The Omaha
V: : ' : : Squad of Recruits intheNewBritishWomen's Regiment Drilling mBlackhcath.kearLonoon.. .
English Countrywomen Being Instructed in the Use of the Rifle
Interesting Details . About the New
Force Who Will Use Weapons If
Necessary to
and Avoid the Fate
Thai Befell
!
'.."' i .
Belgian
1-
T
rilE much-dlscuased plan of
arming women to fight has
at last become a serious re
ality In England.
If the Germans ever land an
army In Great Britain they will un
doubtedly find women In arma.
Four companies of women soldiers
have now been formed. Their
colonel is the Viscountess Castle
reagh,' daughter-in-law of the Mar
quis of Londonderry and daughter
of the Right Honorable Henry Chap
lin, M. P., one of the leaders of the
Conservative party. The father of
the) nefcv colonel presided at a meet
ing at the Mansion House, the offi
cial residence of the Lord Mayor of
London, to promote the new organ
ization of women soldiers.
The Lord Mayor defined the project
as having the purpose of "providing
a trained and highly efficient body
of women whose services can be
offered to the state If required."
He said that women reservists
could be trained for signalling, dls
patch riding, telegraphing, motoring
and camp cooking, and thus. In time
of necessity, could relieve the men
assigned to such tasks and bring
about an appreciable reinforcement
of the actual fighting ranks.
Colonel Viscountess Caatlereagh's
father said that the corps only would
be brought into action in the event
of the invasion of England "by
hordes of German barbarians."
He said that the War Depart
ment would never think of ordering
armed women into any aggressive
aotion. but declared that the object
was worthy of enthusiastic support;
"that it. armed them for their own
defense in the last extremity." Such
a movement, he declared, was en- '
tlrely Justifiable.
The Viscountess Castlereagh is a
very handsome and dashing young
woman, who is a splendid horse
woman end ' Interested in many
sports. 'She is the owner of many
prize dogs, among them being Jock,
a $2,500 bloodhound with a pedigree
.going back 150 years. 6he visited
the United States with her husband
in 1905 to shoot big game. She is an
expert shot, and killed three bears
in the Canadian wilds.
The appearance of the Viscountess
should inspire enthusiasm in her fol
lowers, and especially in the men sol
diers with whom she may be asso
ciated, i
This is to be the beginning of
series of regiments In which It is
hoped ta enroll all the able-bodied,
women of England, including the suf
fragettes. It should be noted that the women
soldiers are to be armed, although
tbey are intended primarily, for auxil
iary and defensive purposes. This
means that they will fight if neces
sary. The English women who are
organizing this force Intend to avoid
the catastrophe that overtook Bel
glum. Many Belgian women and
girls, roused to fury by 'the Inva
sion and destruction of their homes,
attacked the German soldiers. When
these women were caught they were
executed as spies, or as non-com-batants
taking part in war contrary
to the rules.
The English women intend that
there shall be no such excuse for
executing them. They will be reg
ularly enrolled by the Government
and wear a soldier's uniform, so that
there will be no ground for alleging
Defend Their Homes
Women
that they are not regular soldiers as
defined in military codes.
The Jests which have been made
on all sides, and particularly in Ger
many, about the fighting qualities of
the English suffragettes will cease to
be funny. There is no doubt that
the suffragettes will enlist f.eely in
the new regiments, and that the
A
VYV V
Lady Castlereagh in Her New
Uniform
courage and tenacity they have
shown in fighting the police and en
during forced feeding will be turned
against the Germans.
Several attempts had been made
before this, with considerable suc
cess, to organize auxiliary forces of
women to aid the British army. Lady
Ernestine Hunt, who is a leading
figure In English country life, organ
ized the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry
Corps, to assist the yeomanry, as the
English volunteer cavalry are called.
These organizations had weakened
or ceased to exist before the present
war broke out, but now tbey will be
placed on a stronger basis than be
fore. The enrolment of women soldier
Is an indication of the far more cruel
and ruthless phase which the war
will enter upon unless peace is de
clared shortly. When women have
taken part in war in the past.it has
always meant that the last extreme
of desperation had been reached
Sunday Bee Magazine Page
mm
. V
The Handsome Viscountess Castlereagh, Colonel of
, Women
Many reports have
been received that
women were enter
ing into the pres
ent conflict, in addi
tion to their acci
dental share in it in
Belgium. A consid
erable number of
French women have
been discovered
serving in the ranks
In men's clothing.
