Evening star., 1950-01-29
Washinqtonians in Congress

naval troubles with France, had
his vessels and cargoes seized by
the French and his business
thrown into inextricable embar-
rassment. During the War Of
1812-1815 he served at the head Of
company of volunteers and re-
ceived a painful wound in the
chest from which he never fully
recovered.
Capt. Nevitte was As years Of
age when he was married to Miss
Wales, then a girl of only is, and
the only daughter Of widowed
mother. Because of her youth her
mother would not agree to be sep
arated from her, and in conse-
quence they moved together to
Washington and leased Jointly one
of the Washington houses. In the
marriage notices appearing in the
National Intelligencer on Decem-
Der 3O 1910, is the following:
"On Thursday, the 23d instant.
by the Rev. DR.. Hawley, Mr.. F.
Hamilton SouthWorth of st. Louis.
Mo-. to Miss Emma D. E. hewitt
of this CITY,"
Besicged by Wolves
Soon after her marriage Mrs.
Southworth accompanied her
husband to Wisconsin. the discov-
cry of lead mines having attracted
many settlers. According to an old
account:
The winter of their arrival they
stopped with a brother-in-laW OF
Mr. Southworth's AS every house
and shanty in the village OF
Plattsburg was occupied, the
young people were obliged to move
in the spring to a rude log struc-
ture, mile from the settlement,
that had been occupied as a
church. There was but one room,
clumsily constructed fireplace
was on one side, and if there had
ever been any sash and glass to the
two apertures that answered for
windows they had been taken
away when the place was aban-
doned as a house of worship. Over
them Mrs. Southworth nailed some
stout unbleached cotton. When
the furniture had been arranged
and the fuel placed in the fireplace
the young housekeepers discover
ed that they had neither matches
to start the fire with nor salt to
cure a large quarter of beef that
their brother-in-law had given
them on leaving his house IN the
morning. The shadows Of the trees
about their sylvan-set cabin told
them the day was nearly done,
and, as those much needed arti-
cles we're mile away, there was
no alternative but to go for them
at once.
"Mr. Southworth seated himself
by the driver of the team who had
brought out their household goods.
promising to return as soon as
possible, which at the best time
he could make must be over an
hour, as he would have to walk
back. The men having driven
away, Mrs. Southworth brought
out a chair and sat down to enjoy
the closing sights and sounds Of
that beautiful spring day. All at
once a sense of appalling stiffness
abroad startled her, when a long.
low murmur like the winds in the
treetops so filled her with dread
that she rushed into the house
and barred the door. Pulling the
cotton curtain carefully aside, she
looked out and saw the scintilat-
ing, hungry eyes of a pack Of
wolves. Realizing that it was the
scent of the freshly slaughtered
beef hanging against the logs be-
tween the door and front window.
she tugged at it in the darkness.
Dragging it to the farthest corner
of the house, away from the door
and windows, she awaited the
issue. The animals followed the
scent and began to dig and strug-
gle at the more secure portion Of
the cabin.
More than an hour of suspense
had elapsed to the wolf-belea.
guered lady when the welcome
sounds of mems voices and the
reports of guns told of rescue and
safety. And added Mrs. South
worth, lived there for some time
and passed some of the happiest
hours of my life in that log cabin
in the forests of Wisconsin
Though Mrs. Southworth be-
came famed as a writer of fiction,
yet her career as a public school
teacher in Washington was not a
great success. She and her two
small children had been deserted
by her husband and she sought
this means of obtaining a liveli-
hood. The first record of her
employment is in 1848, when, on
February II of that year, she was
paid by the school authorities
$146.72 for services rendered as
teacher to December 81, 1847. On
November 80. 1848, she was paid
S76.45 as balance due"
D., MI. AAk:Il