The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-02-22

Barbara the witch was the cause OF 1t.
Passing along the road she was stoned
by q party of boys, to whom she
turned, and, shaking her bony hand.
shrieked that the curse was upon them.
Two of the lads sickened and died in
a few DAYS, and though scores
were carried away in a like manner. an
especial import was attached to their
death. Barbara began to be watched.
They looked through her windows at
midnight and found her bending over a
seething caldron, throwing in herbs,
muttering cabalistic words. and stirring
the mixture with what they reported to
be a human bone. Old Barbara was
working her charms.
So when one morning a man came
into town bruised and covered with
mud. and testified that as he rode past
old Barabara's house, at twelve o'clock
the night before. he saw the Arch Fiend
and the witch in conversation upon the
house-top, surrounded by flames and
laughing Eendishly in the lurid glare as
they shook their fists at the plague
stricken village sleeping below. his tale
found ready credence. The fact that
he was an habitual drunkard. and had
on more than one occasion rolled from
his horse in drunken stupor and
passed the night in ditch, dreaming
wild dreams, did not in the least de-
tract from the belief of the villagers in
his account of this scene; and when he
related how this pair of demons had
bounced upon him. and had first tor
tured and then thrown him senseleSs
into ditch, their indignation became
uncomfortable.
Old Barbara was tried, condemned
and hanged. though she protested in
her innocence to the Last. The little
sum of money found in her possession
was used to buy that gravc-stone-as no
one would dare appropriate it-aud to
this day if any one were bold enough
to go to her grave at midnight on the
same day of the year on which she was
hanged and say: Barbara, 1 believe
you were innocent. at the same time
stretching out his hand over the grave,
she would appear to him and place in
his hand a talisman.
This taliSman would bring good fort
une as long as he retained it, but at
some time in his life the witch would
return to him and claim her own.
The old woman ended her story in a
low. impressive monotone, which, with
her earnestness and sincere belief in
what she said, almost carried convic-
ton to me in spite of reason. As l
sauntered away, ridiculing these igno-
rant and superstitious village folk, l
found myself almost unconsciously
wandering back through the old burial
ground to the witch's grave. Careless
ly glancing at the inscription, l was
surprised to find that very day was the
one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of
her death, and still more surprised
when the thought occurred to me of
watching at her grave that night. /
ridiculei and scolfed the idea. Where
was my boosted common sense and in
credulity? But. still returning ever.
came that wayward thing called fancy
and it conquered.
The world was wild and weird that
night, when stole forth from the viii
lage. The wind was moaning through
the trees and sobbing piteously; the
black clouds were driven in broken
patches across the sky. now letting
down the moonshine, and again shroud-
ing all in blacklist night, and making
the shadows chase each other about
and steal around corners upon one in a
manner that made me vince in spite
of myself. Climbing the low stone wall
rather nervously. l contest stole
away through the old. down-trodden
graves. pushing through the weeds and
briars as silently as possible, and max
ing my way towards that dark and
dreary corner where the old witch re-
posed. A grave-yard at noon is very
different spot from graveyard at mid
night, especially if one is there to seek
an interview with spirit.
1 reached the place and stood by the
tomb. 1t still lacked few minutes of
twelve, and IS l stood there watching
the moonlight fitting over the graves 1
longed for little ray to creep in with
me. But no-spproaching and receding
and wavering all about me, it never
touched this grave, but fled away as oit-
en- as it approached, as though fright-
ened at the black shadow forever lurking
there.
By and by the village clock tolled
twelve. As the slow, tremulous tones
stole out on the night the wind ceased
moaning. the clouds covered the face of
the moon. the insects stopped chirping,
and when the last stroke was flushed
the almost unbearable silence was brok-
en- only by my own breathing, which 1
strove in vain to suppress. The dark
pacc woo ;ptapco and I oopld Con Moth
ing. A terrible feeling of guilt and ter
ror seized me, that /, q mortal, should
be intruding there at such an hour.
Mechanically l strove to speak the
words had been told, but my lips re-
fused to form a sound.
Still l stood in that awful black ST.
lence. chilled with fear, until with a
mighty effort [ reached out my arm
over the grave and grasped-a hand.
1t was only for an instant not that,
for it was jerked away in twinkling-
but long enough to feel how warm and
yelvety it was and how small. Not that
l fingered there to reflect upon these
novel qualities in the hand of a ghost,
and an old witch at that, for you alto
gether mistake my bravery in suppos-
ing it; but it was after l had cleared
the old wall at bound and was on the
moonlit road, walking at a rafting good
pace towards town, that 1 recalled it.
From q state of intense cold 1 had
changed to burning heat. The touch
of those soft fingrs thrilled me through
as with an electric shock, and l walked
faster still in my excitement. Gradually
the consciousness forced itself upon me
that ! held something in my cienched