The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-10-22

NoDANA AlG AOlA ANNhAANNAN hANaaAA 80
evening costume, lounging upon a sofa
in the drawing room, with an easy air OF
socially entertaining large party. Not
withstanding this the house was unmis-
takably vacant that night, save for the
presence of the owner, as the witness
afterward testified. When this story
was first related, a few practical men
suggested the theory that Mr.. Hawkins
was simply drilling himself in the elabo-
rate duties of hospitality against a prob
able event in his history. A few ven
tured the belief that the house was
haunted; the imaginate editor of the
Five Forks Record evolved from the
depths of his professional consciousness
story that Hawkinss sweetheart had
died, and that he regularly entertained
her spirit in this beautifully furnished
mausoleum. The occasional spectacle of
Hawkins's tall figure pacing the yeRnda
on moonlight nights lent some credence
to this theory, until an unlocked for ac-
cident diverted all speculation into an
other channel.
1t was about this time that a certain
wild, rude valley in the neighhorhood of
Five Forks had become famous as pic
turesuue resort. Travellers had visited
it, and declared that there were more
cubic yards of rough stone cliff and a
waterfall of greater height than any
they had visited. Correspondents had
written ii up in extravagant rhetoric and
inordinate poetic quotation; men and
women who had never enjoyed a sunset
tree or fower-who had neverappre-
ciated the graCiousness or meaning Of
the yellow sunlight that fiecked their
homely doorways, or the tenderness of
midsummer's night, to whose moonlight
they barred their shirt sleeves or their
dresses-came from thousands of miles
away to calculate the height ofthis rock,
to observe the depth of this chasm, to
remark upon the enormous size of this
unsightly tree, and to believe with inef-
fable self.complacency, that they really
admired nature. And so it came to pass
that, in accordance with the tastes or
weaknesses of the individual, the more
prominent or salient points of the val
ley were christened, and there was a
"Lace Handkerchief Fall" and the
Tears of Sympathy Cataract" " and one
distinguished orators Peak, and sew
eral "Mounts" of various noted people
living and dead, and an Exclamation
Point" apd "Nalley of Silent Adora-
ton" And in the course of time empty
soda-water bottles were found at the
base of the cataract, and greasy news
papers and fragments of ham sand
wiches lay at the dusty roots of giant
trees. With this were frequent irrupt-
ions of Closely-shaven and tightly-Crav-
ated men, and delicate, tlOwer-hced wo-
men in the long street OF Five Forks,
and sCampering of mules, and an oc-
casional procession of dusty brown-linen
cavalry.
A year after "Hawkins's Idiot Asy-
lum" was completed, one day there
drifted into the valley riotous cayal-
cade of "school-marms,' teachers of the
San Francisco public schools, out for a
holiday. Not severely-spectacled Mi
nervas and chastely armed and mailed
Pallases, but, fear for the security of
Five Forks, very human, charming and
mischievous young women. At least, so
the men thought, working in the bitches
and tunneling on the hillside; and
when, in the interests of science and the
mental advancement of Juvenile Pos
terity, it was finally settled that they
should stay in Five Forks two or three
| days for the sake of visiting the various
mines; and particularly the Blazing
Star" tunnel, there was some hutter of
masculine anxiety. There was con-
siderable inquiry for store clothes" a
hopeless overhauling of old and disused
raiment and a general demand for
"boiled shirts" and the barber.
Meanwhile, with that supreme audac-
ity and impudent hardihood of the sex
when gregarious, the school-marms
rode through the town, admiring openly
the handsome faces and manly figures
that looked up from the bitches or rose
behind the cars of ore at the mouths of
tunnels. Indeed, il is alleged that Jenny
Forester backed and supported by
seven other equally shameless young
women, had openly and publicly waved
her handkerchief to the florid Hercules
of Five Forks-one Tom Flynn, former
ly of Notwithstanding that gOod-na-
tured but not overnight giant pulling
his blonde mustaches in bashful amaze
ment.
1t was a pleasant June afternoon that
Miss Nelly Arnot principal of the pri-
mary department Of one of the public
schools of San Francisco, having eyaded
her companions, resolved to put into
operation plan which had lately sprung
up in her courageous and mischief-lov-
ing fancy. With that wonderful and
mysterious instinct of her sex, from
whom no secrets Of the affections are
hid and to whom all hearts are idopen,
she had heard the story of Hawkinss
folly and the existence of the Idiot
Asylum" Alone, on Hawkins's hill, she
had determined to penetrate its seclu-
sion. Skirting the underbrush at the
foot of the hill, she managed to keep
the heaviest timber between herself and
the Blazing Star" tunnel at its base,
as well as the cabin Of Hawkins, half
way up the ascent, until, by circuitous
route, at last she reached unobserved
the summit. Before her rose, silent,
darkened and motionless, the object OF
her search. Her courage failed her, with
all the characteristic in consequence OF
her sex. A sudden fear Of all the dan
gers she had safely passed-bears, tar
antulas, drunken men and lizards-came
upon her. For moment, as she after
wards expressed it, "She thought she
should die" With this belief, probably
she gathered three large stones, which
she could hardly lift, for the purpose Of
throwing a great distance; put two hair
pins in her mouth, and carefully adjust
ed with both hands two stray braids Of
her lovely blue-black name, which had
fallen in gathering the stones. Then
she felt in the pockets of her linen dus-
ter for her card-case, handkerchief
pocket-book and smelling-bottle, and
finding them intact, suddenly assumed
an air of easy, lady-like uneoncern, went
up the steps of the front yeranda, and
demurely pulled the dOor-bell, which
she knew would not be answered. At
ter decent pause, she walked around
| the encOmDassinp yeranda. examining