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About The advocate. (Portland, Or.) 19??-19?? | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1931)
1 = — Clean Fiction Human Interest Feature» n /II» la ON !»••»*•»• True Storie» Achievement Stories The Advocate m . I I » * Idu'IUln« « N “ " J " Jr' I rélw re * " H * V THE ILLUSTRATED FEATURE SECTION— April IK, 1!»31 -------- '’"„'ïï'.ii“ PRETTY B R O W N HATTIE H A W K S , the HJinsulin ;4 HEROINE of the CIVIL W A R An unknown colored girl, who possessed the rare combina tion of beauty and brains, made the supreme sacrifice, which saved a regiment of soldiers and perhaps helped to decide the turning point of the Civil W ar—then acciden tally met death at the hands of her faithful lover. N IIWYAN Ily IJtllMiN l i l < l /\ r x I h ..r I ,I n ,., without anticipating the com A l- 11 u l tic* Hawks W o r t * red c a l i c o t ir e s s e s .m u ■ 1 ways S h e set down the hgures In her h im k h a ir t l u W I I over her s h a p e l v s h o u ld e r s . Men III n im n e n l* iif Irtsure Which, because M is s o u r i la id i n n u m e r a b l e p r e s e n t s a t h e r s h a p e l y f e e t , of her popularity with both white . »nt Mlu- managed eventually to print her name on the flyleaf of the Bible. It took her many days to acquire thr ability to do this, but she kept to th. task she had act for her- and strongest of men who hoed corn and sweet potatoes In the Fillmore Adds could not hold her with their powerful h a n d s If she wished to be free. Hattie Hawk» Fleeing Her Captors It »mi not uncommon tor her to rntrrtaln a beau, sometime» two on the »»me evening. Naturally »he was popular with a magnetic rharm which today would carry her to dax- ahuK height». She was different from all other women In everything except »billy. She possessed a sweetness of voire, a tendernrs» of eye, a gentle- ueas of hand which, when »lie ap plied herself to the buslnes» of love- making. caused her prettiest rival no Insignificant amount of grief. Love making In those days was a business, as It Is now. At her work she was a valuable maid In the household of Captain Joseph Fillmore of Maryville, Missou ri she excelled, performed her du ties with n mastery which was com plete, left nothing half-accomplish ed, finished everything she under took She wore her cheapu calico dresses tight »bout the hips and what hips they were and. although It was the cus'oin of the times she never a l lowed the hem or her skirt to touch the ground. She never wore any oth er color except red, which set her off to a noticeable advantage Her voice was splendid, too. and she was, upon more than one occasion, called upon to sing at various exclusive gatherings. In the big house on Duchannan Street her room was a large affair; there was a wide chimney with a rlieerful flrt-plarr; curtains at the windows were always spotless. There was a comfortable chair and a sew ing table; reel blankets covered the bed and her two dogs, both grey hounds given to her by Captain Fillmore at her first Christmas In his charge, were always stretched out Her heart lastly In the full glare of the fire. By and colored, were few. nature she was gay, with moments of boro many a scar brought on during depression which were like punctua- skirmishes of love. She saw, she un derstood. »he wept and she conquered. Mon 111 ,irks In a beautiful poren llattle Hawks, tn her relationship By and large, pretty Hattie Hawks with men, was like Cleopatra, the took more from life than she gave Siren of the Nile, and she took from to It. them more than she gave them: but She was not unusually tall; rather In her love-making she was bolli ten her frame was of medium build and der and Impulsive.* All misunder tliln. rniwble of graceful movements standings hurt her deeply, and most which were like unmatchable gems. generally left her utterly unrespou- She had a broad high forehead, In Hive. stinct coupling with It Imagination, a In this she was wrong because fre heavy nose with large delicate nos quently she left the Impression that trils An emphatic chin, more like site did not care Misunderstandings that of a fighter than a poet, gave made her actually miserable; but her face an attractive strength and where her position was concerned, at the same time pointed out unmis where her housework* was the sub takably her determination. ject, nothing daunted her and she Her mind was active, bristling with carried on with a vigor that was as electric thought: her tastes and pref fresh and sweeping as a sea breeve erences those of a born lady rather 3he could neither Her courage was beyond question; than a servant. It was recklessness that could hard- read nor wqjte, bug she always hrv Hattie lltw k* bartered for her free dom. paying lhe une price -he could pay; she wax allowed to slip out of the leni catch her horse and make her e-capc The guard, however, with hi* rifle, fired three shots at her, pre tending she caught him napping, and fled to freedom. The slightest treach ery on hi* part would have cost her her Mfe, a* he could hare shot her from the horse with ease. self until she accomplished her pur pose. Her perceptions were flawless Jew els. she was never known to makr a seritAis mistake in her work. Her decisions were formed Instantly with out the least show of hesitation. Even In her love making she was as quick to accept as she was to reject. At times, however, nothing but her con crete resolutions saved her from ut ter extinction. Often she had to depend on her sparkling wit to save her from a trap that fate had set, and she enormous ly desired a risk now and then which kept her fine nerves keyed up and In tune like the strings of an expensive violin. 8hc would have deceived the best Judges of women today and they would be unable to ascertain wheth er she preferred "to walk back" or to ride. From such positions she extracted te*r»elf with polished dignity, a sort After so many months sire began to care for Feeler, a priceless man, whose strength and Intelligence made him an outstanding figure and brought him endless praise H at- tic Hawks was never out of the pres ence of Feeler. He walked with her, played with her and succeeded tn holding her love where countless oth ers had failed. Feeler, despite all his strength which was like that of a giant tractor, despite his gigantic frame, his huge paws was as gentle as a woman. O f ten he would accompany her on long horseback rides to purchase things that were needed by the three Fill more ladles. The pleasures preferred by Hattie and Feeler transcended the under standing of the other men and wom en on the Fillmore place. There was nothing uncouth, unkempt, unsavory In their love affair which continued C ontinued on rage I