The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-08-06
A Most Terrible Dream.

ternOOn on CneSCnuG street says
o writer in the Philadelphia News.
'There," said he, ''you are just the
very man / want to see. I've got a
dream for you, if you care to hear it,
that would be q bang-up foundation
stone for Edgar Allen Poe to build up
a structure of horrors, beside which
the Black Cat and Facts in the case
of M. Valdemar' would be tame. /
am not an immoderate eater or
drinker and usually sleep soundly
every night. 1t has been my custom
for years to go to bed between 10 and
II o'clock. / always breakfast at z,
lunch at 2, and dine ate. When Iadd
to this that have not changed my
diet for twenty years, and that / am
not an imaginative manyou will won
der how my mind should be filled with
such strange thoughts as those | am
about to relate.
81 went to bed as usual on Sunday
night, and slept, should judge, until
about midnight. Something then
awakened me, and got up and light.
ed the gas. / did not know what
caused me to get out of bed, and /
went back again. No sooner had my
head touched the pillow than | felt
myself transported to a neighbor-
hood which seemed like 4th and Balm
bridge streets. ! walked along 4th,
and as reached Bainbridge small
dog ran out of q market-house and
caught me by the leg drew q revol-
yer which / had in my hip-pocket, and
shot the animal through the head. The
noise seemed to attract the atten-
tion OF dozens of other dogs, that rush
ed on me from all sides. All this time
was conscious that / was In my own
bed at home, but felt that my soul, or
my reas on-if the term suits you bet
ter-was going through this strange
experience. Gradually the conscience
of being in bed faded out, and SEEM
ed to be in whole fighting off these ours.
/ had lust succeeded in putting bull
let through the body of an enormous
hound when little, misshapen negro
ran out of house on Fourth street.
He seemed TO be frantic with rage,
and demanded why | had killed
his dog. / made no answer, but
retreated, feeling a sudden and unac-
countable spasm of fear. ran into a
house on the west side of 4th street,
with the little dwarf close at my heels.
/ managed to shut the vestibule door
and lock it before / had fairly reached
the top steps. ] walked through a
long hallway to what seemed like g.
circular platform. In the middle OF
this there was sort of well guarded
by an iron railing. ! could see the
opening OF spiral stairway leading
down to / know not where.
As / reached this platform
q door leading from the room
on my right was suddenly
opened, and dog, precisely similar
to the dog had first seen in the mar
ket-house, started out and flew at my
face. / seized the brute by the throat
and choked him until life was seeming
ly extinct. Then / walked over to
the well-llke place and threw the body
of the dog over the railing. heard 1T
60 bounding down until it reached the
bottom, which seemed to be great
depth.
''All this had taken but moment,
and the hump backed negro was
still struggling at the door seeking
to gain an entrance. 1t instant
ly flashed across my mind that has
anger, which even then seemed to be
almost frenzy, would be intensified
should he discover that / mad killed
another dog, and / started to run
down the spiral stairway with q half
formed intention of concealing the
body of the dead dog. ] went down
and down and down, and the constant
turning made my brain whirl.
ssI reached the bottom at last and
found myself in vaulted chamber.
The spiralstalrway ended at t1smouth
of 5ricked well. j looked about
to fird the dog, but could not
see him, and while i was specula-
ting as to whether / had tossed
him into the well or not, my eyes be-
came more accustomed to the gloom,
and / saw ranged about the edge OF
! the well twelve skulls, which from
! their size and conformation / took to
| be the skulls Of infants. j was just
about to retrace my steps and ascend
| the stairway, when again / seemed to
become dual entity. / knew that
was In my own home and in my own
| bed, but could see myself standing in
| front of the twelve skulls, and actual
| ly wondered how my second self would
escape. Then happened a most re-
markable thing became fully awake,
although ! still saw myself at the
| bottom OF the stairway, surrounded
by the skulls. ] lifted myself on my el-
bow, and rnade sure that was not
| dreaming. / leaped out Of bed onto
the floor and walked over to the bu-
reau. TO my intense amazement
4 cnsxr That fhn 1aair.rnf. rtae Hnhfed III,