The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1879-10-24

The MOST MARRIED OF WoMEN.-Ben-
jamin Abbott, one of our old citizens,
died in this town recently in the eighty
second year of his age. He was
nephew of the Rev. BENJAMIN Abbott, the
great Methodist revivalist of the early
part of this century, and came to this
State from New Jersey when young
man, and settled in the ''Neck," east of
this town, where his active life was
mostly spent But the notable feature
in Mr. Abbott's otherwise uneventful
life is the remarkable fact of being the
seventh husband of his widow, who sur
wives him. This much-talked-of and
much published event (for it went the
rounds of the press of the nation) when
he for the second and she for the seventh
time bowed before the altar of Hymen on
June Both, 1875, he then being 7S and
she 80 years old. Mrs. Abbott's history
in the martial relations of life stands
perhaps without parallel in the records
of the nation, and tradition has it there
is to be yet another. 1t is currently
stated without contradiction that some
years ago she had vision in which
eight men stood before her in pecu-
liarly impressive manner, which she has
ever regarded as prophetic of the num-
eighth is just as likely and as reasonable
as the seventh, and already public gos-
sip is beginning to mark this and that
man as the victim of the next conquest.
Her maiden name was Williams, and she
has been succesively, Mrs. Traux, Mrs.
Riggs, Mrs. Farrow, Mrs. Wallace, Mrs.
Berry, Mrs. Pratt and Mrs Abbott. In
every instance, save the first, she has
married widowers, some of them with a
good number of children, and on one oc-
casion in her early married life she went
to the almshouse and took therefrom
three children and raised them. She
never had any children of her own. ALI
her life has been spent in this vicinity,
and all her husbands were buried by the
same undertaken. = fSmyrna Del.)
Times.
AN OTTER IN A WELL.-A week ago a
| negro went to draw a bucket of water
from a well on the premises of Mr..
Liedensdorfer. at Carondelet. AS he
leaned forward to empty the bucket he
naturally glanced downward into the well.
No sooner had he done SO than he sprang
back in alright, and turning about in
continently fled. A boy whom he passed
called out, .What's the matter?" Il
seen de debble," was the gasping re-
SDOIS0 DIS tLc duIlSuGSu 1CA1oW hCPG OAA
his way. No explanation could be OBJ
tanned from him except that he firmly be
lieved he had seen the devil. People
living on the place kept watch of the
| well after that and soon discovered the
cause of his trepidation. 1t was nothing
more nor less than an otter which had
taken up his abode there. Every night
and morning it can be seen. It will also
frequently appear when the bucket is let
down to thewater. How the animal got
there can only be conjectured. Many
years ago they used to be quite common
| in the sink-holes near the city, but are
very rarely seen anywhere near here
| now. It evidently did not get in from
the top, as it seems to be in no danger of
starving, though it could not find food
in the well, certainly. Mr.. Leidens-
dorfer tried to catch it with hook and
line baited with piece of meat. The
animal bit, but when he had hauled it
out about ten feet the hook broke, so
great was the weight. Since then it will
not take the hook. Some think that the
well connects with some of the numerous
underground channels which are SO plen-
| tiful in the limestone under the city, and
the animal came in that way. The well
is about fifty feet deep.-[St. Louis Re-
publican, September 9th.