The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1866-03-10

The Oll-FaShiOned Satan, with
Horns and Tail, Broke Loose In
Kentucky. .H d. ..
A correspondent of the Mt. Sterling
Sentinel gives the following account OF
fiery iiend visible in Bracken county
Is it Freedmen's Bureau incarnate?
BRACKEN County, KY, Feb. II, 1866
-MR. EDITOR The people of this
neighborhood are in the greatest state
of excitement in consequence ofa re-
marliable visitation, or apparition OF
some demoniacal parsonage in our
midst. | am not a believer in the doc.
trne that disembodied spirits can "re-
visit the glimpses of the moon," nor do
! believe that epoch designated in
prophecy, when the chains of Satan
are to be unloOsed, has arrived, but the
things whereof ] now write are of such
strange import, so inexplicable, that
have determined to put you in possession
of full and explicit narrative of them,
merely promising that every word is
TRUE, and the facts sworn to, as wit
ness the accompanying affidavit. What
it Is, ] am unable to say ! merely
give the Jacts, such as ] am personally
cognizant of, and leave it to wiser
heads than my own to mravel the
mystery.
On Monday night last, after myself
and family had retired to rest we were
suddenly aroused by a great outcry
from the negro quarters-which are
Immediately in the rear of the house
in which prayers We'd for supremacy
with hlasphemies; men, women and
children screaming "lire!" and "mur-
der" at the top of their voices, all
conspiring to create q scene worthy of
a pandemonium. Terribly startled, my
wife and sprang from bed The room
was Illuminated as brightly as by Il
flood of sunlight, though the light was
of a blush cast. Our first and most
reasonable conclusion was that the ne
gro cabins were being consumed by
fire. We rushed to the windows and
beheld sight that fairly curdled the
blood in our veins with horror, and
filled our hearts with the utmost terror.
My daughter, shrieking loudly, came
flying into my room, hysterical with
fear This is what we beheld.:
Standing to the right .of the upper
cabin, near the fence that separates the
negroes garden from the house-yard,
was creature of gigantic stature, and
the most horrifying appearance. 1t
was nearly AS high as the comb of the
cabin, and had monstrous head, not
dissimilar in shape to that of an ape ;
two short very white horns appeared
above each eye; its arms were long,
covered with shaggy hair of an ashen
hue, and terminated with thuge paws,
not unlike those Of a cat, and armed
with long and hooked claws. Its breast
was as broad as that Of large sized OK.
Its legs rescmbled the from legs Of a
horse, only the hoofs were c'oven. 1t
had long tail, armed with Il dart-shaped
horn, which it was continually switching
about. Its eyes glowed like Two living
Goals of fire, while from its nostris and
mouth were emitted sheets of blush
colored flame, with Kissing sound, like
the Kissing of a serpent, only Il thosand-
fold louder Its general color, save
its arms, was a dull, dingy brown
The air was powerfully impregnatcd
with asmcll of burning sulphur.
The poor negroes were evidently Ia
boring under the EXTREMIST terror, and
two of them an old woman and lad,
were actually driven to insanity by their
fears, and have not recovered their
reason up to this writing. | do not
know how long this monster, demon or
devil, was visible after we reached the
windows-possibly some three seconds.
When it vanished it was enveloped in
a spiral column of flame that reached
nearly to the tops Of the locust trees
and which hid its horrid form
completely from view. The extinction
of the flame was instantaneous, and
with its disappearance we were relieved
of the presence of this remarkable Wis.,
itor.
1t would be impossible for me to at
tempt to describe the effect of this visi-
tation upon the members of my family.
Suffice it to say, that my wife and two
daughters are firmly persuaded that it
was the veritable Satan. For myself, /
would willingly believe that we all, by
some curious coincidence, had been the
victims offs horrid nightmare, did 1nOt
know that we were fully awake, and
actually witnessed that which is above
recorded. Again, if ours had been the
only family visited by this mearthly
creature, should have kept silent, and
perhaps, tutored my mind into the be-
lief that it was a hallucination.
But precisely the same apparition
made its appearance at my neighbors,
Mrs. VIM. Dole, appearing there in
precisely the same shape in which it
presented itself to us, save the head,
which appeared to those who witnessed
it at Mrs. DIS to resemble that of q
horse. At Mrs. Adam Fuqua's, anoth.
neighbors, its head was that of a yul
turc. On Tuesday night it appeared al
Mr.. Jesse Bonds, there wearing the
head of all elephant. At all these pla
ccs it made the same appearance as at
my housekeeping only the chang
ing of the head-and disappeared il
the same manner These parties ar,
all reliable ladies and gentlemen. and
at my revuest, have made oath to wha
they witnessed. .N
What it is, what its object, what it
mission, is something that passes m,
poor comprehension. What / hav'
above written Is simple, unadornet
truth. You are at liberty to use this il
any manner you may esteem proper.