Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1907-11-27
A Humble
Heroine.
By MARION LEWIS.



3 Copyrighted. 1861, by NJ. NJ. Cunningham. .
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It was one day in early spring that
he appeared on a South Carolina noun
tain and stood at the door Of humble
cabin. He was Yong man of five
and twenty. and he was fair to look
upon. The girl OF twenty who was
sweeping the rough floor with a switch
broom stared at him for moment and
wondered how he had found his way
there from the other world. She had
seen men In plenty-she saw men ev-
cry day Of her life. but they were not
like this man. They were rough and
unkempt Most of them had long
boards. They wore homespun, and
they carried rifles wherever they went.
This man was totally different. He
was dressed for the mountains, but
she had seen no such clothing up there
before. He lifted his cap to her. In
all her life she had never seen that
done to a girl or a woman on the
mountains. II he had corncob pipe
1t was not in sight, and he wore shoes
instead Of thick boots.
Nancy Settle could not read. The
people she lived among did little talk
ing. When they did talk it was about
moonshine whisky, possums, coons and
other matters of local interest. She
had never visited the town, fourteen
miles away, except on one occasion.
Then her father had hitched an OK to
cart, tied ropes to the animals horns
for lines and driven her there and
back. In town she had seen heaps of
houses and heaps Of people. but she
was scared and disturbed all the time.
She had seen what her father said
were gentlemen and ladies, and she
remembered them ever afterward. This
was why she said to herself as she
stood leaning on the handle Of the
broom that the man before her must
be gentleman. He asked for her ia
ther, who was away in the woods, and
for her mother, who was out digging
sassafras root, and then he explained
that he had come up the mountain to
study nature. He would study flow
ers, the birds and the wild animals.
and he would write of them later on.
He wanted board and lodgings. Would
Mr.. Settle take him in?
Nancy had seen men whose rough
speech frightened her. She had seen
others who came to make love to her.
She had run away from both kinds.
She did not run away from this man,
who gave her his name as Williams.
After the first FIVE minutes she was
hardly embarrassed. True, she was
barefooted, her hair hung down her
back in tangle, and there were hooks
missing from her waist. But his talk
put her at ease. He seemed to take
no notice Of her shortcomings.
He talked Of the woods and the
weather and the scenery, and she
found herself talking to him. 1t was
so with the mother when she came.
She was hard featured and distrustful,
but the strangers courteous words
and his pleasant smiles caused her to
look with favor upon him. With the
husband and father 1t took longer.
He was not moonshiner, but there
were stills in the dark ravines belong
ing to others, and he was on his guard
against strangers for the sake Of his
friends. He could have led revenue
officer to four different stills within a
radius of five miles, but he would
have died before pointing his finger in
nf no
take the stranger in. but he would
also watch him. The man should not
move twenty rods in any direction
without being followed and spied on.
If he had come for the revenue service
then one more dead man should be
left in the forest to be covered by the
leaves in the fall.
The coming Of Williams was an
event to all, but to Nancy it was more
than that. An inherent something
combed and braided her hair next
morning. 1t put shoes and stockings
on her feet. 1t washed her face with
soap and water, and it, cleaned her
finger nails and caused her mother to
look at her in surprise. The barefoot
ed way was good enough for the
mountaineers who came to sit and
smoke and talk and borrow cornmeal,
but it was not good enough for gen.
tleman from the lowlands.
The stranger fell readily into the
ways Of the people. His bed was rude
and his fare rough, but he was salts
fed. Grim meH and lanky boys came
to stare at him and ask him brusQue