The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1875-02-10

come aFOunO the nGItS ffltt CndT.
: 1infg4i about wliar the peddlero was
{ fbufied-th though ther aintP no sign oi
t the grave; I know it was aboutlthar
F-I seed a1iglIt. My haF riz on end,
! shoFe for Ilexpected' to see the ped
4 aleF hiuself with lathe holess i'm his
for head, a totin' the light. didn't
= Hkdow what toadoJ L was afeard to
turn back, becaze ghosts allus fell0s
when yoh turn your back on 'em, so
J ! / thought ! would jest go forrads !;
and I did, with the sweat q drippin'
off my face, and me feelIn' terrible
weak in the knees, And when |
gets IeetIe nearer what do you
reckon I seen !? Why them two men
I a digginS in the side o the hill. Soon
Il as they seed me, they put the light
font and stopped diggin' and stood
stock still tell passed and I ten
I you done it in a hurry, too, shore.
a'Now, Coon, - said the Judge, put
ting on the appearance OF an exam
liner sshadn's you been drinking a:
tlittleT Tsygos smoslnai vlsrr 9 3 3o9iz
~ ssrSot a Drop" replied Coon. 81.
1 wasVas sober as lam this minute :
I and IsteH5ye / ,saW5it, shores'' .ssa-
i = This narration of Coon's revived
the subject of the mystery of the
/ Morse farm. which was beginning to
become exhausted, and added an i'm
petus to the tongues of the gossips.-
The excitement became fearful
when day or two afterwards Tom
Crouch gave in his testimony after
this manner: .--e- s
s'' Pears to me thar's mighty quar-
things goin' on up, at the old Morse
farm. was passin' along by thar
last night, me and my son Sam 1--WE
was out nossum huntin'). and as
we came by the old house, the ell
part looked like it was on fire al
most. 1 thought it was at first, only
| it was such a quar- kind of light.
It 'peared, to me to be as red as
blood. and Sam says he heerd kind
Of hlowIn' sound in thar, but the
wind had come up so high it might
O. been that he heered. But the
Ii ght was thar on the winfowe. r
stopped and looked at it for a good
little bit, but couldn't make out
anything about it st ALL
Whereupon Tom went through a
close cross examination. conducted
by the Judge and others, through
which he told-tIle same story, scarce
iy varying in the slightest particu
lar. 1
The story was not left to rest
here, but from being repeated again.
and again had increased in marvel.
Fonsness until the strangest rumors
were afoat in regard to the old house 4
and it's singular occupants. So wild
were the stories and so blended with
the supernatural. that the simple
minded of the neighborhood became
so imbued with dread as to shun the
vicinity of the place after nightfalI, |
and nothing could have induced |
them to enter the old house, which
they considered as given over to the |
evil one. t. !
Thus matters continued until the |
year deepened into midwinter. !
Early one morning two wood-cut- |
tiers. going TO their labor in the I
woods. heard loud explosion at or
near the old place, and in a few min
utes after they were met by Rufus t
Grinder, who was running excitedly |
towards them.
$50 for doctor, quick, quick"
he exclaimed AIR. Rathburn was /
blown up while blasting out a rock.
/ am afraid he is already dear" /"
One of the men made all dispatch
to procure the nearest physician,
while the other taking an oppositei
direction, told every one that bel
chanced to. meet of the accident |
which had befallen George Rath.
burn and by the time the physician
had arrived he found a crowd OF Gu
rions men standing around the bed. +
on which lay something wan and
blood-stained. with fragments Of
stone thickly sprinkled over the face.
over it leaned Rufus Grinder, bath.
ing and caressing, oh so tenderly, a
face scarcely more white than his
own s
!" Whatever the tie. either of guilt
or confidence. between those two
men, certainly the living heart
-throbbed with tender love over the
one almost unstirring. L
70 All efforts at resuscitation were
unavailing. George Sathburn re-
mained in a state of unconscious.
mess, gradually sinking for several
hours. until death at last ended the
strnggle--so fearful--of life and
death c0istending for victory.
Then. of course, epsued an inquest
OF the coroner, at which all that had
before been hidden in the conduct
of the occupants of the desolated
and barren place was brought to
tight. The digging at night, the
blasting, the strange lights in the di
lapidated ell all we're Explained.
AT the inquest. Rafns -Grinder
(the only person present who was at
all acquainted with the antecedents
of the deceased) testified that George
Rathhurn had been 3 ehemist and
mineralogist. He had formed the
idea that gold. in its original state,
is contained in limestone in achlorid
form, and that. If he could discover
any rethod of separsting the metal
from the other substance, he could
thereby realize 4 fortune which
would equal, possibly exceed. the
millions of Rothsehild. 81.
Continually haunted by this
thonght. and impressed with the
idea. somehow acquired. that hei
could succeed more fully by expert
menting in Kentucky limestone. he
left his native State (Massaehasetts)
for the purposeo of prospecting /
In his wanderings through Ken
lucky. he had passed the Morse