Mountain Democrat., 1857-12-12
A Capital Story.

Some years since, an eccentric old zen.
ius, whom for convenience we will cal
Barnes, was employed by farmer living
IN town some six or seven miles wcStcr-
Y from the Pcnobscot river to dig well.
The soil and substratum being mostly
sand, Old Barnes having progressed down
ward about forty feet, found one morning
upon going out carly to his work, that
the well had essentially cavcd in and was
full nearly 70 the top So having that de-
sire, which some men have, Of knowing
what will be said Of them after they arc
dead, and no one being yet astir, he con.
ccalcd himself in rank growth of Bur-
docks, by the side of board fence. near
tho mouth of the wCii 1t length. break
fa:t being ready, boy was dispatched to
call hlm, when 10 it was seen that Barnes
was buried in the grave unconsciously
dug by his own hands. The alarm bcinr
given, and the family assembled, it was
decided first to cat breakfast and then
SEND Tor the coroner, minister and his wife
and children. Such apathy did not flattcr
Barnes scf-cstccm bit, but he waited
patiently determined to hear what was to
bc said and sec what was to be seen.
Presently all parties arrived and BEGAN
prospecting" the scene of the catastrophc
IS people usually do in such cases. Al
length they drew together to exchange
opinion as to what should be DONE The
minister at once gave it as his opinion
that they had better level up the well and
let Barnes remain: "for he is now bcyond
the temptation Of sin, and in the day of
judgment it will make no difference wheth-
hei buried five feet under ground or fifty.
Tor ne Is bound to come forth in either
case" The coroner likewise agreed that
would be needless expense to his
family or the town TO disintcr him when
no was 20 cflcctually buried" and there
fore entirely coincidcd with the minister.
Ills wife thought that, as he had left his
hat and !rock, it would be hardly worth
while to dig him out for the rest of his
clotheS;" and so it was settled to let him
remain.
But poor old Barnes, who had no break
FAST and was not at all pleased with the
result Of the inquest, laid quiet until the
shades Of evening stole over the landScape:
and then he quietly decampcd to parts un.
known. After remaining incognito for
about three years, one morning he sud
denly appeared (hatlcss and frockless as
he went) ut the door of the farmer for
whom he had agreed to dig the unfortu-
nate well. To say that an avalanche of
questions were raincd upon him as to his
mysterious rcappcarancc, &C., would con-
vey but feeble idea of tho excitement
which his bodily presence created. But
the old man bore it all quietly, and at
length informed them that on finding him
self buried he waited for them to die him
out until his patience was exhausted.
when he set himself to work to dig him,
self out, and only the day before had sue
cecded; for his ideas being confused by
the pressure of the earth at tho time he
was buried, he had dug very much at
random, and instead of coming dir
to the surface he came out at the town Of
Holland, sic miles east Of the Penobscot
ricOr!
No further explanations were sought
for by those who were distressed and sor-
rowfll over his supposed final resting
place.-BGng0r Je1ersonian.