The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1880-03-12

agreed to go and investigate the matter.
They took the biggest boy to show 'em
the way. The little one was too scared.
He didn't ever want to 60 into the
woods again, he said.
"Well, there in the swamp they found
the furriner. He was dead, of course.
They guessed that he must have shot
himself with his own gun, by
an accident, for there was the
gun beside him, bowed into two
pieces; but nobody knew. Only they
saw that he had been dead good while.
The men came back to the village to git
more help; and then they all went up
the hill together to the house. It looked
dreadful lonely like, as if nobody had
been there for months. The first thing
they see was the skeletons of two dogs
tied under window at the side. Starved
to death, poor creeturs! They was lying
with their heads thrown back, as if they
had died .a-howling for help. It was a
shocking sight; but there was worse in
side the house." ~
Aunt Bina made dramatic pause.
"Oh! 60 on!" gasped Milly, breath
lessly. "What was it?''
"In little bedroom off the kitchen
they found q woman. She was dead,
too. She was lying in bed, with her hair
all falling over the pillow, and abottle
of physic and spoon beside her on q
little table, and pitcher of water on
the floor; and she was sort of reaching
out of the bed after the water. sup
pose the poor thing had just lain there
and pinned away for want of help. Itwas
under her window that the dogs was
tied. fused to think" continued Aunt
Bina, with shudder, chow those dogs
howls must have sounded to her, if she
lived long enough to hear 'em, poor
creetur! aj s..l u
"Well, the Coroner. came, and they
buried all on 'em; and the Selectmen
advertised in the city papers, to see if
they could find ont any thing about the
furriner. But they couldn't, and after
a while the furnitoor was sold at
vendue, and what it fetched was given
to the town poor. The house was
cleaned and left open all summer; but
nobody wanted to live in it, and nobody
did live in it for more'n five years. At
last the owner Zone of the Stanway's
darters' husbands I guess hewas) wrote
on to let the place for nothin' to any
person who would use it and take away
the bad name it had got; for, you see,
all sorts of stories had been raised
against the house. Folks said that
lights were seen there of nights and
dogs were heard bowling; and the boys
wouldn't drive their cows that side of
the swamp, they were so afraid of the
place." .-~ q 1
Milly had grown pale and her lips
trembled. aa - ,.,.
"Oh! John, you won't think of taking
it! Will you?'' she said, in a pleading
tone. '>
"Don't be goose!''. was the reas-
surfing answer. $50 on, Aunt Sa-
bina.n f' .s4usl
"Well, it was just then that those
folks l was a-telling you of was think
ing of getting married. He was MIR.
Thomas's hired man over to the Farms
and his sweetheart, she'd been a ivin'
out up to Canaan for quite spell. Both
of 'em had saved little money, and
when they heard of this house, with a
barn and an orchard and three acres of
a-goin' for nothin', it
seemed to them fine chance. He was
a strong, hearty fellow, and didn't care
for ghosts; SO he snapped at the offer,
and notified Ephraim Buell., who had
the lettin' of the place, that he accepted
it and stood ready to move in the first
of June. Plenty of folks warned him
but he didn't mind word they said.
Only he warned them, in return, not to
say one word to his girl. He didn't
want silly notions put into her head, he
told 'em. So they got married and
moved in; and the woman-she didn't
know nothin' at all about the house,
except that it was a lonesome place and
the neighbors didn't like it, and that that
was the reason it went for nothin'. Not
q soul said a word to her about the
furriner or the dead woman; and that
made what happened all the curioser.
"They moved in one bright June
morning. The apple trees was all in