Chapter 2

Red leaves-- Aflame in the air, aflame in the trees. Blue streams, smoky hills-- Gold, gold the sunlight spills-- Red leaves!

Dead Leaves--

A swirl in the air-asleep 'neath the trees. Gone every lark and swallow-- Haunting echoes bid me follow-- Dead leaves! Bessie May Bellman--

Mrs. Henthorne's "If" is published in a New York reader.

"If, in a bird-heart, beating 'neath the gray There chants a song, no matter what the day. If, in a bird-heart happy sunbeams shine, Why not in mine?

If, in a flower-face, beat down by rain, The hope of clear skies be in spite of pain-- If, in a flower-face a great hope shine, Why not in mine?"

AMANDA T. JONES.

One of the few Kansas women to have a place in "Who's Who" was the late Amanda T. Jones of Junction City. She was one of the most prolific poets of Kansas.

Her "Atlantic" is a story of the rebellion; "Utah and Other Poems;" "A Prairie Idyl;" "Flowers and a Weed;" and "Rubaiyat of Solomon Valley" are volumes of verse. Her prose: "Children's Stories," "Fairy Arrows" and "The White Blackbird;" "A Psychic Autobiography," published in 1908; "Man and Priest," a story of psychic detection; "Mother of Pioneers," and a novel ready for publication, "A Daughter of Wall St."

Miss Jones originated a working women's home and patented many inventions, mostly household necessities.

* * * * *

CHARLOTTE F. WILDER.

Charlotte Frances Wilder, Manhattan, has been writing half a century and it has won for her a place in Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, "entitled to go down to posterity, her lifework preserved as information for future generations." She has written "Land of The Rising Sun," "Sister Ridenour's Sacrifice," "Christmas Cheer In All Lands," "Easter Gladness," "Mission Ships," "The Child's Own Book" and "The Wonderful Story of Jesus." Her essays, alone, would make a volume, original and interesting. She has written for the press since sixteen years of age and has been a Bible teacher forty years.

ANNA L. JANUARY.

Osawatomie claims Anna L. January, the author of "Historic Souvenir of Osawatomie, Kansas," "John Brown Battle Grounds," "Calvin Monument," and "Lookout and Park;" also, numerous poems.

Mrs. January is a native of Wilmington, Ohio, coming to Kansas in 1898. She taught school three years and in 1901 married D. A. January of Osawatomie. They have one child, a son of four years. An active worker in the Congress of Mothers and interested in temperance and suffrage work, Mrs. January still finds time to write many short poems.

HATTIE HORNER LOUTHAN.

Hattie Horner Louthan, a former White Water, Kansas girl, is the author of five books and many contributions to newspapers and first class magazines. After graduation at the Normal School, Emporia, in 1883, Miss Horner engaged in teaching and literary work. Ten years later, she became the wife of Overton Earl Louthan, who died in 1906.

She is editor of the Great Southwest and a member of the staff of the Denver Republican. Her first volume of poems came out in 1885; the next year, "Some Reasons For Our Choice." "Not At Home," a book of travels, was published in 1889; "Collection of Kansas Poetry," in 1891; and "Thoughts Adrift," in 1902. Her work is versatile; the rhyme easy flowing and strong.

GEORGIANA FREEMAN McCOY. and MARY FREEMAN STARTZMAN.

Georgiana Freeman McCoy, Wichita, has taught music in Kansas longer than any other teacher in the state and incidentally writes verse. She remodeled Elizabeth Browning's "A Drama of Exile" and wrote the musical setting for Simon Buchhalter, the Viennese pianist and composer. A sister, Mary Freeman Startzman, while living in Fort Scott, wrote a volume of poems, "Wild Flowers."

EVA MORLEY MURPHY.

Eva Morley Murphy of Goodland, recent candidate for Congress, is author of two books: "The Miracle on the Smoky and Other Stories," and "Lois Morton's Investment."

She is a descendant of Nathaniel Perry of Revolutionary fame, and of Rodger Williams; an active temperance worker; and one of the women who made equal suffrage possible in Kansas.

SALLIE F. TOLER.

Mrs. Sallie F. Toler, Wichita, has written on every subject from pigs and pole cats to patriotism. She is the author of several plays and three vaudeville sketches. A comedy, a racing romance, "Handicapped;" "Thekla," a play in three acts; "On Bird's Island," a four-act play; and "Waking Him Up," a farce, are played in stock now.

