History Blog: Alvarado’s Fair Maidens of the Marshes

A news article from the Vallejo Chronicle from 1884 has an interesting tale from a duck hunter out in the marshes of Alvarado and some fair maidens that he ran across:

A solitary sportsman, roaming over the Alvarado marshes last Sunday in pursuit of the ducks, which were few and far between, bethought himself of an artesian well in the distance where he might slake his thirst. When he reached the desired spot he saw two girls seated on the margin, dressed in a peculiar and striking costume. They wore tunics extended to the knees, long rubber boots, hunting coats and caps, and were provided with an excellent brace of breech loading shotguns. Beside them lay a pile of teal, widgeon and rail, ample testimony to their skill in the use of their weapons. The hunter raised his hat, and, presuming on the fraternity of the sport, inquired if the ladies were having any good luck. They pointed triumphantly to their pile of birds, and then glanced sympathetically at their interrogator’s flaccid game bag. Both were unusually pretty girls, their cheeks brown from exposure, showing that it was not their first excursion, and the hands with which they dabbed their heated faces were white and dimpled. They confess that the oddity of their costume made them shun the male hunter, though the sportsman confessed he had never believed that rubber boots could look so cunning.

Just then a bunch of teal came down the wind with lightning speed, and both girls squatted on the marsh in a moment. Along swept the birds, bang went both guns, and three birds fell to the ground. They picked them up and, with great generosity altogether unknown to the sportsman, offered him a brace of the birds, as he had the courtesy to allow them to do the shooting.

They explained how they came to be hunters. One was extremely delicate, and, after graduating from a well-known Seminary in Alameda County, was recommended outdoor exercise by her doctor as the only escape from consumption. Tired of objectless strolling, the girl, under the tutoring of her uncle, learned to shoot, converted a companion to the sport, and both are now passionately attached to hunting.

In the 1880s, women did not normally participate in hunting, so running across two women shooting ducks in the marsh was probably a strange site for the duck hunter.