Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1861-07-17
CHARACTERS ON THE BORDER.

An interesting army letter from Hagers-
town makes mention of the following de-
cided characters: 'Lyd" Corbitt is epicene
in her sex, if such term is permissible.
She has a beard, masculine features,
brOnzed with exposure to the air and sun,
seldom, if ever, wears hat, and her feet
are encased in coarse boots. She wears
petticOat and an outside frock of the coars-
est material, swears, smokes, chews, drinks
and associates only with men. She is an
honorary member of the Williamsport
Home Guards, is first rate millwright,
and, to use her own expression, ga bully
shot" She has more than once tried a
MIME musket upon the rebel pickets Oppo-
site to WilEamspOrt,, and once, it is said,
with success. All efforts to induce her to
don pantaloons have been fruitless. She
obstinately adheres to what she calls her
own sex. In person she is about five feet
six, and strongly and compactly built. A
very opposite to her sex, but real woman,
is an old lady residing upon the edge of.
the Potomac, st Mercersville, about three
miles below Dam Number t. Her ia
miliar sobriGuet is Nanny" Bowers
She keeps a rum mill. to which canal
sailors and masters Of all grades upon the
Ohio and Chesapeake canal are wont to
resort when the canal is in operation.
Nanny" complains bitterly that the dir
ty ''seceshers have spoiled her business,
and d-ns them roundly. In her person
she is nearly six feet high, with massive
broad shoulders, and form now decided
ly inclined to stOutness. She has Graded
wheat side by side with the stOutest and
most skillful Graders Of the region, day af-
ter day in hot sun. She has command
cd her own Geet of canal boats. season af- I
ter season from Cumberland to George |
town, and always bullies the wharf men
into loading and unloading her boats first
At home she keeps an immense mallet, /,
made for the purpose of springing the bung
of whiskey barrels. When the Irish, Ger
man or American rowdies begin quarrel .
in her barroom, she sails into this freely, I
and lays about her such lusty and well .
dealt blows that she soon quells the row. I
This mallet she quantity denOminates her
rascal beater." She once had to pay
over a hundred dollars to heal the wounds
and honor of a stalwart six foot German
she had nearly beaten to death with this
formidable weapon. Nanny" is very
indignant that the officers of Gen. Neg
ley's brigade, lying close to her place, do
not permit her to sell the soldiers her elev
en- barreled whisky. With all her peculi-
arities, none along the Potomac has done
more than she to aid and assist the unfOr-
tunate and wretched Eirginians who had
fed from the intolerable terrorism of their
own State. She is proYerbial for her ten, 1
derness of heart and neighborly kindness.
Perhaps the NEST extraordinary charae-
ter upon this border; and one who has done
more real service for the government than
any other single man along the whole Po-
tOmac in his particular line, is jerome Bo-
naparte Closson, a young, dark bronzej,
slender but sinewy man, of twenty-five.
When he is told to go anywhere he asks
no questions but goes, and never returns
without full knowledge of the circumStan
ces he went to discover. Time and again
has he penetrated the enemy's lines Once
he had to abandon his horse to make good
his escape. Stripping himself Ofhis clothes,
he makes them into a compressed bundle,
pistols, boots and all, and swims the river
at any point. So important have the enc
my deemed his scouting, that a heavy
price is put upon his head. He is keen
and intelligent mentally, 1.-THE and active
His amusements previous to
the war consisted principally in hunting,
fishing and frequenting country "brcak
Towns" lie is admirable upon double
shuttle, and has the art of tanning snakes
IF the most poisonous kind in as high de-
gree as the most expert Of India jugglers.
Black snakes are his faYorites, but rattle
snakes and copperheads are not disliked.
lie can kill a squirrel at thirty PAGES with
the common horse pistol. Unless rumor
bellies him, he has already sent two rebels
to kingdom come" and left MIME ball
in the person of a third Such is brief
description of some of the salient charac-
ers in this regiOn-PiHs. Chronicle.
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