The weekly Butte record., 1861-06-01
Haunted Houses.
BY MRS. J, WARREN LEWIS.

/ bic burlington Tragedy convuised the good
people of Maine. burlington was a Iaborino
man in humble circumstances, residing in the
suburbs Of Augusta, the capital, and was gen
orally regarded as quiet, honest, and good
hearted man. His family consisted of wife
and seven children, six of whom were girls
For some time he had been desponding and
often expressed a fear that his family would
come to want. One morning he arose early
and read his Bible, leaving it open at the
chapter narrating Abraham's attempted saert
fee of his sou. Securing al axe. he entered
the bedroom, where lie had left his wife sleep
ing, and killed her with a single blow. His
two eldest daughters were next murdered by
repeated strokes, and he followed up the horrid
butchery by killing those of his other children
who slept on the floor. He then ascended to
the chamber where his only son was sleeping
and struck at him with the axe, inf1icting a
terrible wound The youth however succeeded
1 in getting up and springing out of the window
before the blow could be repeated and hastened
/ to neighbor's for assistance. When help
arrived, Purrington was found dead in the
kitchen, with his throat cut from ear to ear, a
blood stained razor in his hand, and his wife
and entire family. save the son, lying dead in
the rooms around HIM. On the wall, over the
mantle piece, was the full imprint of the
wretched mans right hand, as if he had stag
gered forward after cutting his throat, and
caught thus at the wall for support He was
buried in dishonored grave at the crossing OF
of four roads, without coffin or praper, after
the ancient mode of disposing OF suicides and
murderers His victims were inferred in the
burial ground, and another family moved into
the premises-the scene ofthe dreadful tragedy
But the house did not remain long tenanted.
Rumors OF its being haunted soon were ahoat ;
strange noisis were heard and any amount Of
scrubbmg could not remove the imprint of
that bloody hand from the wainscot The
house finally fell INTO ruins and it was eventu-
ally razed to the ground few years ago, and
its site is now a cornfeld.
There has also been, within few years, an
other haunted house in Augusta standing on
Bridge street, on the north side of the way
This house had stood unoccupied for several
years-its reputation being such that no one
desired to rent or buy it. The owner finally
found family up country willing to take pos
session of the tenement, and they arrived with
their load Of furniture about the middle of the
afternoon. A few things eyssc removed from
the cart, enough to get hasty dinner and set
a table, and the family seated themselves to
the repast. While eating and chatting a
strange groan was heard, and an awful appari-
ton came up from the cear-the head and
shoulders of man without body-which
slowly circulated around the table, and then
disappeared down the cellar way OF course
the family did not remove any more of their
furniture from the cart and stayed long enough
to gather their property, when they hastily
departed, returning to the place from whence
they came. This house is still unoccupied
and rapidly falling into decay.
In the western part of Gardiner, village
eight miles south of Augusta, is cottage
which has long borne the the reputation of a
haunted house This cottage had been owned
by a sailor, who went off TO sea, and was sup
posed to have been1ost overheard, shipwrecked
or murdered, as he was never seen after his
departure in the course of time it became
the belief in the vicinity that this sailor spirit
was haunting the premises-a shadow being
repeatedly seen by the several members Of the
family occupying the house. 1t was quite
harmless manifestation however, the shadow
generally appearing near the gate, and quietly
approaching the house-often causing the oc-
cupants to think that visitors were coming, bat
always "dissolving into the thin air. before it
reached the front door.
Our informant was once visiting at this cot
tage when the shadow was seen by the eldest
daughter, aud declares that the entire family
had no doubts Of the supernatural origin of the
apparilion, although it had been seen so often
that no emotion was caused by its visit
"a SLICE BIGGER THAN THE LoAF."-W bile
walking through Church street few evenings
SINCE The Subscriber came up with two
negro boys, aged respectively ten and fifteen
years. The younger one carried an apple in
his hand and the elder one was using all his
eloquence to obtain just one bite +" of it.
The larger one took the apple, opened a
mouth that would have been creditabe to a
l50ib. catfish, and brought it down on the
fruit, leaving bat a very small portion on the
other side.
Thunder, Jim y said the little one, looking
up at the operation with astonishment, just
you take the apple and give me the bite, won't
your
IT is said of Col Ethan Allen that be once
attended a church where minister made an
estimate. the result of which was that out of
the whole human race not more than one in
1000 would be saved. On the announcement
of this result Allen took bis hat aud walked
out, saying, as he went
Gentlemen if any Of you want my chance