The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1865-03-02

tage ana this was reauy the case. In all
its exterior appearances sita corresponded
with what he had seen in his dream Who,
Then, could wonder that he e,dstermined to
ascertain whether the icoinci lence would !
hold good in every point2 He entered the
garden and went directly to the spot where
he had seen the well; but here the fesem-
blance failed; there was none. d He looked In
every direction, examined the whole gar.
den, and even went rouad the cot tage,
which seemed to be inhabitsds but no where
Gould he fnd any sigas of avail Hs then
FASTENED back to the inn ip state ofexcite-
ment hard 70 describe. HE could not tmake
up his mind to allow such extraordinary CO.
incidences to pass Ynnoticsd, Bst how, was
he to obtain . clue to the awful mystery !?
He went to the landlord, and asked hin, di-
rectly. to whom the cottage belonged that
was on the by-road near to him
81 wonder, sir" said he, ;'what causes
you to take such particular notice of that
wretched little hoyal ? 1t is inhabited by an
old man aud his wife, who have the charac-
ter Of being very, ,unsocial. They scarcely.
ever leave the house, see nobody, and no.
body goes to see them. OF late, their very
existence appears to have been forgotten,
and believe you are the first who, for
years. has turned your steps to the lonely
spot" y,
These details, instead Of satisfying his Gu
riosity, only reused it the mre. Breakfast
was served, but he could eat nome; and be
felt that if he presented himself to the mar
chants in such state Of excitement they
might think him mad. He walkei up and
down the room, and looked out of the win
dow, endeavoring to interest himself in
quarrel between two men in the street but
the garden AMI cottage preoccupied his
mind---and. at last. snatching up his hat,
he made his way To the street. fastening
to the nearest magistrate, he related the
whole circumstance, briefly and clearly. !.
d, ut is very strange" said the officer, 'and,
after what has happened, Il don't think il
would be rightsto leave thematter without
further investigation. Il viii place two Of
the police at your command; you canlthen
go once more to the hovel, and search, every
part oft. You may perhaps make some
important discovery Fr-E $50
He allowed but very few minutes to
Felapse befo 9 he was on his way. accompa-
MED by the two officers. After knocking at
the door, and waiting for some time, the old
man opened the door. He received them
somewhat upcivilly; but showed no mark of
suspicion when they told k'm they wished
to search the house. re,i,g 81 AZ lus.t ss5r ati
.ss "Very yaa ;-as fast aud IS soon as you
please, !" was the reply. y ias.a sd rs roa
"Have, you well here" "a .F,ra..f 50
"No, sir; we are obliged to get our water
f-on spring about quarter of a mile dis
tant.p r5s
They searched the house, but discovered
nothing of any consequence. Mean while the
old man gazed upon them with an impene-
trable vscancy oflook, as if'he could not un-
derstand why they were intrudipg on his
property. Finally they forsook the cottage,
without finding anything 70 corroberate
their suspicious. They, however. resolved
to inspectitbe garden. BY this time mum
Der of persons had collected together out.
side. having been drawn to the spot by the
sight ofa stranger with two policemen
They were asked if they knew anything Of
a well in those parts. They replied they
did not !; the idea seemed operplex them.--
At length an old woman came forward lean.
ing on crutch. tn aa ar
"A we'll ?' said she. "is it well you are
looking for? That has been gone these
thirty years. l remember it as if itwere
yesterday, how used to throw stones into
it. just to hear the splash in the water"
do yon remember where that well used
to be-" asked the gentleman. ~m7
"As near as can recollect," replied the
womap, "it is on the very spot where you
pow stand" .lj fE vor 8gb
He suddenly started as if he had trodden
upon serpent. They at once commenced
digging up the ground. At about twenty
inches deep they came TIA layer of bricks,
which being broken up, revealed some rot
ten boards. These were easily removed.
whent they beheld the dark mouth Of the
well. ~. II .fs5 II fe.i.st ri sas .R-8ed ira.
II was quite certain TINT yas the spot, =
said the old woman. "What . fool you
were to stop It up, and thca aaye to travel
SO Ear for watsri'' cca, X s. s.es5 on ttd (
Astounding, line. furnished with hooks,
was pow let down into the well---the crowd
hard pressing around thept breathlessly
bending override black and foetid hole, the
secrets Of which, seemed hidden ID, ippene-
trsble obscurity. This was repeated sever.
al times without any result. At length,
penstratings below the mud, the hooks
caught ip sopethiag Of considerable weight;
and after much time aud eR1rt they sue
ceeded ip raising It from the obscure hole.
IL Was an gid chest. The sides and lia wers
decayed, and it needed no locksmithto oper
lit. Within it they found, what they were
sure they would fihd,, and which filled tn,
4 spectators with horror--thc remains Of hu
rpan body. ~ -. -,
Il. The police officers now rushed into tn,
fhouse. and secured the old man. As to hi
/ wife, she at tirst could not 30 found. Blu
after fatignins search, she was discovered
4 beneath apile Of wood, being much bruiseS
bv the heavy lous ahove her - Qv, this f;u,