Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-06-26

ing home, no told the story to his grand
father, no WIS somewhat mortified to per-
ccive that he had caused u" sensation.
"Ah," said the good man, "nv doul
you have met The Wild lfuntsman: that,
Just his way" Familiarity had bred con
tempt
Shepherds. it has been observed, have
sharper eyes for speotres than any othe,
class Of tho community. On the ovo o.
one Advent Sunday, in the vicinity Of the
Vogelsbcrg, an old shepherd perceived I;
man with an enormous dog walking II,
and d >wn the skirts Of tho tvrest.
Whence do you come =" he asked.
"From up yonler, was the reply
Where does this lead ~
"To the Wetterl'aus."
The conversation would probably have
proceeded further had not the shepherds
dog erept betwecr his masters logs. AM;
uttered a dismal howl, Knowing that
where ghosts arc concerned dogs, arg
sharper even than sheplevds, the of nan
re-: entered his hut, and closed tie door.
But no still heard the call, Shepherd,
shepherd % till it faded away in tho dis.
lance.
Near Merlau, town at the Western
foot Of tho Vogeisberg, is forest called
the Linnes, in which the manifestations OF
the Wild Huntsman's visitatioas arc OK.
ceptionally conspicuous. There, on the
morning after one Of his usual rides, the
hares that he had taken were found hang
ing from the sun,D,ils Of the trees. On
one particular pathway through the forest
il moro profitable discovery might be
made on the same day. From particular
tree hung huge pair Of trunk hose, and
some OF the passers.by heard voice
crying, "Brush me down! brush me
downw lie who obeyed this command,
and, when his task was done, put bis
hand into hi spocket, was sure to find a
silver dollar Of uncommon eight, neither
more or less. No awkward compact was
implied in the acceptance of the coin, nor
did it bring the owner into disrepute with
his neighb0rs,the dollars beino consider ed
Il fair payment for 4 job honestly done.
Nay. only persons born on a lucky day
were able to perform the required service
Less fortunate wights, who heard the
call, were compelled to remain staring at
the hose, and could not pursue their Jour.
ney till these had vanished.
TO girl Of Miche(bach, Il place in tho
same district, the wild IIuntsman oonde.
scended to show himself in remarkable
manner, not at nj ht but at noon. She
was on her way to the field, where, by
her fathers order, she was to cut the corn,
aud suddenly heard tho usual sound Of
whips and horses, but, whereas tho dark.
ness was always exchanged for light
during the nocturnal chases, light was on
this occasion turned into darkness. The
whole hunt then became visible. A flock
of ravens, notoriously the birds Of Odin
led the way, then followed the twelve
white hounds, and among :hem was the
veritablo Wild Huntsman, clad in green
mounted on a tall horse, and-with0ut a
head.
Sometimes the Wild Huntsman was
simple llessians. lie was in tho habit Of
passing u certain house and had become
80 familiar that ON one occasion the poor
children who resided there, and had moth.
ing but dry bread to eat, asked him on his
passage to fling to them a piece of cheese
An enormous lump Of the desired article
fell down before them, but it appealed so
fOrcibly to their noses that it never found
its way to their mouths. Another trick,
much more malicious than droll, was play
ed on q girl who was tending cattle near a
{ wood. A tall huntsman suddenly stood
= before her, and asked her ii sho had seer
his white goose. On hearing her answer
, i'm the negative, he snatched up calf III
+ readily as if it had weighed only a couple
> Of ounces, sprang into tho forest, and
after 4 short interval, returned with thu
Calf entirely stripped Of it, hair. "Thort
, is white goose for YOU" no said, ane
Immediately vanished
1t is curious fact that the Wild Hunts
. man is associated in the minds of the los
, sian peasants with the Assyrian monarch,
Nimrod. This mighty hunter" whom ".
, have always been taught to regard as
| miracle OF iMpiety and presumption, was
, according to the uessian legend, lying up
on his death bed, wheo he WAS accosteC
i by the Deity, who asked him if he woult
20 to heaven or continue his favorite pur
| suit of hunting. Without hesitation b,
chose the latter alternative, and he and
, his companions were doomed to a perpet
I ual hunt without repose.
!, White Ladies, Of kind very l;tferentl,
from the one associated with the roya
house Of Hohenzollern, likewise abound i,
, .he regions Of the Vogelsbcrg. On thu
Grunberg, Il mountain at the western
3 extremity Of the chain, stands an ancien
: convent, which has been converted into
Q castle, and become the habitual rcsidenc,
D Of local magistrates The unmarried sistc
D Of one Of these had sat up till nearly mid
/ night about the time of Advent, when tn,
: door Of hor room slowly opened and twelv'
+ beautiful mnidens entered, who, forming
t circle, sang the loveliest chorus ever heart
= by human ears. The young woma,
scarcely knew whether to be pleased o
Q terrified. At last she exclaimed, "This il
n q visit indeedw At these words tin
q strangers vanished, but the sound of thei
r voices without was audible for few mo
Q ments afterwards. The notion that Whit
}. Ladies are not happy, is illustrated by
4 legend connected with IN old ,casllo, u
/ which no trace ut present remains Ate
midnight, however, it roaPpe: ,s i: n. all it
!. uO"o OrlShtly A1uin'hatcu, aS IhouS5A 10
0 the celebration OF IL feast. On such oc
i casions the Young lady Of the Cas-
1 tic is sometimes visible. She is ver'
Q beautiful, and wears il snow.white dress
|, but she never speaks, and always seeme t.
z DO lamenting her past glory and prayin,
/ for future salvation.
The belief that q salvation, only to b
it acquired under tho most exceptional Gil
d cumst;.nces, is the cause alike Of hope an
n sorrow in White Lady, is moro develop
), ed in u tradition respecting IN old shcl
n herd OF Liedorbacbt who was encounterc
k one Of these strange beings. She implore
d him to work out kor salvation, and on h,
d inquiring how this was to effected, sh
is desired him to bring his little boy to tt,
r. Same spot, ut the same hour, on the 70
u lowing morning. II she gave the chill
three kisses, sho said the curse that hi
Q, heavily upon her would DO re1noved, aI
J. that she would reward the shepherd wi,
rs tho keys Of the Nuremberg, mount:li
y near the town Of Leusei, thus making hi,
'e master Of Ill the treasures which in til
u oldcn time had been buried by the Gre
of Friars.
T. The offer WAS too temptinv. and IN II