Weekly Trinity journal., 1862-05-10
For the TRINITY JOURNAL
Strange illusions.

l suppose that man. entirely free from super
stition, never lived. The ghost stories of the
nursery the tales Of witches, hobgoblins, spooks,
elfs, fair les, dwarts giants etc, told winter eve
nings, around the Gresidc, by grandfather or
grandmother make an impression upon the mind
of tho child that ovon old Time. the heartlqss OBJ
literator can never fully erase. My fathers IA
ther had an almost inexhaustible fund of those
wonderful stories. Aud even now, after lapse
of nearly thirty years. remember with shud.
der the effect of their recital upon my youthful
mind recolect how used to move closer and
closer to my mothers side, as the story progress
ed, and how, when it was time to retire for the
night, trembled at the thought that some mon
strous giant, or hdcous old hag might be secret
ed under my bed, ready, as soon as went to
sleep, to crawl forth and carry me off to some
dark and dismal cave in the side of far away
mountain.
No nducement strong enough to tempt me out
side of the house, after listening to one Of these
yarns, could have been offered. My fears would
have conjured up in the darkness II thousand hor-
riblc shapes. Nor did my timidity and fear OF SUI
pernatural things entirely leave me on the return
Of daylight. Even in broad day, the swapping Of
dry twig under my foot, or the rustling of fal.
ling leaf, startled me, and sent the blood gallop
ing through my veins. Whether the facts which
| have just related, connected with my early cul-
turc, are sufficient of themselves to explain GER
tain optical and oracular illusions that | have
since experienced, or not, is for the reader to de-
eide. But listen to my story.
When about eight years Of age was playing
toge ther with three cousins, two girls and boy
in the suburbs of my native village, Richmond
Ross county, Ohio. Our play ground was nice
grassy spot, thickly dotted over with those arti-
fetal mounds so frequently seen in some Of the
middle and western States, and supposed to have
been the burial places Of the race Of red men
who inhabited this continent previous to its dis
covery and settlement by the whites. On a sud
den, while playing at some one of the silly games
that children delight in, | saw as plainly rs
now see The paper upon which write, the forms
of four Indians descend from above, each hold
ing ia his right hand something, resembling in
shape gourd seemingly hollow, and partly fill
ed with pebbles, or something Of that nature
TO the music of these gourd shaped instruments,
which they ratified necessarily, these forms dane
ed over and around the mounds for some consid-
cradle time, perhaps two minutes, and then dis
appeared as suddenly and mystcriousy as they
came
One morning In the spring of '4G, started
from home, on foot, for Bloomington, little
town in Monroe county Indiana. The road was
muddy and as | carried in my knapsack, on my
back, thirty or forty pounds OF books and cloth
ing, | found walking Il toilsomc business.
trudeed on, however, until near sunset, when
feeling very much fatigued sat down by the
road side for few minutes rest While sitting
thus happened to cast my eyes over field OPP
posite, where | bcheld, with aStonishment, an
animal different from any had ever seen before.
1t appeared to be about four or five feet long,
and, while its fore legs seemed to be only a few
inches in length, the hind ones appeared to be
eight or ten feet. | was surprised had read
Goldsmith, Button, and other naturalists, but |
had never seen any account of such an animal
as that. Ny curiosity was excited, and | started
at once to get nearer view Of the strange ami
NAL. 1t appeared the same until had come
within few yards Of il, when instantly the short