The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-08-17


with rifles cooked fhey stssted fnE him. tte
waa, john said, 81 ting ina small bunch %
5rfer. PUSHES, antf from this bfier- bush nov
came the stones. The briS patch was sur:
rounded, rushed upon will clubs and stones,
and John saw the old Man enter another
patch. This patch was surrounded, but With
the same effect. Sometimes affer coming
from q patch he would enter smother few
feet away, sometimes clear across The fleld.
Alfday Sunday the search went on, but with.
out success. Most OF the gentlemen were
determined to show that there was nothing
supernatural in the affair, so the search went
on much in the same manner Monday morn
ing. & ~
But they were upon this day destined to
be more successful, and get further vastly
further-from the solution Of this strange,
wonderously strange, affair. From brier heap
to brier heap we chased, on this Monday
morning, the boys troupler. he was here.
there, nowhere, but always hurling stones at
John. But finally ne was suddenly visible to
all parties,
AS John pointed him out in brier-patcb,
the party looked and there could be plainly
seen an old. old man. He was dressed APP
parently in blue pants and shirt Of 6ne-lO0k-
ing material. He was hstless, but bis long
white flowing beard and hair hung in pro.
fusion around his shoulders and over his
breast. His face was pale, and yet bright;
eyes clear and sharp, and black as the night,
shining even in the midday sun like the
morning star.
He was ordered to surrender, but he made
no move. From him towards the boy the
stones came, but not apparently thrown by
the old man, being thrown, as it were, by
him without move or On effort. Again,
and yet again, he was ordered 10 surrender,
but no word he spoke. The party closed
upon him, but he was off like deer, bound
ing over the ground, scarce touching it, al
most as bird flies. John followed closely,
aud seemed imbued with an unknown fleet
ness, for he easily kept at the old mans side,
while the balance of the party, running with
all their might, were lett far in the rear.
Again the strange creature entered patch Of
briers, but was not again visible to any save
the boy. Again be was run out, again he
entered another brierpatch, and so the chase
went on. But once more during the day
was this strange being visible 10 his pur-
Suers.
Like the first time he was IN brier-patch
and visible to all parties. But this time it
was determined to shoot him. AS he was
closed upon, ordered several times to surren-
der but spoke not word, one OF the party
then took deliberate aim with his trusty rifle
and fired He arose apparently unhurt, and
as be did so another OF the party shot, but
he bounded off again as swift as the wind.
The two meu went to reload their rifles, but
uron neither of them was there lock, both
having fallen off.
The pursuit went on the balance of the
day, but not again was the pursued visible
to the pursuers. On Tuesday the chase was
again resumed. but with the same unsatis-
factory results.
But on this morning one of the party hap
pened to mention to another that there
seemed always to run lrom the brier-patch q
smoke. They noticed more particularly,
and found that never had they failed TO run
from the hding-place Of the unseen old man
q huge smoke. But this was soon changed,
and from each brier-patch went forth an In
dian hen, bird plentiful in that country.
This Indian hen would be driven from the
briers, and would go flying up through the
arr, alight in another patch, and from there
the stones would come.
On Tuesday evening, July 31st, the search
was abandoned, having been carried on for
three days. On that evening John, now
weak and emaciated, wasted away to a
shadow of his former self, was sent away
from home, and had not up to yesterday re-
turned.
This ends the history. If there is any
thing strange about it do not ask me for i
solution. ! have laid before you the tacls,
nothEg more, and you must draw your own
differences. 1, for my part, have come to no
conclusion. 1 know the above story to be
true, as each name above givenis vel! known
in Wetzel, and precludes the possibility Of
any fraud or error. NosIDDA.