Mrs. Toler contributes to many papers and lectures on "The Short Story" and "The Modern Drama."

MARGARET PERKINS.

As a 1914 Christmas offering, Margaret Perkins, a Hutchinson High School teacher, gave us her volume of beautiful poems. "The Love Letters of a Norman Princess" is the love story, in verse, of Hersilie, a ward and relative of William, The Conqueror, and Eric, a kinsman of the unfortunate King Harold.

"I thought once, in a dream, that Love came near With silken flutter of empurpled wings That wafted faint, strange fragrance from the things Abloom where age and season never sear. The joy of mating birds was in my ear, And flamed my path with dancing daffodils Whose splendor melted into greening hills Upseeking, like my spirit, to revere."

"Before you came, this heart of mine A fairy garden seemed With lavender and eglantine; And lovely lilies gleamed Above the purple-pansy sod Where ruthless passion never trod."

"If Heaven had been pleased to let you be A keeper of the sheep, a peasant me, Within a shepherd's cottage thatched with vine Now might we know the bliss of days divine." --"We are part of Heaven's scheme, You and I: Child of sunshine and the dew I was earthly--born as you.

"Yet my little hour I go, Troubled maid, Even where the storm blasts blow, Unafraid; Confident that from the sod All things upward wend to God."

"Dear heart, the homing hour is here, The task is done. Toilers, and they who course the deer Turn, one by one, At day's demise, Where dwells a deathless glow In loving eyes. I hear them hearthward go To castle, or to cottage on the lea; But him I love comes never home to me."

The peaks that rift the saffron sheen Of sunset skies In purple loveliness, when seen By nearer eyes, Are bleakly bare. To brave those boulders gray No climbers dare. O, in some future may This mountain mass of unfulfilled desires Be unto me as yonder haloed spires!"

Miss Perkins is the compiler of "Echoes of Pawnee Rock," and writes short stories and poems for the magazines. Some of her verse is published in Woolard's "Father."

ANNA E. ARNOLD.

Anna E. Arnold, Cottonwood Falls, Superintendent of Chase County Schools, is a thorough Kansan, and a farm product. She was born at Whiting, Jackson County, but when a very small child, her parents moved to Chase and all her life since has been spent in that county. Until the last few years, she lived on a farm.

She is a graduate of the State University and has taught in the grade and high schools. In 1905, she became a candidate for Superintendent of Schools of Chase County. Her success and her unusual ability as a teacher were rewarded by a two to one majority on a close county ticket. At the second term, she had no opposition and out of 1214 votes cast, she received all but 29. The present year, after four elections, is her seventh continuous year as Superintendent of Chase County. In addition to her official duties, Miss Arnold has written two text-books. Her "Civics and Citizenship" in 1912 was adopted as the state text-book on civil government for use in the public schools of Kansas. It is being used by a large number of womens' clubs. Many outlines for club work on civic subjects have come from Miss Arnold's pen. Her second textbook, "A History of Kansas," the first book printed under the new State Publication Law, has also been adopted by the text-book commission.

Miss Arnold is considered one of the foremost educational leaders of the state.

Topeka gives us Anna Deming Gray, a writer of negro dialect stories, stories for children, and some verse. Elizabeth Barr Arthur, has written a number of books, histories of several Kansas counties and some volumes of poems, "Washburn Ballads." Mrs. Sarah E. Roby is a writer of both prose and verse.

A granddaughter, Marjory Roby, has written a number of stories and plays. Eva Bland Black contributes poems and song lyrics to the magazines. She served her apprenticeship as reporter and city editor of the Journal and Evening News of Garnett and as associate editor of the Concordia "Magnet." Mrs. Isabel McArthur is a natural poet and song writer.

She has published one volume of verse, "Every Body Loves a Lover." Her last song, "When The Bloom Is On The Cherry At Sardou" is widely sung. Edna E. Haywood is author of "Fifty Common Birds Around the Capital."

