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

Ing home, he told the story t. his grand
father. he was somewhat mortified to per.
ccivc that he had caused u" sensation.
"Ah," said the good man, "no doul,
you have met Tho Wild iIunts,,nn: that
Just his way Familiarity had bred con
tempt.
Shepherds. it has been observed, hay,
sharper eyes for spectrcs than any othe
class OF tho community. On tho owe o
ono Advent Sunday, i'll the vicinity .f III,
V"gelsbcrg, an old shepherd perceived :
man with in enormous dog w.lkin. II,
and >wn tho skirts Of tho tvrcst.
Whence do you come ?" lie asked.
"From up yonder, was tho reply
"Where does this lead p
"To the WetterIuus.u
Tho conversation would probably have
proceeded further had not the shepherd.
dog crept betweer his masters legs. an,
uttered Il dismal howl. Knowing thai
wltero ghosts arc co,,cerncd dfys are
sharper even than shepi hvds, the OF n al
re. entered his hut, and closed Tic door.
But no still heard the call, Shepherd
shcphcrd!" till it faded away in tho dis
lance.
Near McrIau, town at the Western,
foot Of tho Vogeisberg, is Il forest called
the Linnes, in which the manifestations Of
the Wild Huntsmans visitations arc OK
cepti"nally conspicuous. There, on tn,
morning after one Of his usual rides, til,
hares that he had taken were found hang
ing from the summits Of the trees. Ol
ono particular pathway through the forest
il moro profitable discovery might be
made on the Same day. From Il particula,
tree hung huge pair Of trunk hose, and
some of tho passers.by heard voice
crying, "Brush mo down! brush me
downW lie who obeyed this command
and, when his task was done, put hit
hand into hi spocket, was sure to find Il
silver dollar Of uncommon weight, neithc,
more or less. No awkward compact was
implied in the acceptance Of tho coin, no,
did it bring the owner into disrcputc witt
his neighbors,the dollars bein" consider cd
IL fair payment for Il job honestly done
Nay. only persons born on lucky d.,
were able TO perform the required service
Less fortunate wights, who heard the
call, were compelled to remain staring al
the hose, and could not pursue their Jour
ncy till these had vanished.
10 Il girl Of Michelbach, Il place in tho
same district, the wild IIunts,nan oonde.
scended to show himself in remarkable
manner, not at nj ght but at noon. She
was on her way to the field, where, by
her fathers order, she was to cut tho corn
aud suddenly heard tho usual sound OF
whips and horses, but, whereas the dark,
ness was always exchanged for light
during tho nocturnal chases, light was on
this occasion turned into darkness. The
whole hunt then became visible. 4 flock
of ravens, VIGOROUSLY tho birds Of Odin
led tho way, then followed the twelve
white hounds, and among :hem was the
veritablo Wild Huntsmln, clad in green
mounted on u tall horse, and-witfOut q
head.
Sometimes the Wild lIuntsman WIS
fond Of playing practical jokes on the
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, aud had moth
ing but dry bread to eat, asked him on his
passage to fling to them Il piece of cheese
An enormous lump Of the desired article
fell down before them, but it appealed So
torcibly to their noses that it never found
its way to their mouths. Another trick,
much moro malicious than droll, was play
cd Oh girl who was tending cattle near Il
+ wood. A tall huntsmln suddenly stool
before her, and asked her il: sho had see1
his white goose. On hearing her answer
in the negative, he snatched up IL calf II.
r readily as if it had weighed only couple
OF ounces, sprang into tho forest, and
after /. short Interval. returned with til,
Calf entirely stripped Of its hair. "l'hor,
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 w
have always been tau ght to regard as d
miracle OF impiety and presumption, Was
according to the uessian legend, lying up
on his death bed, whea he was lccOsted
by the Deity, who asked him if he would
20 to heaven or continue his iavorite pur
suit of hunting. Without hesitation he
chose the latter alternative, AMI he and
his companions were doomed to !; perpct.
ual hunt without rcpose.
White Ladies', ofh kind very differently
from the ono associated witt, tho royal
house Of Hohenz"llern, likewise abound il,
.he regions Of the Vogelsbcrg. On the
Grunberg, mountain at the western
extremity Of the chain, stands in ancient
convent, which has been converted into Il
castle, and become the h;lbilual residence
Of local mo gistratcs Tho unmarried sister
Of one Of these had sat up till nearly mid
night about the time Of Advent, when the
door other room slowly opened and twelve
beautiful maidens entered, who, forming Il
circle, sang the loveliest chorus ever heard
by human ears. The young woman
scarcely knew whether to be pleased or
terrified. At last she exclaimed, "rhis il
u visit indeedw At these words the
strangers vanished, but the sound of their
voices without was audible for il few mo.
ments afterwards. The notion that White
Ladies' are not happy, is illustrated by i.
legend connected with IN old ,c;as4lc, vi
which no trace 1T present remains. After
midnight, however, it rcappcars in I'LL its
pristine magniticence, and With it's win
dows brightly illuminated, rs though for
the celebration OF IL feast. On suci, Oc-
casions the Young lady Of the Cas-
tic is sometimes visible. She is very
beautiful, and wears i. snow.wlnte dress
but she never speaks, and always seem, t'
be lamenting her past glory and praying
Tor future salvation.
The belief that u salvation, onlv to be
acquired under tho most exceptional cir
cun'stances, is the cause alike Of hone and
sorrow in White Lacy, is moro develop
ed in Il tradition respecting IN old sl,cI,
herd Of Liedorbacht who was encountered
one OF these str;.nge beings. She imploret
him to work out kcr salvation, and on Iii
inquir;ng how this was to effected, sh,
J desired him to bring his little boy to til,
s;.mo spot, ut tho Same hour, on tho fol
) lowing morning. II she gave the chile
three kisses, shc said the curse that lai,
. heavily upon her would bo removed, a,I,
that sho would reward the shepherd will
the keys Of the Nuremberg, a mount,i,
: near the town Of Leusel, thus making h,
} master Of Ill the treasures which in tbt
"ldcn time had been buried BY tho Gre,
Frars.
The offer was too tempting, and on tn,
following morning tho shepherd wa
accompanied by his little boy At abou