St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1858-09-30
Somantit Sksttb.
From Godcy's La,iy's Book for September
MY COUSIN JOT.
BY JOHN DE WINTER.

Jot may seem an odd name it is
the short for Jonathan, and some forty
years ago was in use in certain parts
of Maine, where our family have been
settled since the year 1852 My cousin
Jot was younger son of Joseph de
Winter, Esquire, who became the head
of the family on the deccase of my
grandfather, old General de Winter,
in 1907.
Jot at that time was only sixteen
years old but in certain respects he
was a remarkable youth. In the first
place, he stood six feet one inch in his
stocking feet, and weighed two hun
dred pounds. Having been brought
up to severe farm labor, he was re-
markably athletic ; lie could box and
wrestlc better. jump higher. "dive
deeper and come up dryer" than any
man in the parish. His literary attain
ments, having been by attendance
about nine weeks each year during
the winter months at the town school,
were not very remarkable.
In 1912 Jot's father died, and his
brother Joe became head of the fami-
ly and heir to the mansion and farms !;
it being the custom in the family to
give all the land to the Oldest son, and
put off the younger children with a
small legacy each. This has kept the
estate together, and my cousin Joe
now lives and reigns in the same
house where his lincal ancestors have
lived and reigncd more than two hun
drcd years. OF course the house is
old-fashioned. The kitchen fireplace
will hold half cord of wood, and the
grand staircase in the front entry con-
tains carved oak enough to furnish
many parlors with modern fancy chairs
of the spindle-shank pattern. Among
the outhouses are two large block.
houses, built for defence against the
Indians, with .iutting-over second
stories, and trap-doors and loop-holes
for musketry. One of these is now a
courthouse, and the other cider-house,
with a cider-mill on the ground-hoor
These buildings have a history-havc
in the times of the Indian wars, often
afforded shelter to many families from
the neighboring valleys, who sought
the protection of the De Winters in
their stronghold on DE Winter Hill.
But don't let us lose sight of Cousin
Jot. When Jot's father died, he had
arrived at the mature age of twenty
one and, as the poet says, when he
arrived at mans estate, twas all the
estate he had" Jot was rather puz
zled to know what to do with himself
He found no difficulty in spending the
little modicum of money left to him
by his father. When he had bought
a handsome suit of clothes and gold
watch, and stood treat at half dozen
.junketings with the young people o1
his acquaintance, his money was all
gone. Meantime he had pondered and
considered great deal with respect
to his future movements, and had ar.
rived at no satisfactory result.
He had no profession, no trade. He
could labor as q farm servant on Joe's
estate, as he had all his life on his fa
theirs but he did not exactly like the
position. Going out west was not
the fashion in those days and neither
Texas, nor California, nor Kansas had
opened the door to adventurous emf
grants.
Fortunately for him, just at this
juncture the war Of 1912 with Great
Britain broke out. Within few miles
of the estate there was seaport towr
from which privateers were being fit
ted out with great activity. Grea
numbers Of men had been thrown ou
of their usual employments, and the
privateering service was popular
Some of Jot's acquaintance had al
ready shipped in the Saucy Jonathan
privateer, and Jot, full of patriotism
and speculation, resolved to join them
His mother and sisters cried a little
under mistaken idea that he nigh
get shot or drowned; brother Jo'
wished him good luck, and secretl!
thought, very fraternally, that his dc
parture from the neighborhood was {
very good riddance and Jot. with
light heart and thin pair of panta
looms (the month was August), tool
his departure from the paternal man
sion, marched down to the seaport
and forthwith commenced privateera
man.
Jot was as ignorant Of seamanshi