Skirt Lifters

What is this little gadget?

This article tells about a small tool used by ladies to keep trains and dress hems up off the muddy ground.  It is from the FDIM Museum. Located in downtown Los Angeles, the FIDM Museum is devoted to the exhibition and interpretation of dress and textiles.  The blog here is a good way to research and get ideas for your next antique purchase or reproduction dress.
The article is by Joanna Abijaoude. 

A skirt lifter resembles a pair of small tongs, or scissors with padded circular discs instead of blades. The Museum’s example is brass and features a decorative butterfly that sits in between the handles. A small ring at the top would have held a cord, ribbon, or chain to suspend the tool just below the waist. Modern historians refer to the object as a “skirt lifter,” while period sources predominately use the term “dress holder.” Read more at
http://blog.fidmmuseum.org/museum/2013/08/skirt-lifter-c-1876.html

Example of "skirt lifter in use"

 

I wonder...would it work on frontier forts for cactus and other "grabby" things?