CARRIE NATION
By Donna Penley Carrie Nation was from Medicine Lodge, was a sufragette; Came to Wichita with her hatchet - one of a quartet Of women who hated demon run, and went on a campaign, To smash up bars and gamin’ places, and herein lies her fame. Carrie and the others, to that bar that day they went; T’was in December, 1900. With their eyes as hard as flint They entered that dark den, and Carried spied a paintin’; A nude behind the bar, and weak and nearly faintin’ She smashed that paintin’ with her hatchet. Never missed a lick; Then to a mirror hangin’ near she also did the trick. The Sheriff, Mr. Simmons, he came on the run; But, he didn’t get there until Carrie’s deed was done. She and the ladies wrecked that bar. Tore it up real good! Swung their hatchets for the cause of put-down womanhood. Carrie and the others were taken to the Wichita jail; The other three, they bonded out. Two Hundred Dollars bail. Carrie turned the bondsman down. Said in jail she’d rather be; She said she’d rather rot in jail for an eternity. If it would bring attention to the cause that she held dear; She felt that many families were harmed by booze and beer. Carrie’s husband, David, a lawyer he did hire; Filed for a change of venue. The judge fought it to the wire. Her lawyer tried to visit her - so they might plot defense; But, the Sheriff called a quarantine. Said that smallpox had commenced. They held a hearin’ without her. Made her lawyer fightin’ mad; There was no smallpox outbreak. Carried Nation had been had! Carrie then decided that she’d consider bail; Tried to pay the Two Hundred gold - but that effort failed. They finally got a jury up and took the case to trial, But the jury ended up bein’ hung. Most voted their denial. Carried spent more jail time than her sentence would have done; Finally bonded out with Fifty Dollars in June, 1901. We must remember Carrie, ‘cause she had a lot of grit. She fought against a man’s world, and made the best of it! Comments are closed.
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AuthorDonna Penley is a Cowgirl Poet with deep Kansas roots who has been writing cowboy poetry for over twenty five years. She is a real Cowgirl and an ex-barrel racer. Archives
March 2017
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