Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1885-10-16


Corsica, and declared that he was warm
Y attached to that country and TO that
particular portion of the coast.
then, with great caution and under
the guise of very lively personal in
terest, ventured few questions regard
ing his life. He replied without embar-
rassment, telling me that he had trav-
eled extensively in Africa, InGia, and
America, and that he had had many ad-
ventures.
/ then returned to the subject of the
chase, and he gave me many of the most
curious details in regard to hunting the
hippopotamus, the tiger, the elephant,
and even the gorilla.
observed that l thought the gorilla
would be terribly exciting game.
| He smiled.
"Oh, no; man is the most terrible"
He laughed outright, with hearty
contented English laugh, as he further
informed me.
81 have also been great hunter of
men,"
Then he turned the conversation to
the topic of arms, and invited me to the
house to look at guns of different kinds.
His drawng-room was hung with
black silk embroidered with gold. Large
yellow flowers, rioting over the dark
background, shone like fire. He ex-
planned that it was japanese fabric.
But, in the middle OF the largest pan
ell, a strange object drew my eye. On
square of red velvet black object
was thrown into relief. 1t was hand
"a human hand. Not skeleton hand,
white and clean, but Il Cried and black
ened hand, with yellow nails, naked
muscles, and traces OF blood, old, clot-
| ted blood, where the bones were cut
! short of as if with the blow of an axe
about midway Of the forearm. An enor-
nous iron chain rivetcd AT the wrist,
soldered to this unsightly member, at
tached it to the wall by ring strong
enough to hold an elephant in leash.
"What is that?" asked.
"That is my worst enemy" replied
the Englishman, calmly. "He came
from America. 1t was cut of with a
sabre, skinned, and dried in the sun for
a week. 1t was a pretty good piece of
work for me-"
! touched that human fragment,
which must have belonged to giant.
The fingers disproporiionately long,
were attached by enormous tendOns, to
which shreds of skin still clung.
Scorched, as il was, it was a frightful
thing to behold, suggesting irresistibly
of some savage revenge.
''He must have been very strong
man." said |.
"Oh, yes" said the Englishman,
gently. "But was stronger than he.
/ had that chain put on to hold him."
thought he was jesting, and said:
"The chain is wholly useless now !;
the hand will not run away"
But he gravely replied:
"The chain was necessary. 1t was
always trying to get away"
With rapid glance l questioned his
countenance, asking myself:
"Ts he lunatic or an ugly jester?"
But his face remained impeDetrable,
calm and benevolent. talked Of other
things and admired his guns. noticed
that three loaded revolvers lay on the
tables as if this man lived in constant
fear Of an attack.
visited him several times and then
went there no more. People had be-
come accustomed to his presence and
had grown Indifferent.
A whole year passed. Then one
morning, toward the end of November,
my servant awoke me with the an
nouncement that Sir John Rowell had
been assassinated in the night.
Half an hour later, with the central
commissary and captain Of the SOL
diery, ! entered the Englishman' s
house. His servant, bewildered and
despairing, was weeping before the
door. l suspected him at first, but he
was innocent. The guilty man never
could be found.
As l entered Sir Johns sitting-room,
| saw at the first glance bis body
stretched out on its back in the middle
of the floor His waistcoat was torn,
one torn sleeve OF his coat was hanging
all told that terrible struggle had
taken place.
He had died of strangulation! His
terrible countenance, black and swollen,
seemed to express an abominable fear
he held something between his set
teeth, and his neck, pierced in hun
dred spots, as If with iron points, was
covered with blood.
A physician joined us. He examined
long and closely the marks Of fingers
i'm the flesh of the dead mans throat
and spoke these strange words:
"One would say that he had been
stranglcd by a skeleton"
A shudder crept over my back, and
raised my eyes to the wall, to the place
where had formerly seen the horrible,
shriveled hand. It was no longer there.
The chain hung broken.
Then l leaned over the dead man, and
found in his distorted mouth one of tile
fingers of that missing hand, cut, OF
rather sawed, of by his teeth close to
the second joint.
They proceeded to make iRvestiga.
tions, but discovered nothing. No door
or windoY had been forced, no article