In Servia, a wild
and half-developed
country, the women
have teen serving
In large numbers
and fighting very
fiercely.
Dr. Hans Huld
rlcksen, the distin
guished Swedish
psychologist, has
Colonel's
Uready pointed out
that the appear
ance of women In the present war is
an ominous sign and why this is so.
"Women are not natural com
batants," he 'writes. "They do not
rush into war for war's sake. They
are without the blood lust that
makes fighting a Joy for fighting's
sake. They will fight only In des
perate straits, and then only for
their honor, their children or the
existence of their country. Standing
at one of these last ditches, how
ever, they fight with the ferocity of
tigers. They do battle without, rule
or reason and to the death.
"A soldier of experience said that
be would rather fight a company of
male soldiers than one woman sol
oler. He explained that woman
is too resourceful In the matter of
weapons. ' War transforms woman
for the time into a beast. Kipling
pointed out that the female of the
species Is more deadly than the male
referring to her, without doubt, in
her fighting phase. Jn moments of
Copyright, 1915,
V
ll.
K v.. . it
si.,
AX
the wildest excitation, Induced by
war, she has surpassed any of the
atrocities ever committed in the
name of war by men. There is for
the horror of nations the incident of
that campaign in the Netherlands by
the Spanish army, when the Dutch
women cut out the hearts of cap
tured Spaniards and flung them
across the walls of the cities tn the
face of the approaching army."
It has been amply proved that al
though women are in many ways un-.
fitted for fighting tbey are the most
ferocious opponents when they do
engage- in it. The Amazons of the
King of Dahomey are among the
noted of all modern examples of
women fighters, although many ob
servers do not doubt that civilized
European women when aroused will
prove even more terrible than these
dusky African fighters.
Sir Richard Burton, the' famous
traveller and Arabian scholar, has
left many interesting details about
the Dahomeyan Amazons.
The King of Dahomey discovered
accidentally that women made better
eoldlers than men. His army having
been greatly reduced by war, be
armed a great number of women,
and with these, in 172S, he attacked
the combined hosts of the Whydabs
and Popos, and defeated them terri
bly. Gezo, a nineteenth century Da
homeyan King, gre'atly increased the
female force, and his son, Gelele,
etlll further developed it.
Gelele caused every girl to be
brought to him before marriage, and
if she pleased him he kept her.
Some became his wives and the
others bis finest soldiers.
The Amazons are nominally wives
of the kings. They cannot bo
touched by a subject on pain of
death. Tbey never leave their quar
ters unless preceded by a bell to
drive men from the road. They meet
men only the
fiarch and In war.
by th Star Company,
Grtat Britain
Ml!
4 Xi
the New British Regiment of
At parades they are separated from
the male soldiers by a bamboo fence.
When captured in war the Amazons
will never consent to become the
wives of the victors, and are usually
killed for their heroic obstinacy.
The Fanti company of Amazons
takes the centre of the army and
forms the King's bodyguard. They
wear around the hair narrow whlU
filets with rude crocodiles of blue
cloth sewn on the band. The right
wing is commanded by the Mlngan,
or she general, and the left wing by
the Meu, or she lieutenant-general.
The King often pays distinguished
strangers the compliment of placing
them In command of his bodyguard,
but this does not even entitle them
to the privilege of inspecting the
corps.
The three corps are divided into
five arms. First come the Agbarya,
or blunderbus women. They are the
biggest and strongest of the force,
and each is accompanied by an at
tendant carrying ammunition. With
them rank the Zo-hu-nun, or carbi
neers; the Ganunlan, sure-to-kill
company, and the Acthl, or bay
oneteers. v
The second arm consists of the
elephant huntresses, who are held to
be the bravest. Then there are
Nyekplo-hen-to, or razor women, a
very light force. The lufantry, or
line women, form the bulk of the
force and are armed with old mus
kets. The fifth arm consists of Go-hen to,
or arcbereeses, who in King Gezo's
time were young girls, the pick of
the army and very fine dancers.
They are armed with a peculiar Da
homeyan bow, a quiver of poisoned
light cane shafts and a small knife
lashed with a lanyard to the wrist.
They are distlngulahed by scanty at
tire, by a tattoo extending to the
knee and by an Ivory bracelet on tba
left arm.
