look like withered apples punctured
with ink spots.
The Maoris understand 1be science of
tattooing. In the past both men and
women covered not only their faces, but
the greater parts of their bodies with
such decorations. The grand chiefs had
their faces covered with ornamental
spirals. They were tattooed on the
thighs and hips in a Dolly Varden pat
tern, which often extended from the
knees to the waist, giving his royal nibs
the appearance of having on a pair of
neat-fitting trunks.
The women then, as now, were tattooed
chiefly on the hips and chin, with a sort
of fish hook curl at the corners of the
eyes. Some of the women had also their
thighs and breasts decorated, but I be
lieve this custom lias since disappeared.
The tattooing instrument was a small
bone chisel, which was driven in with a
mallet. The pain was so great that it
could only be done in sections, a com
plete job often lasting for years.
Cannibalism to Christianity
When the English first came here the
Maoris were cannibals. Now they are
nearly all Christians. They have their
own churches and schools, and most of
thorn believe in our religion. As to canni
balism, it was quite general. The tribes
warred with one another, and after a bat
tle there was always a, feast. of human
The Moa
flesh, in which the women were not al
lowed to join. It was a disgrace to a man
to be eaten, and for one to hint that a
man's father had been eaten was taken as
an insult.
I have before me a paper which tells
just how one of these cannibal feasts was
conducted. One corpse was sacrificed, to
the god of war and the remainder wire
given up to the braves who had taken
part in the battle. The cooking ovens
were dug out of the earth. The human
flesh was thrown in and kept there for
about twenty-four hours. When it was
roasted the chief had the first bite, then
his sons and then the whole army. The
eating was interspersed with singing and
dancing and all gorged themselves .to such
an extent, that many died at every 'ban
quet. After the feast was over the re
mains were packed u.p in baskets and
sent around to the neighboring tribes. If
they were accepted the tribes were sup
posed to have made a treaty of friend
ship with the senders and to be ready to
figijt with them thereafter.
The Maoris had a far higher grade of
civilization Chan our American Indians.
They had a society of their own, the peo
ple of each tribe being divided up into
classes consisting of priests, chiefs, a mid
dle class, lower class and slaves. They
had their own customs of war and were
noted for their bravery that it is doubt
ful whether the English woud have gained
a foothold on the island without groat
loss of life had it not been for their dis
sensions among themselves.
Their customs of marriage were much
like those of savages in other parts of the
world. Girls were carried off by force,
the friends of the groom and ithe friends
of the bride fighting each other. Both
polygamy and divorce were allowed and
the chiefs usually had several wives..
They had their own ideas of religion,
their gods being demons who were feared
rather than reverenced or worshiped. The
men were fishers and hunters, and the
women cooked the food, wove baskets,
brought the firewood and made the cloth
ing and worked in the fields.
At present the natives are diminishing
at the rate of 1 per cent annually.
>P How Women Pay for Courtesies ^
A Mairi maiden
000. Altogether since 1853 more than SI-7.-
000.000 worth of this gum inis been got
out. amounting in all to about 200,090 tons.
Among' the ^tim diggers
There are now about seven thousand
men going over the country with spears
and picks looking for this gum. They
drive their spears down in the earth and
when they find a piece dig it out. It is
mined on about 700,OuO acres north of
Auckland City and south and east of
Auckland on about 90,000 acres more.
Bart of this is government land, upon
which the right to dig the gum is sold at
from $5 to $35 per annum. Other parts
are private property.
Many of the gum diggers are Austrians,
some Maoris and some English-Austral-
ians. They go out into the gum fields and
camp in groups of twenty or thirty.
Many of them work for themselves, some
making as much as $25 a week at it.
There are men in the cities who deal in
’VE been thinking hard as
to women’s affairs lately,”
said the secretary of the
Business AV o m a n ’ s
League. “And- I’ve fig
tired it out that the
old code of social court
esy practiced by man
toward woman for so
many generations is di
rectly responsible for wo
man's being behind man
today in tiie matter of
w ages ami opportunities.”
“Courtesies"paid to women a hindrance
to them!” exclaimed a lively member.
"How do you make that out ‘
Th* kiwis or wingless bird of
New Zealand
[ don't think it much of a drawback
to have a man offer me his seat in the
car when I'm tired, put in another
voice.
“Or to have him pass up my fare for
me in a shakety 'bus. I think it- s \ erj
i nice of him." spoke up another.
I “So it is nice of him, but it is a hin-
i drance to you as a business woman all
i the same,"' said the secretary. “Even
; the everyday luting of a man's hat to
I you and his standing aside to let you
I pass are stumbling blocks in your busi-
| ness advancement.”
