The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1884-11-28
SPRING. -HEELED JACK.
[All the Year Round.l

kept IN constant state OF terror by man,
who, under various DISCUSSES would suddenly
appear before the unsuspecting pedestrian,
and, after having nearly frightened the
traveller out of his or her senses, would az
suddenly disappear with terrible bounds,
leaving the impression upon his affrighted
victim that his satanic m ajesty had conde-
scended to pay him visit in person. Even
ing was the time generally chosen by this &C.
centric character for his exploits and,
doubtless, there are many living who can
recollect the pang Of fear which shot
through their hearts when, leaping from
some dark corner, out Of doorway, or over
hedge, he stood before them.
Who this singular being was, or what the
true object Of his escapades, can only be left
to conjecture, as be was never captured: GER
tain it is, that robbery was not the motive,
for he was never known to take a single coin
from his victims, even when fright had rem
dered them an easy prey, nor did he often
practice any other degree Of cruelty, beyond
soaring them, which, however, was quite
sufficient, as In some instances the sufferers
never thoroughly recovered the shock to their
nerves.
The only surmise as to his identity that
was ever hazarded was that he was the mar
quis of Waterford-then famous as q ring
leader In all that savored of fun or frolic, but
not shadow Of truth could be ever adduced
in support Of this theory. The more gen.
eral belief appears to have been that there
were several persons concerned in the affair;
that they were members Of high families,
and that the cause of their pranks was
bet OF 5000 pounds sterling that they would
procure the death Of not less than thirty
human beings, apportioning them with nice
discrimination as follows: Eight old bachel-
ors, ten old maids, and six iady's maids, and
as many servant girls as they could, trusting
that by depriving them Of their reason they
would accelerate their deaths This is, of
course, incredible, but the chief clerk Of the
Mansion house police court, in a letter to the
newspapers, said it was so reported to a COM
mites that was formed by the lord mayor
for the purpose of tracking and prosecuting
the sccundrels
1t is difficult to assign the exact locality
which gave birth to this extraordinary freak,
either side Of the Thames claiming the dis
tinction: some ayerring that it.was at Ham,
mersmith, Others again that 1t was Barnes.
The most trustworthy accounts give the palm
to the latter village.
1t was the latter end Of 1887, at Barnes,
that the ghost made its first appearance in
the shape Of a large white bull, attacking
several persons, more particularly women,
many of whom suffered most severely from
the fright. At East Sheen, in the form Of
. white bear, the alleged spirit carried on
similar gambols. His ghostship then ex-
tended his operations to the town renowned
for "maids Of honor" and in the course of a
few days all Richmond was aghast at the
tales of women being frightened to death
and of children being torn to pieces by him.
The search after the unearthly visitant was
here becoming too warm for him, and he
shifted the scene Of his labors to Ham, Kings
ton AMI Hampton, at which latter place he
was seen, clad in armor Of brass with spring
shoes, and largo claw-like gloves, but being
hotly pursued he scaled the walls of
Bushey park and vanished. 1edding-
ton, Twickenham and Hounslow, all had
stories to tell Of his appearance, and in Sion
Park, the seat Of the duke Of Northumber-
land many and fearful were the injuries said
to have been inflicted by him. At Isleworth
q carpenter was seized at IL o'clock at night
and most numerically beaten by the ghost,
who was attirsd in polished steel armor, with
red shoes, etc. It must be noted what an
exceedingly varied wardrobe this sprite must
have had, rendering 1t very difficult, one
would think, for him to move, with such ex-
tensive properties, with alacrity from place
70 place.
The neighborhood Of Uxbridge was the
next scene Of his pranks, and he approached
the metropolis through Hanwell, Brentford
and Ealing, in which last place he was seen
In steel armor, striking terror into the in.
mates Of the various schools located there, and
frightening the blacksmith Of the village sc
completely as to force him to keep his bed
In consequence Of the shock he sustained. Al
Hammersmith he found determined oppo-
nent in the shape Of a valorous laundress, to
whom he appeared in the form Of an i'm.
mense baboon, six feet high, with enormous
eyes, and arms of an extensive length; and
in strict keeping with his animal appearance,
he grunted like a hyena. This courageous
woman, after an Intellectual attempt to avoid
her uncanny visitor, determined to give him
battle, and flew at him with such fury that
he was glad to give up the contest. Even
the royal precincts of kensington palace did
not escape from his visits, children having
seen the unearthly being dancing by moon
light on the palace green, and ever and anon
scaling the walls Of the royal forcing house.
In consequence Of the panic attending
these exaggerated stories, the police had
strict orders to investigate their truth, but
were unable, in the majority Of cases, to
trace any person who had really seen the
npparition. That there was mischief afoot,
however, was clearly shown by the applica-
tions at the Mansion house and other police
courts for protection.
At Peckham he caused the greatest alarm
Judging by letter to the lord mayor from
a resident there), appearing in a new charac-
ter as a spectre, and soaring out Of her
senses, amongst others, an unfortunate
servantgirl who opened door to him; and
the writer also said that seven ladies had
been reduced to the same unhappy state
through fright at the awful apparition.
Letters poured into the Mansion house from
all parts Of London, showing how universal
YVES the terror which had been inspired by
this masquerading miscreant. Several per-
sons, more especially women, were in
jured bodily in many instances by
the claws with which he appears to
have armed his hands, and Ii one
writer may be believed, several deaths on
the south side of London had been caused by
the shock his appearance had giver. A letter
from st. Johns wood stated that for whole
fortnight that neighborhood had been IA
vored with Spring g-heeled Jacks attentions;
he sometimes appearing as q bear, and
sometimes clad In mail This correspondent
asserted that the bet, which was supposed
to be the cause Of these pranls, was that the
monster should kill six women in some given
time.
That his appearance was calculated to up
set even the stoutest-hearted must be ad-
mitted, for the lord mayor himself, though
much inclined to be skeptical, acknowledged
that he had been given to understand on un-
doubted authority, that in the vicinity Of
Forest hill, where he resided, one of the fe-
male servants of gentleman who lived near
his house had been terrified into fits by the
sudden appearance Of a figure clad In q
bears skin, which, upon being drawn aside,
exhibited the human body, with long horns
--emblematical Of Satan himself clad In Q
suit Of mail.
1.-THE aghostp did not disdain to avail him
self Of material means Of conveyance oc
casionally, AZ b shown by letter to The
Morning Herald, Jan 10, 1888, from "A Resi-
dent on Paddington Green" who stated thai
he had seen, close to his house, figure clad
In white, closely pursued by two men, and,
after smart chase, this matter-of-fact ap
partition jumped into. cabriolet, and was
driven out Of the reach Of his would-be cap
torn
A committee was formed at the Madison
house in January, 1893, for tina purpose Of re
ceiving subscriptions, and to decide upon the
best means Of capturing this uneasy spirit.
and Of whiting IL with the punishmeut which
Il 60 richly deserved.