Mrs. Mary A. Cornelius, while a resident of Topeka, wrote four books, "Little Wolf," "Uncle Nathan's Farm," "The White Flame," and "Why? A Kansas Girl's Query." Another book is ready for publication. Mrs. Mary Worrall Hudson, wife of the late General J. K. Hudson, former editor of the Topeka Capital, is author of "Two Little Maids And Their Friends," "Esther, The Gentile," and many short stories and poems. Her classic prose-poem: "In The Missouri Woods" is considered her masterpiece. Mrs. Sara Josephine Albright, formerly of Topeka, now of Leavenworth, is a sweet singer of childlife. Her volume of verse, "With The Children" is lullabies and mother-love poems. A book of stories for children will soon be ready for publication.

Jessie Lewellyn Call, deceased, the clever and beautiful daughter of the first Populist governor of Kansas, was a well-known essayist and short story writer. For many years she was one of the editors of the Chicago Inter-Ocean.

Lawrence claims Dorothy Canfield Fisher, a writer of both fiction and text-books and many short stories. She is the author of "Corneille And Racine In England," "English Rhetoric And Composition," "What Shall We Do Now," "Gunhild," "The Squirrel Cage" and "The Montessori Mother." Louise C. Don Carlos has written "A Battle In The Smoke," one of the best Kansas works on fiction. She did special work on the Nashville Tennessee Banner and writes a great deal of magazine verse.

Mrs. Anna W. Arnett, a Lawrence teacher, writes verse and songs. In addition, she has issued a primer, the Kansas text-book and a primary reading chart for which she has a United States patent. Margaret Lynn, one of the faculty of Kansas University, is a writer of short stories and "A Step-Daughter Of The Prairies."

Mrs. A. B. Butler of Manhattan wrote "The Trial And Condemnation of Jesus Christ From a Lawyer's Point of View;" a novel, "Ad Astra Per Aspera;" and much newspaper work. Mrs. Elizabeth Champney, a former teacher in the Kansas State Agricultural College, is the author of more than twenty books and many short stories. "Three Vassar Girls Abroad," "Witch Winnie Series," "Dames And Daughters of Colonial Days," "Romance of French Abbeys," "Romance of Italian Villas," and "Romance of Imperial Rome" are her most popular works.

Sadie E. Lewis, Hutchinson, is the author of "Hard Times In Kansas" and other verse. Her daughter, Ida Margaret Glazier, is a poet and song writer. Mrs Alice McAllily wrote "Terra-Cotta" and many other books.

Lillian W. Hale, Kansas City, is author of verse, short stories, and a novel. Another novel will be ready for publication this autumn.

Lois Oldham Henrici, a one-time Sabetha and Parsons woman, is the author of "Representative Women" and many good short stories.

Laura D. Congdon, a Newton pioneer, is a verse and short story writer. Mary H. Finn, Sedgwick, writes beautiful verse and much prose. Jennie C. Graves, Pittsburg, writes poetry and moving picture plays. Mrs. Johannas Bennett, another Pittsburg woman, has written an historical novel, "La Belle San Antone." Florence L. Snow, Neosho Falls, is an artistic and finished writer of verse and prose. She is the author of "The Lamp of Gold." Sharlot M. Hall, Lincoln, writes prose and verse. A volume of poems, "Cactus And Pine," "History of Arizona," "A Woman of the Frontier," "The Price of The Star" and short stories are her important works. Mrs. A. S. McMillan, Lyons, a poetess, song writer and licensed preacher, writes clever verse, much of which has been set to music. "Land Where Dreams Come True" is her best known poem. Kittie Skidmore Cowen, a former Columbus woman, is author of "An Unconditional Surrender," a civil war story. "The Message of Hagar," a study of the Mormon question will be in the press soon. Miss Mary E. Upshaw, McPherson, wrote verse at the age of seven and published her first story at fifteen. She has a book in preparation which she expects to publish at an early date. Jeanette Scott Benton, formerly of Fort Scott, writes short stories novelettes, and stories for children. May Belleville Brown of Salina, has a very clever pen, as has, also Mrs. Lulu R. Fuhr of Meade, the author of "Tenderfoot Tales." Mrs. E. M. Adams, Mound City, writes exquisite verse and in the past, had many short stories to her credit. Mrs. C. W. Smith, Stockton, writes both prose and verse. Cara A. Thomas Hoover, formerly of Halstead, Harvey County, now living in Rialto, California, writes prose and beautiful verse. Rose Hartwick Thorpe, the author of "Curfew Shall Not Ring To-night," was a Kansan in the early sixties. She lived at Wilmington.

