The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-02-20
THE PATRIOT
SPY
How Geseral Washington Secured
important Information
D. F. A. mitchell


There b still standing In Norristown.
y. j.. q hon~e which General Wash
0gtOn while m~aneuverlng against the
British army at New York occupied
q his headquarters. 1t il kept in ex
<elIent repair by an association organ
Bed for the purpose and contains y
great many relics connected with the
Father Vt His Country. In the kitchen
the same enormous fireplace. with
(pOkinG paraphernaiia, AZ wal used In
4tsrssti.g rssn y one On the ground
toor. y The rear Of the building. that
1ias useA b Washington u . private
One spri1g morning In the year It'll
4 young man wearing the uniform Of a
3~eutenaDt u cavalry In the Centinen-
army passed the sentry before
Fashinxton's headquarters at Norris
(pwn. returned the mans salute and
}hterrd the main hall. There be was
net BY the generals orderly. whom hr
Bid to Lieutenant John
Hoodville. In 4 few moments the 9th
Or was Standing in WashinKton'S
treseDce.
BE seated" said the commander.
(nrninK from his desk. IL have sen,
&pr you to do q more important work
thaa any with which I have yet in
trusted you. ! wish you to xo to New
FORK and II possible learn the inten
ke IL intending to move against i'hilu
\eiphia. II 80 be must either march
1cr.ns New jersey. where be will hav"
= fight u. Or ~ BY sea. II he goes by
lind I desire 10 ip advised Of the time
b. msves. that l may be prepared t"
Intercept his panaage. My main Oh
1ect n to 70 threaten him that he viii
got he able to send any more troops t"
1xSist RurxOyne. | deem it esspntia
Chat you should understand the situa
ton In order that you may act intelli
gently. How sOOn a you lpave?"
"As xoOn IA | n Spcur a disguise
"Very we'll. Go. and remember thai
<ur may depend upon your II
<ess."
Lieutenant Wo,dville left bis com
sander and within an hour. in tn.
orb Of q young c%ountrymnn. rode "u,
q MOrristown down the rOad Ieidin.
p Orange, where he stopped ut the
Tor dinner. thence to Newark. where
le turned south toward Elizabethtown
= was now in territory within reach
q the British Mt New York. and 1t be
Bowed him to keep Il sharp lockout
cot only to CONCEAL his mission. but for
thdicatkOps Of the movements Of thu.
enemy.
WO0dviile pretended to he a Tory to
Tory sy~mImthiZers and found those Of
hat persuasion jubiInnt Mt the pros
Dect Of ending the war and rrpstah
oshing the authority Of the king. The!
teld him that the trO~ps from tanadH
We're to be met ear the mouth Uf the
AOhawk river by troops from The
10uth and the line Of communication
~ way Of the Hudson and LAX,
ShxMplain wOnid sOon he open to tn"
British. cutting the cOnfederated colo
1ieH In two parts. But he also heard
from ''patriots" that BurgOyne was
nar.hinE through u wild country. III
which 1t wax difficult to feed his army.
md unhss he were successful in form
Tx . junction with the fOrce moving
trOm the Hs.uth be would he In = crit
tral position.
This Indicated to the young lieuten
ant that what Howe did IN the wa!
q sending trDOus tn support Bur
: NyDe was Of great Importance to tn
-<Ause. and it WIS especially esspntia1
-that General Washington shorld know.
o FAR IA pH'xsibIe. just what Howe was
Going in the matter. Rut WUOdvi!le
vas n"t near enough to the British
headquarters to learn much about the
matter. 80 he determined tn move "r
. the west bank VI the Hudson.
where jersey City now stands. \
family VI patriots Of the maine of
Curtiss lived ther~. to whom be was
koowa and On whom ne t1,ild rely. On
biz way be passed the Kings Arms. II
tavern kept by a Tory named Smith
On. who had . pretty daughter. Jen-
ne. upon whom the young soldier
hooked with loving eyes. He desired
= pay her a visit in passing. but dare
not do 10. b%4.ause II recognized BY
her father he wound be betrayed to the
British and hanged ~ a spy. 40 be
went On to the Curtisses. where be-
vas tn ken in and given a lodging.
Wood vile noticed q number Of ships
Tying at anchor in the river and that
he boats going to them usually car
I'D what appeared to be supplies. 1t
locked a. II they were preparing for
Z voyage. but to what point did NJ
&ppear. The spy was near the ferr!
: @nd noticed soon after his arrival n
I British soldier disemhark. m0unt his
horxe and ride west ward. A sOldie:
~becomes used to the ways Of soldiers
and there was something In the mans
.Uovements that indicated to Wood
tile that he was going somewhere
: VitA an object. The most likely oh
a1ert be could have w~as.carying q mes