The Arizona sentinel., 1886-04-10
GHOST STORIES.
A Truthful H istOrian Shows How They
 are "Worked Up" and Circulated.

A Truthful H istorian Shows How They
 are 'WorIzed Up" and Circulated.
 About six years ago had occasion to investigate some alleged later develop ments of an ancient legend that is known to the greater part of the population of the old district of Southwark What these later developments were expected to be would not interest you, because they failed to materialize. The legend itself was that living woman with a horses head had for many years terror ized the neighborhood of Fifth street and Washington avenue. It was as- serted that this unnatural creature had been seen time and again eating oats from golden trough and pulling hay from diamOnd-studded rack, which hung over manager of the rarest and coStliest kinds of hard wood; that she occasionally vaulted the paling fence that inclOsed the northeast corner of the two streets named and galloped- we'll as she could with only two legs-around the block. Several people who lived
 
 exploits told me confidentiallysthatt the young woman sometimes took trips through the air on a winged broom-stick, and that she neighed so shrilly and so con- tinuously that the babies in the vicinity could never go to sleep. The further I got away from the neighborhood the more wonderful became the story and the nearer 1 got to Fifth and Washing ton avenue the harder it was to find proof. Numberless persons who had lived for years within stone's throw of the home of the monster were seen, but not single one of them could vouch for the truth of the tale when pinned down to cold facts.
 Lots of them had heard of the horse headed girl, and all of them knew man who knew a man who, had an uncle who saw this strange thing one snowy night, or moonlight night, or rainy night, when the clocks were toll ing the hour of midnight Of that latter happening everybody was positive-the striking of the midnight hour-but three-hOurs' steady search failed to dis cover any eye-witnesses until l hap pened across a gentleman with narrow forehead, small twinkling eyes, rusty suit of black and great thirst. He had lived in Southwark. he told me, ''goin' on forty year." and he said he was ''werry happy to be of service. Of course he had seen the girl with the horses head, and with strict regard for the niceties assured me that the creatures ears were not so long by at quarter of an inch as those of a real horse. and that her mane was ''werry thin and scraggy" For nearly an hour I listened to one of the most thrilling descriptions of the general makeup, the character and habits of the half human terror of Southwark that you could well inn ag.ne. With cOuntenance as solemn as an owls and manner that almost carried conviction with it, this inter- esting Ananias told me that he had seen the girl with the horses head no less than thirty-two times, and it would be utterly impossible for him to have been mistaken. He had seen it eating from the golden trough, but was not solid metal, although it had every ap- pearance of genuineness. He heard it snort thirteen or fourteen times. He had been close enough seven times to observe its head, and to note that it was perfect counterpart of the head of horse, excepting the trifling diff ference in the length of the ears. He had never seen the creature gallop around the block. He didn't believe any such nonsense, and proved very