Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1885-12-05
Nancy Hart.
Savannah fGal NJ

Savannah (Ga) News.
The general reader may or may not
know that Hart county, in northeast
Georgia was named after q woman-one
MIGRANT of letters and the nice civilities
of life; plain, coarse and pointed of
speech when aroused, yet she had q love
of liberty and q tender regard for thos
she called friends. She figured in the
days of the revolutionary war il Ebert
county and did good service for her
country.
She was fearless, bold and aggressive,
and had self reliance and courage that
never forsook her in the hour of danger.
She was a great lover of the liberty boys,
as she called the Wings, and her heart
was bitter against the Toriesand Britons.
A party of Tories, in their hunt for some
Wings, called at her house in Ebert
county and asked to have dinner. Said
Nancy Hart:
Il never feed Kings men if I can help
it; the villains have put it out of my
power to feed even my own family and
friends by stealing and killing all my
poultry and pigs, except that old gobbler
you see in the yard"
well" said the leader of the party,
'fand that you shall cook for us," and
shot down the gobbler.
Nancy Hart used some very strong
words at the act, but in q little time
seemed to take it all as matter of ne
cessity and began to prepare the gobbler
for dinner. When cooked the Tories eat
down to dinner and were having q good
time of it, drinking their liquor and
cracking jokes with Nancy.
The party had become merry from
drink. They had cautiously stacked
their arms where they were within view
and within reach. Mrs. Hart would pass
between them and their guns in waiting
on the party. There was q crack in the
log cabin, and Mrs. Hart had unobserv-
ed slipped out two of the five muskets,
when she was caught in the act of slipp-
ing out the third. The Tories sprang to
their feet, and Mrs. Hart threw the mus.
ket to her shoulder and swore she would
kill the first man who moved, and then
told her daughter Sukey to blow the
horn for her father to come. rs so n as
the cries heard the order one rushed at
Mrs. Hart and was shot dead. Selling
another musket she pointed it at the re-
naming four, when Sukey came in and
said: Daddy and them will be soon
here" Another Tory made an advance,
and he was shot and badly w.unded.
Then, seizing another musket, she called
upon the three Tories to surrender their
id Tory carcasses to Wing wo-
man.
They agreed to surrender and shake
hands upon the strength oft. But Nancy
bad no idea of letting them get within
eight feet of her, and held them at bay
until her husband and few neighbors
came up. The men wanted to shoot
the Tories on the spot, but Nancy said
they had surrendered to her; and that
shooting was too good for them. This
hint was enough; the dead man was t.
ken out of the house; the wounded Tory
and the others were bound and hung.
The tree upon which they were hung
was standing in 1888, and pointed out by
one who lived in those bloody and bru-
tai days.
The Tories showed no mercy to the
Wings, nor did the Wings show any
when they caught the Tories. Col. John
Dooly, for whom Dooly county was
was murdered in his own house
by Tories, and his son, who was after
wards the celebrated Judge Dooly, was
under the bed hid away at the time. He
was at the time 10 or II years of age. To
Nancy Hart's heroism
and patriotism, Hart county was named
for her.