American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-03-20
A STRANGE DREAM.STORY.

There is an inexplicable story-which
believe has never been published
among the traditions of the fertile hill
country of Western Pennsylvania, the
most unlikely quarter in the world to
serve as a breeding place Of mystery.
1t was settled almost wholly by well-tO-
do farmers from the North of Ireland,
economical, Woodworking folk-God-
fearing too, after the exact manner
described by John Knox, and having
little patience with any other manner.
Not a likely people, assuredly, to give
credence to any fanciful supcrstitions,
and still less to originate them. This
story indeed, has bold, matter-o f-fact
character in every detail which quite
sets it apart from relations of the super
natural. l have never heard it ex-
planned, and it is the best authenticated
mystery in my knowledge.
Here it is in brief: Among the Scotch
Irish settlers in Washington County in
1872 was family named Plymire, who
occupied comfortable farm and house.
Rachel, the daughter, was engaged to
young farmer of the neighborhood. On
Saturday evening in July, having
finished her weeks work, she dressed
herself tidily and started to visit her
about five miles distant, intending to
return Monday morning. She tied up
her Sunday gown and hat in a check
cred handkerchief, and carried her
shoes and stockings in the other hand,
meaning to walk in her bare feet and to
put them on when she came in sight of
her destination, after the canny Scotch
fashion. She left home about O'Clock
in order to have the cool evening
for her walk. The road to the farm was
lonely and unfrequented. The girl did
not return home on Monday, but on
alarm was felt, as the family thought
her sister would probably wish to detain
her for a few days; and it was not until
the latter part of the week that it was
found that she had never been at her
sisters. The country was secured, but
in vain; the alarm spread, and excited a
degree of terror in the peaceable, do
nestle community, which would seem
inexplicable to city people, to whom the
newspaper has brought budget of
crime every morning since their child
hood. To children raised in those lone
ly hamlets and hill murder was n
far-off, unreal horror; usually all that
they knew of it was from the doings of
Cain and Jael, set off with hideous
WOOu-CutS Tic ldIlliy
The girl had left home on Saturday
at seven O'Clock. That night long be-
fore ten O'Clock Farmers go to bed with
County, about forty miles from the Ply
mire farm, awoke her husband in great
terror, declaring that she had just seen
a murder done, and went on to describe
a place she had never seen bcfore-a
hill country with n wagon-road running
through it, and girl with a bundle tied
in checkered handkerchief, her shoes
and white stockings in the other hand
walking briskly down the grassy side of
the road. She was met by a young man
the woman judged from theft manner
the meeting was by appointment; they
sat down on log and talked for some
time.
The man at last rose, stepped behind
her and drawing out hatchet struck
her twice on the head. She fell back
ward to the wet, rotten leaves dead.
Presently the man was joined by anoth-
or, also young, who asked: els it
done?" He NODDED, and together they
lifted the body and carried it away out
of her sight. After n while they came
back, found the bundle of Sunday finery
and the shoes and stockings, all of which
were stained with blood. There was a
ruined old mill near the road; they
went into it, lifted loose board in the
| flooring, put the bundle, shoes, ETC.,
with the Ratchet, underneath, and re-
placed the board. Then they separated
and went through the woods in differ
ent directions. The farmers wife told
her dream to her husband that night !;
the next day Sunday, going to a little
country church she remained during
the intcrmission between the morning
and afternoon services. The neighbOrs
| who had come from a circuit of twenty
miles to church, gathered, according to
their hOmely habit, in the churchyard
| to cat their lunch and exchange the
| news. Our dreamer told her story
again and again, for she was impressed
by it as if it had been reality. After the
afternoon service the congregation sep
! arated, going to their widely-scattered
| homes. There were thus many wit
nesses to certify to the fact that the
| woman had told the dream the morning
after the murder was committed at a
| distance of forty miles, when it was alb
| solutely impossible that the news should
have reached her. There were no tele-
graphs, we must remember, and no
railways in those days, not even mail
carriers in those secluded districts.
When the story of the girls disap-
pearance was told over the country at
the end of the next week, the people to
whom the dream had been repeated re-
called it. Nowadays the matter would
only serve as good material for the re-
porters, but the men of those days still
believed that God took an oversight
even of their dreams. Might not this
be hint from HimP The Rev. Charles
Wheeler, a Baptist clergyman of Wash
| ington, well known in Western Penn
| sylvania and Virginia a generation ago,
| and Ephraim Blaine, Esq, a magistrate,
father of the present Senator from
Maine, and as popular man in his
narrower circle, drove over to see the
woman who had told the dream. With
| out stating their purpose, they took her
and her husband, on pretense of bust
ness, to the Plymire farm. 1t was the
first time in her life that she had left
her own country, and she was greatly
amused and interested. They drove
over the whole of the road down which
Rachel Plymire had gone.
"Have you ever seen this neighbor
hood?" one of them asked.
Never" she replied.
That ended the matter, and they
turned back, taking a little-used cross
road to save time. Presently the woman
started up in great agitation, crying:
This is the place 1 dreamed of"
They assured her that Rachel Plymire
had not been upon that road at all 81
knew nothing about her, she said,
"but the girl saw in my dream came
al