Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1909-06-24
90 TITLE uU4HER HRlZNE@
W. One Of the .T,rillinos Epi5ooc5 o5 CA
NS- Revolutionary Da5.@~

nhpcTeT SuOlC, Il AoSS = ~
tho north wind at its back. 1t has
Watched the cawns and sunsets for
two hundred years. has seen war
fines and days Of peace.
# is a quaint, rambling dwelling;
each generation added rooms to the
original structure, placing each lower
man the other, making small steps
and staircases that catch unwary and
unaccustomed feet. The uneven roof
tolls the same story. and the house
has the appearance of lettering it
self by a second thought.
Down the garden walks roses, hol-
,vhocks and old-fashioned flowers
h1oom the season through; in lush
growths of grass spring occasional
blooms of daffodil and bluebell, mark
ing some old-time garden spot, long
ororgrown. Vines climb over win
dows and porch to the sloping roof,
and in their depths generations Of
birds have nestled and sung through
many a forgotten summer. Foot
maths worn in the grass lead to barns.
=, the ancient mill, through orchards
and over hillsides, showing in spring
.nd fall the earliest and latest green.
as if the print of human feet gave
stronger life to the trodden way. In
the Revolutionary period Of the
trv's history the old house was the
scene CT many exciting raids from
both of the c%ontending forces, one of
which threatened to bring serious
trouble upon the inmates.
One autumn day during the Revo-
1utionary struggle the daughter Of the
house, Anne Mott. sat in the quiet
.living-room" spinning her daily
.~.stent." Anne was a demure little
maid; her brown hair, twisted in a
tight knot. was held by her mothers
silver comb. She was just thirteen
wears old, and acted as her fathers
h~ousekeeper, the entire are of the
family, her aged grandmother, her
father and two brothers, falling on
her young shoulders.
The living-room vas a and
still that day. The little spinner
glanced out of the small window
panes, down the garden path and off
to the w~hite-capped waters Of Long
Island Sound. Neglected thread will
knot, and Anne brought truant eyes
to the s%lackening wheel.
ut is so dull here this eventiie,
with father and brothers away: ]
wish something grand and thrilling
would happen to me. as it did to Lucy
Lovelace. She went to the Govern.
or's ball and danced with an aide-de-
camp. Oh! 1 wish it was considered
suitable for a Friend to go to a ball!'
Nothing grand or thrilling" hap.
pened in the quiet, sunlit room; the
faithful clock licked on, embers
dropped softly or the hearth, the
spinning-wheel slackened and the lit
tie %spinner's head lay against tn
high-backed chair; Anne was fas
asleep. How long she slept she nevel
knew, her sudden awakening dispe1
ling all memories of preceding events
A terrible explosion shook the hous'
to its foundation. there were cries o
terror and sounds of hurrying feet
Startled into wakefulness, Anne raj
~ liz oOo4, "IlC1 0uC A1OJ- O1AAy
the colored cook, crying:
Miss Nanny! Miss Nanny! the ref
ugees are coming!"
A Quaker's Sympathy.
Anne's father was of the strictes
sect of Friends, and would have n
part or lot in war or fighting, but j
was we'll understood that his TN
spoken s%ympathies were with tn
Continentals. His colored man, Billy
Jlnny's husband, was hand in GLOW
with the whaleboatmen who made a
Inlet near the house a place of refuge
OF these boats were commando
ny Captain Pete Davis, who had pre-
Vlously been in command of a coaste
owned by James Mott, Anne's father
Ihls friendliness to the Continer
tals and the fact that raids on tn
tories were of frequent occurrenc
created suspicion and dislike anon
the refugees and the riffraff of tn
English Army, and threats were mad
mat II the blamed whaleboatme
were permitted to hang around the1
II would be worse for them ALL"
But nothing came of the threat
ana James Mott did not consider h
household to be in danger. tt
"haleboatmen had recently been SUI
eesslul in capturing a boat from tt
british, under the guns of a guar,
snip lying off in the Sound, and tt
seiugees had decided to eject the
from the blamed Quaker rende
'ous'> At Pelham the band of ref
sees led by Captain Fade Merr1
started for the shore, where thu
eaasnt and imprisoned Uncle Bill
anu captured the boats of the whal
ooa'men, in which a large supply
enihunltion was stored. A bold pu.
forward Or quick retreat on the pa
the Whaleboatmen must be d
eueo on at once. They chose t
aofner, and began firing on the ref
sees from behind fences and bushe
startled by the quick onset, Nj
~ ana his men charged on the fc
0"pealn Davis called to Merit: