Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-03-25
GHOST STORIES.

"A Truthful HI istorian Shows How They
are 'WOrked 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
lied the neighborhood of Fifth street
and Washington avenue. 1t 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 a manger 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-as well
as she could with only two legs-around
the block. Several people who lived a
great distance from the scenes of these
exploits told me confidentially that the
through the air on winged broom-stick,
ndthat she neighed so shrilly and so con-
tinuouSly that the babies in the vicinity
could never 60 to sleep. The further /
got away from the neighborhood the
more wonderful became the story and
the nearer got to Fifth and Washing
ton avenue the harder it was to find
proof. Numberless persons who had
g., 1, &
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 a
man who knew 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 a
thrce-hours' steady search failed to dis
cover any eye-witnesses until l hap
pened across gentleman with narrow
forehead. small twinkling eyes. a rusty
suit of black and a 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 ut quarter of an inch as those
OF a real horse, and that her
name was ''werry thin and scraggy. "
For nearly an hour 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
az ne. With a 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
prepared to say that the trough was
solid metal, although it had every APP
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