Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Story
August 22, 1839
South Branch Intelligencer
Romney, Hampshire County, West Virginia
What is this article about?
The wife of Harrisburg founder Mr. Harris demonstrated remarkable courage twice: extinguishing candles during an Indian attack on guests at her home to avoid detection, and removing a lit candle from a keg of gunpowder mistaken for flax seed by a servant.
Clipping
OCR Quality
96%
Excellent
Full Text
A COURAGEOUS WOMAN.--A correspondent of the Philadelphia North American, writing from Harrisburg, mentions that the wife of Mr. Harris, the founder of Harrisburg, had the presence of mind on one occasion when a party were taking tea at her house, and were fired upon by the Indians, to put out the candles, thus preventing them from being singled out by their savage foes. On another occasion when a servant had stuck a piece of lighted candle about half an inch long in a keg of gunpowder, thinking it to be flax seed she had the courage to rush up stairs, where it was standing, and take the candle out.
What sub-type of article is it?
Heroic Act
Biography
What themes does it cover?
Bravery Heroism
What keywords are associated?
Courageous Woman
Indian Attack
Gunpowder Incident
Harrisburg Founder
Bravery Anecdote
What entities or persons were involved?
Wife Of Mr. Harris
Mr. Harris
Where did it happen?
Harrisburg
Story Details
Key Persons
Wife Of Mr. Harris
Mr. Harris
Location
Harrisburg
Story Details
Wife of Harrisburg founder shows presence of mind by extinguishing candles during Indian attack on tea party guests, preventing targeting; later removes lit candle from gunpowder keg after servant's mistake.