Burton gives a long and Interest
Klghts Resarvsi.
The English Women Soldiers
ing account of the state ceremony In
which the Amazons played a leading
part.
"First came the five great officers
of the empire the AJvaho, the Mln
gan, the Meu. the Yevogan and the
Adanejan," he says. "The Mlngan
had a billhook in her left band as ex
ecutloneress of the Inside; the others
used staves or sticks, arid all car
ried swords at their left side.
"These five were habited in long
Hausa robes of red silk, the upper
garb light and the skirt heavy, and
two wore tin crowns over red calico.
They were followed by the lesser
dignitaries In blue striped togas of
similar cut, as some had their heads
bound with white calico, like the
male singers and fetisheers.
"Then came the captainesses, forty
two In number,, corresponding with
the men. First stalked two 'silver
half heads,' with pouches on their
Tight sides, cartridge boxes round
their waists and billhooks whose
bandies were swathed in cloth.
"A pair of bayonet women fol
lowed with silver sharks on their red
liberty caps. Number nine was a
very bulky figure Jn the cook's bon
net of the Mlnan, or madcap com
pany, described as Kana. She Is one
of the captainesses of the right, or
Mingan's side.
"Some had shaggy skull caps, like
peppercorn hair, stained a deep in
digo, and others had applied the dye
to their locks, which contrasted well
Why Dressing Up On Sunday
Makes Us Better People
By Dr. Charles Walterson
IT is much easier to feel pious In
good clothes than it is when one
is shabby. The chap who Is quite
ready to use cuss words when In his
working clothes is quite likely to be
painfully correct when be gets Into
a frock-coat and a silk hat. And I
defy any woman to feel "peace on
earth and good will to men" when
she knows that she la the poorest
dressed woman in the church.
There are other reasons for dress
ing up on Sundsy besides that of re
ligion, for only a email proportion of
Americans go to church regularly,
whila nearly all have a different get
up on that day from the clothes they
wear during the rest of the week.
The principal reason seems to be
that it Is a slkn that we don't have
to work on that day. Since being
able to live without working is re
garded as evidence of the fact that
a man is rich enough to live without
It, and since wealth is the best evi
dence of success, and since pride is
a iinlverssl character, dressing up on
-. v
.'vv.' :
Undergoing Training in Camp
with their silver ornaments. Others
had big foolscaps of stuffs striped
white, blue and red hanging over
their cliouiders. All wore sashes
with the ends depending In front,
and carried, at half cock, muskets or
blunderbusses with the muzzle cap
off.
"Some wore decorated with. a hu
man skull or with a lower Jaw fixed
to a thin brass plate dangling from
the waist At the end of the per
formance they formed in line before
the King, saluted, first with the right
hand, secondly with presented guns
and knives, and then disappeared
within the harem."
This concluding tribute to the Da
homeyan Amazons is patd by Bur
ton : "They are savage as wounded
gorillas; more cruel, far, than their
brethren in arms."
The erudite Burton recalls many
female fighters of the past The na
tive princes of India, especially those
of Hyderabad, maintained for cen
turies a female guard whose courage
and devotion were remarkable.
I There was Penthesllea, Queen of
the Amazons; Judith and Candace,
the wife of Aban lbn Salb; Joan of
Arc, Margaret of Anjou, Black
Agnes, Jeanne Hachette and Begum
Sombre.,
"Many a fair form was found
ttark on the field of Waterloo," says
Burton. "During the late Indian mu
tiny the Ranis were, as a rule, more
manly than the Rajahs." .
Sunday is a satisfaction to our pride.
Off with the overalls' and apron, on
with the shiny collar or the pretty
frock!
Besides this, we all love to "dress
up." Men and women are but boys
and. girls grown up, aud no one who
knows children or who remembers
childhood can forget the joy of pre
tending. Jerome K. Jerome polnti
out that if you put a boy In a chati
and tell him to sit still you are pun
ching him, but If you put a red cap
on his head and a stick In his hand
and tell him he is a sentry he will
sit oa that chair for hours.
There's one more reason for want
Ing to look nice on Sunday, and per
haps It Is the one that counts most
after all. It is the only day that
many of us have a chance to go out
with the family. A wife likes to
look 'pretty for her husband and sh
likes to have the children at theti
best on the day their father la home;
and the wise husband and fathei
wants to feel that he fits In with the
family in general appearance.