Miss Margaret Stevenson, Olathe, is a writer of books for the blind. She has some short stories, nature and text-books published.

Lelia Hardin Bugg, Wichita, has written "The Prodigal Daughter," "The People of Our Parish," and "Orchids." Edna Thacher Russ, also of Wichita, writes short stories and educational articles.

Mrs. E. Hamilton Myers, Englewood, is a dramatic writer and a poet of rare talents. Being a musician, much of her verse is used for songs.

Mrs. Myers contributes to the English papers. Her first story was published by a magazine which had accepted writings of her mother's.

Other than literature proper, we have Mrs. Lillian M. Mitchner, of Topeka, a scientific writer; Mrs. Lumina C. R. Smythe, a writer of verse, also of Topeka, who is co-author with her late husband in the revised "Flora And Check List of Kansas."

Among the clever newspaper women of the state are Margie Webb Tennal, Sabetha; Maud C. Thompson, Howard; Frances Garside, formerly of Atchison, now with the New York Journal; Mrs. E. E. Kelley, Toronto; Anna Carlson, Lindsborg; Mrs. Mary Riley, Kansas City; and Isabel Worrel Ball, a Larned woman, who bears the distinction of being the only woman given a seat in the congressional press gallery. Grace D. Brewer, Girard, has been a newspaper woman and magazine short story writer for ten years.

Among the early Kansas writers are Clarinda Howard Nichols, Mrs. A. B. Bartlett, Lucy B. Armstrong, Sarah Richart, Mrs. Porter Sherman, and Mary Tenny Gray, all of Wyandotte and Mrs. C. H. Cushing of Leavenworth.

Sara T. D. Robinson, the wife of the first governor of Kansas, was one of the very first women writers of the state. Her "Kansas, Interior And Exterior" was published in 1856 and went through ten editions up to 1889.

INDEX.

Adams, Mrs. E. M. Albright, Sara Josephine Allerton, Ellen Palmer Aplington, Kate A. Armstrong, Lucy B. Arnett, Anna W. Arnold, Anna E. Arthur, Elizabeth Barr

Ball, Isabel Warrel Bartlett, Mrs. A. B. Bellman, Bessie May Bennett, Mrs. Johannas Benton, Jeanette Scott Black, Eva Bland Brewer, Grace D. Brown, May Bellville Bugg, Leila Hardin Butler, Mrs. A. B.

Call, Jessie Lewellyn Carlson, Anna Champney, Elizabeth Clark, Esther M. Congdon, Laura D. Cornelius, Mary A. Cowen, Kittie Skidmore Cushing, Mrs. C. H.

Don Carlos, Louise C.

Finn, Mary H. Fisher, Dorothy Canfield Fuhr, Lulu R.

Garside, Frances Glazier, Ida Margaret Graham, Effie Graves, Jennie C. Gray, Anna Deming Gray, Mary Tenny

Hale, Lillian W. Hall, Sharlot M. Haywood, Edna E. Henrici, Lois Oldham Henthorne, June Bellman Hoover, Cara A. Thomas Hudson, Mary Worrell Humphrey, Mary Vance

January, Anna L. Jarrell, Myra Williams Jones, Amanda T.

Kelley, Mrs. E. E.

Lewis, Sadie E. Louthan Hattie Horner Lynn, Margaret

McAllily, Alice McArthur, Isabel McCarter, Margaret Hill McCoy, Georgiana Freeman McMillan, Mrs. A. S. Mitchner, Lillian W. Murphy, Eva Morley Myers, Mrs. E. Hamilton

Nichols, Clarinda Howard

Perkins, Margaret

Richart, Sarah

Riley, Mary Robinson, Sara T. D. Roby, Marjory Roby, Sara E. Russ, Edna Thatcher

Sherman, Mrs. Porter Smith, Mrs. C. W. Smythe, Lumina C. R. Snow, Florence L. Startzman, Mary Freeman Stevenson, Margaret Stockton, Cornelia M.

Tennal, Margie Webb Thompson, Maude C. Thorpe, Rose Hartwick Toler, Sallie F.

Upshaw, Mary E. Vaughn, Emma Upton

Whitcomb, Jessie Wright Wilder, Charlotte F. Wood, Emma Tanner

End of Project Gutenberg's Kansas Women in Literature, by Nettie Garmer Barker