Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1867-03-21
THE HAUNTED HOUSE.
by GEORGE II. cooMER.

rappings, said grandmother, II llsCeneol W
something quite as startling years before
spirits resolved themselves into an lnstltu
ton. Then every ghost was independent
Not ono of them thought OF coming at seI
times to read, write and attend lectures )
but whenever one did appear, al sucn
irregular hours as suited It's convenience, IL
created sensation. A spirit OF TINS Kino t
would not down at the bidding OF ever
so many Macbeths ...o..
"W6en I was eighteen, Mr.. Marvin, one
of orr neirhbors, owned farm in Gray
Owl DELI couple of miles from MS
homestead He generally had tenant
rpon the place, but in the year to which L
have reference, having found no one vii
ling to pay so high rent as he demanded,
he had allowed the house to remain empty,
bis boys, his hired man or himself gong
over occasionally to attend to the farm.
at requires no great knowledge OF hui
man nature to assure one tnat mouse
standing remote from all others, i'll a lone
some and shadowy dell, could not remain
long untenanted by humanity without
acquiring the reputation of being haunted.
The feline tribe is intimately associated
with ideas Of the supernatural, and cats,
astonishing in size and number, began to be
seen about the premises of Gray Owl Dell:
The birds of Minerva, too, that perched
now and then on the decaying buildings,
were suspected of wearing their feathers
merely as cloaks of deception, while the
witch-spirit looked mockingly out from
their great, round eyes. =. .l.a.L e. - 'r
"Will Ashley, who had attended Mar
garet Rivers from singing school to hel
home ON the back road, affirmed that while
returning across lots, for shorter cut, he
had seen an owl as large as Mr.. MarVin's
brindle OK, sitting ON the chimney-top OF
the old farmhouse. This bird was nc
doubt the incarnation of a Witch-spirlt
and however much Wills dilated eyes may
have magnifed its proportions, it was
lucky for poor old Polly Ruggles, the scolo
of the neighborhood, and an abominable
bag altogether that Salem fashions haC
lost their predominance in New England
The uncomfortable dame might out-scold
the north wind, but unlike those of hel
profession in earlier days, she stood nc
chance of being dragged at ropes enc
across a river, or pressed between two
planks till she should acknowledge hel
iniquity-after confession, the pressing tt
go on worse than ever. Sad encourage
ment to penitence .F .'''
Gone way and another, the opinion be
came prevalent that something evil hovereC
about the place. Widow Stebbins, who
hired the privilege of fastening her ceN
there, testified that the cream yielded by
this domestic animal was upon certain
occasion bewitched. The pious widow
cnurned long in vain Then she prayed
then she churned again. But the familiar
spirit had not been exercised by her de
votions-perhapsa she had lacked faith
Finally, she heated horseshoe, till i
glowed like the star Arcturus, and al
flaming as it was, dropped it into the
cream. Such a Kissing and screaming,
said the good widow, 'you never heard
and the butter came at once. No doubt
some incautious witch was sadly burned
the Kissing and screaming directly pointing
to such conclusion especially with the
excellent woman, who had never been in a
blacksmith shop. n.I.-a.
During the summer however, we young
people were in little dread of the super
natural, and as the old place had tempting
raspberries and apples, we often visited it,
yet kept at good distance from the house.
But when winter had set it, putting imagi-
nation in shadow, and the days appeared
like dim windows between the long, dark
nights l think we took pleasure in the full
indulgence of credulity Who cares for a
July ghost, or looks for a withered witch
in field of blooming corn? The Thane
of CLAIMS met the weird sisters upon a
blasted heath; and the idea of evil spirits
is ever associated with desolation and
darkness 7a s. g" la''t- - ..e- 81.
Z" well recollcct the advent, about this
time, of a mysterious animal that our
towns-people called tiger cat. We felt a
kind Of scared pleasure in believing it not
wholly of earth and indeed, there was
much in its nightly operations to warrant
such an opinion. 1t seemed an enemy of
nothing but dogs, and it became usual
occurrence for farmer on going out in the
morning to find his dog dead on the door
step, yet without any discoverable, woand-
My cousins, Thomas and John Conway,
lived then with their father who was a
neighbor of ours; and | remember hearing
John call to his brother one bitter cold
morning, saying
."'Tom, Toni the tiger cat has killed
Cupid meaning their little dog. afe ,Fe
Sometimes on frosty evenings, when
{ the stars shot down wi sklentin' light,
a belated traveller would be startled by
momentary glimpse of some underlined
shape that rushed past him like cannon.
ball; and he felt that he had seen the tiger
cat As one of our neighbors was return
ing at late hour to his home, a weird
strange object shot between his feet and
instantly disappeared The frightened man
ran with all his might, and nologic could
have convinced him that old Dame Ruggles
had not darted between his boot tops in the
shape of monstrous cat.
"A being half of this world and half of
world unknown, always appears more
terrible to us than the wholly supernatural
in which is no mingling of earth. But
about this so-called tiger cat, there was
certainly something unaccountable. That
such being existed, have not. the least
doubt; yet why it killed the dogs, or how
it could effect its purpose and still leave no
outward sign of injury, [ cannot imagine
There was, and still is, at the entrance
of the seaport village near which we lived,
a stone bridge, upon which it became usual
to find IN the morning number of dogs, all
slain as by pestilence, like the warriors of
Sennacharib One night, a Mr.. Manches-
ter resolved to watch at this place. He
had taken unusual care in the preparation
OF his gun-had screwed in the lock new
flint that would make the sparks fly in
showers. Moreover, he was cool, reSolute
man, and one whose word was accepted by
the villagers almost as readily as the evi
dence of their own senses.
~'' AS the clock struck twelve, the tiger