I “She speaks in parables," remarked th"
i lively member to one who had joined
j the group. “Just listen; for a. man to
take off his hat to a girl is an interference
in her business career. For him to he
real nice to her and pay her common
courtesy is an injury. Did you ever hear
the like?”
“You can laugh; T know it sounds
queer; but it’s true,” maintained the
leader. “A man takes off his hat in
church, and he takes it off to a woman,
but that same act of taking it off is one
of the many tilings that put the woman
■ m a different footing front him, and
that prevent her from standing squarely
and exactly on her worth as an individ
ual. Don't you know girls and women
right now," she went on, “who are work
ing for $10 and $12 a week, when, if they
were men, and of the same intelligence
and capacity, they would get $10 or $1S?"
The lively member nodded. “I can call
to mind one or two cases,” she said
ironically. “But I can’t see what the
men’s treating them courteously nas to
do with the scale of wages.”
“Has everything to do with it." was
the answer. “As long as we business wo
men go on letting men treat us as though
we were different we will be set apart in
the matter of standing and wages also.
When a woman starts out in business she
must uphold her independence. When she
slops expecting and accepting these filth;
courtesies which had their source in a
time " hen there were no 'business women
to consider at all. men will consent to
treat her as an individual pure and sim
ple, and acknowledge her worth on its
merits, paying her the same for her ser
vices as a- mun is paid.
“You see, it’s this way,” she continued,
“when a man clerk has a sweetheart he's
so much out, so far as expense is concern
ed. Now, if a woman clerk has a sweet
heart &he's so much in. The sweetheart
buys her theater tickets, pays her car
fare, very likely supplies her with gloves,
perfumes, flowers and candy. He is really
a source of income to her. This should
not be. Business men and business wo
men can’t stand on the same plane as long
as that sort of thing holds. Such usuge
Is the outcome of etiquette established
for men and women when there were no
women wage earners. We should throw
it over. It is precisely because more is
expected of a man in the way of escort,
because usually there are more demands
on his purse, that the business firms pay
hint more and pay the woman less for the
same proportion of work. When it comes
to- pas.s that no more is expected of a man
than of a woman In matters of social ex
penditure. both will fare alike.”
“You believe, then, that business women
should regard themselves as beyond the
pale of ordinary social observance?" she
was asked.
“Not beyond it exactly, but as not af
fected by it at all,” was the reply.
For instance, in tiie matter of acquaint
ances. Jtt social life a girl meets only
those whom her father or brother or rela
tives elect to introduce to her. The girl
or woman in business has a different hori
zon. Her business absorbs the greater
part of her time and cuts her off from
nearly all chance of making acquaintances
other than the clerks and managers she
is thrown with. In a business way, she
occasionally encounters outsiders, but she
has to judge for herself \gs to their fitness
or unfitness for friendship. The old code
of etiquette would prohibit her from ac
cepting any attentions from an acquaint
ance formed in that manner. I hold that
she should meet such advances just as a
comrade, insist on being independent and
reciprocating attentions, and so avoid all
embarrassment.”
Returning - his attentions
“Reciprocating attentions? You mean
if a man asks a business woman to go to
a play she should ask him afterwards to
go to another?" The lively member had
got interested and was following the
thread of argument in earnest.
“Yes. I think site should return the at
tention if she likes him well enough and
he proves a reputable, pleasant fellow-.
To my mind the business -woman must
haye social acquaintances, even if she
has to make them informally. It is not
natural that she should have no genial
influences in her fife at all, and her bus
iness occupies nearly all her days. If she
accepts attentions from acquaintances
made through business just as if she were
a man, then she must at some time or
other return them, just as a man does.
As things stand now, with the average
man getting higher wages than the aver
age woman, the man will go on taking
the initiative because he has more in
come. When the new regime comes in
and the men and women wage earners
slime alike, and treat each other as com
rades, even give and take, things will be
on an easier and less embarrassing foot
ing.”
"You believe we would ail have more
beaux if men and women came to be
equal in earnings and the women paid
tor part of the fun?” inquired the lively
girl.
Not more beaux; more men compan
ions," was the answer. “I know a busi
ness girl who has already set the ball
going. She is a stenographer in a com
mercial house. A man iriend of hers
works in the same office and lives near
her home in a suburban town. They get
off from work at the same hour in the
afternoon and he always accompanies hm-
home. But she stipulated that if he in
sisted upon going along she should pay
her own car fare. He kicked at first, but
is in fine training now."
Asked if she expected the new code to
come in vogue in the near future, the
secretary answered warily. It was prac
ticable. sound, reasonable, and many
women were on the lookout for inklings
to improve their business status. But tra
dition was strong. It would take determi
nation to break through customs that had
become second nature.
OLIVE F. GUNBT. '