The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1873-03-19

iayss.ri.s ~ ,zs.iass Ssssss. s.sm. Y
KnasTos, JAMAICA, W. T., February
IA residence OF twelve rein this
island he's made me- acquainted with
many OF the superstitions Of the colored
population.
In 1868, I was residing insthie- -Port
Royal Mountains. Allegro OF excellent
character, the deacon 'of. o sBaItiSt
church, and respected. bysthe. white resi-
dents as SOBER i1dp dpstiinos nany aame
to me one Sunday morning greatly e1-
cited, and said that he had seen a .'dup.
Py"-that is, . supernatural maniiesta-
tion-the previous night, while return.
ing from the city. ~ =.
About four miles out OF Kingston is o
fortidcation known as Rock Fort. It
stands at the junction with the main
land OF narrow peninsula which runs
IL q s7li.oirute of about ten miles in q
westerly direction. On its extremity,
which approaches the island within about
a mile and half, stands the old town of
Port, Royal, famous in the history Of the
buccaneers. The water enclosed within
this peninsula forms the harbor OF King.
ston. The great windward road, as it ia
called, skirts the main land and passes
through an arohway in Rock Fort. There
IS only one habitation near the fort, and
1t Is not often any one is found there of
Q night. The fortificstion runs up q
hillside. which is quarried daily by
gangs OF prisoners from the penitsnfia.y.
Ny informant told me that on the
night in question, about 10 o 'clook, as:
be was approaching the aEah wey in the
fort. he heard the iattling Of chains. He
looked toward the house near the fort.
but no light was viaible. His mule be.
gan to get restive, and he drew MP to
one side, under the shadow of q large
boulder, which had rolled from the hill
above. On his left was this Inaccessible
bill. and on his right se.e the waters ef
the harbor. The noise rapidly increased,
ana; ,vvo.!n9 in the direction whence it
came. be saw the whole OF &c &c archway
under the fort brightly illuminated by o
circle OF fire, which rolled like O wheel
toward him. The mule was terribly
alarmed. My informant dismountcd,
aud quickly tied his handkerchief over
the animals eyes. The beast stood,
trembling in every limb. The wheel of
hre passed through the archway, and
came down the hill at fearful rate, &C.
companied by tae sound of rattline
chains. AS it passed my informant, he
says that he saw inside the wheel of Ere
the figure of man, bound hy chains,
On the body Of the man was the head pf
call. The strange apparition passed
rapidly down the road, and disappeared.
at an angle Of heroad, less thhp quar-
ter OF mile away. rs 49,
[ spoke to many intelligent and pious
negroes on the subject, and they all
seemed to credit the story Of my inform
ant, accepting it as o matter Of TACT, aud
simply saying it was the'rolIing oalf.i. y,
Two years later, when residing in
Kingston, was informed that O rolling
calf was to be seen nightlyon Queen
street, the beginning Of the windward
road. A. party of us agreed to Ego and
observe the phenomenon. We Occupied
an upstairs room in house close by
the place where the spectre was to ap-
pear. About II o'clock the first night
OF our watch, when the town was quiet
and few persons in that suburb were
astir. we heard coming from the lower
part OF gully, known as Sandy Gully,
which runs across the street, the rattling
OF chains. We at once hurried down
stairs and went toward the gully. One
" VIZ HoAcy An0 p1ofAieu uluEcl Win
pistol loaded with blank cartridges.
The sound approached rapidly, and
soon we saw the bushes which almost
choked the gully illuminated with a
bright light. The light drew nearer,
and in few seconds q wheel of fire,
almost similar to that described in the
former case, came rolling out of the
gully across the road, and shot into the
gully on the opposite side. The flames
hared and licked the ground, and in the
centre Of the fiery wheel was figure,
half man, half calf, bound with chains.
We rushed after it up the gully, and my
friend discharged his pistol. The spectre
disappeared hundred yards away amid
the bushes, and after wandering through
the rough bed of the gully beyond where
the "duppy" had vanished, We turned up
one OF the streets. A short distance up
we met oolored policeman and told
him onr adventure. He expressed no
surprise, only remarking. in a luatter-of-
fact way, "It's the rolling calf"
l made inquiries as to the origin Of
this phenomenon, but did not, until
some time afterward, receive any other
explanation than this, which is perfectly
satisfactory to the colored people: This