Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1878-04-11
A GHOST OF THE SIERRAS.

the dry dust of dead bark and mat
ted moses. Lying on our backs, we
looked upward through hundred feet
of clear, unbroken interval to the first
lateral branches that formed the fiat can
Opy above us. Here and there the fierce
sun, from whose active persecution We
had Just escaped, searched for us through
the woods, but its keen blade was dulled
and turned aside by intercOstal bOughs,
and its brightness dissipated in nebulous
mists throughout the roofing of the dim
brown aisles around us. We were in
another atmosphere, under another sky,
indeed in another world than the daz-
ceiling one we had just quilted. The
grave silence seemed so much part of
the grateful GOODNESS thai we hesitated
to speak, and for some moments lay
quietly outstretched on the pine tassels
where we had first thrown ourselves.
Finally voice broke the silence.
" Ask the old major; he knows all
about it p
The person here alluded to, under
that military title, was myself. hard
ly need to explain to any Californian
that it by no means followed that [ was
major" or that | was Old" or that
| knew anything about "it," or indeed
what " it, J." referred to. The whole re-
mark was merely one of the usual con-
ventional feelings to conversational
kind of social preamble, quite common
to our slangy camp intercourse. Never
theless, as | was always known as the
major, perhaps for no better reason than
that the speaker, an old Journalist, was
always called doctor, | recognized the
fact SO far as to kick aside m interven-
ing saddle so that [ could see the speak
er's face on level with my own, and
said nothing.
"About ghosts" said the doctor, after
pause, which nobody broke or was
expected to break. ''GhOsts sir.
That's what we want to know What
are we doing here in this blank old
mausoleum of Calaveras county-if
it isn't to find something about 'em,
eh?'
Nobody replied
"Thar's that haunted house at Cave
City. Can't be more than mile or two
away. anyhow. Used to be just off the
trail"
A dead silence.
The doctor, addressing space gener-
ally:
" Yes, sir; it coS mighty queer
story"
Still the same reposeful Indifference.
We all knew the doctors skill us rd-
c0UtelT; we all knew that a story was
coming; and we all knew that any in
terruption would be fatal Time and
time again, III our prospecting expert
ence, had word of polite encourage
ment, rash expression of interest, even
4 too eager attitude ofsilent expectancy,
brought the doctor to a sudden change
of subject; time and time again had we
seen the unwary stranger stand amazed
and bewildcred between our indifference
and the sudden termination of a prom
ising anecdote through his own unlucky
interference. SO we said nothing.
The Judge another instance of ar
bitrary nomenclature pretended to
sleep. Jack began to twist cigd1Yit0.
Thornton bit off the ends ofpine needles
refectively.
Yes, sir" continued the doctor, cool
~, resting the back of his head on the
palms of his hands, 1T was rather curl
Gus. All except the murder. That's
what gets me, for the murder had no
new points, no fancy touches, no senti-
ment, no mystery. Was just one ofthe
old style 'sub-head' paragraphs. Old
fashioned miner scrubs along on hard
tack and beans, and saves up little
money to 90 home and see relations
Old fashioned assassin sharpeEs up
knife, old style, loads old flintlock, brass
mounted pistol; walks in an old fashion
ed miner one dark night, sends him
home to his relations away back to sew
eral generations, and walks off with the
swag. No mystery there; nothing to
clear up; subsequent revelations only
impertinence. Nothing for any ghost
TO do-who meant business. More than
that over forty murders, same old kind,
committed every year in Calaveras, and
no spiritual post obitS coming due every
anniversary; no assessments made on
the peace and quiet of the surviving
community. tell you what, boys, I've
always been inclined to throw off on the
Cave City ghost for that alone. It's
bad precedent, sir. If that kind o'thing
is going to obtain in the Foot Hills,
we'll have the trails full of chaps former
ly knocked over by the Mexicans and
road agents; every little camp and gro
Gerry will have stock enough on hand to
go into business, and where's there any
security for surviving life and property,
Ell? What's your opinion, Judge, as
fair-minded legislator p
OF course there was no response.
Vet it was part of the doctors system of
aggravatiOn to become discursive at
these moments, in the hope of Interrupt
ton, and he continued for some mo-
ments to dwell on the terrible possibility
of state of affairs in which a gentle
man could no longer settle a dispute
with an enemy without being subjected
to succeeding spiritual embarrassment.
But all this DEPRESSION fell upon appar-
emily inattentiye ears.
We'll, sir, after the murder, the cab
in stood for a long time deserted and
tenantless. Popular opinion was against
it. One day ragged prospector, saw
age with hard labor and harder luck,
came to the camp, looking for place
to live and a chance to prospect. After
the boys had taken his measure, they
concluded that he'd already tackled so
much in the way of difficulties that
ghost more or less wouldn't be of mnch
account. So they sent him to the
haunted cabin He had big yellow
dog with him, and about as ugly and as
savage as himself, and the boys sort %
congratulated themselves, from a prac-
teal view point, that while they were
giving the old ruffian a shelter, they
were helping in the cause of christiani-
ty against ghosts and COLLINS. They