Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1874-05-07
To the Editor Of The .am,rican :

10 me Edu0r OF he dm>ricGn -
Your neighbour with an outlandl.h
name over at East Surry asks for nforms-
ton, but as he Is neither rel gious nor po-
iiiical and my story is both. send 1t
TO you. There Is room for it in the waste
basket If no where else
Just forty-iive years ago (at the age OF
sixteen years. came into this town with
a wagon load of tin-ware for sale. and
put up at the farmhouse of Richard Con-
don Tor home over the Sabbath.
Condor had two sons at home, Robert
one year my senior. Alfred Que year nv
junior, consequently a. was between the
two. my place was In the middle OF the bed
81 bedtime / had become somewhat shep-
teal as TO personal devil. going through
the earth and walking up and down In IL.
My bed fellows had full faith In his majesty
warm time we had of It, Three ia a
bed. on Al April night to take care of.o
warm person, AS his Holiness.
First shot from Robert then from Al
fred, and then such defence
The confab finally closed with q ciincher.
Alfred agreed to take me the next day, on
the mountain and show me his Satanic
Msjesty's tracks. Sunday morning We
started aud Alfred did as he had promised.
| WAS shown the track made apparently by
foot sinking into the solid granite eight
Inches; q short distance westerly was a
track rs OF horses f,nt .l.n suuk Il, III.
solid granite about the same depth, and
then came history OF the tramp. Afler
leaving Brooksvlle the old fellow stepped
across the water on an Island-Alfred Knew
where-and then on tn The shore OF the
maine laud in RockiAnd AID 80 wcnt West
Tbs only amused me in my unbelief EN-
joyed the story we'll.
Two months later | was on the same
road, there had been = storm. the road WAS
bad, | had given my morse his own way.
and was plodding behind the wagon on
foot as the sun was sinking. and thinking
over the conversation at Condou'S.
The road passed within 4 few rods OF
the tracks.
When within forty rods of She track, q.
8 crevice in the road. was startled ty the
sudden appearance of,-what shall I call
1t! an object six feet six inches id height
upon whose face never razor had been laid
barehe AIDED, with nothing TO cover his
nakedness but a canvass shirt coming half
way from his hips TO his knees. his feet
were long, but his toes were longer
than my fingers. aud his fingers
were twice a long a mine; the sleeves of
his shirt only came 10 his elbows and I'M
der one arm he had . half dozen dead trees
which he had broken from their stumps,
these he was dragging. under one arm.
while TO me he stretched out the other.
(a muscular limb) with the only sound,
bacca.
Twas At orce convicted and converted.
This was his majesty takiu. his back
tracks. | WAS frightened though, think
my hair stood on end, the pedilor was
par aIyzed.
Guessing what was meant l answered,
had no tobacco, and strange to'say WAS
let alone. while the object Of my terror
went East.
Ipassed over the mountain to Timothy
Condon's for the night, and amer tea told
what . strange being h I'd met. when they
informed me it was Joseph Kench. A
non-composmextis aged about forty years,
born on the mountain. and had always
ran 1t large. l saw Joseph eften after
wards without alarm. ana in time fell
from grace. CIV. N.