The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1886-01-07
A SOLDIER S:yARN.

i The strane est0 experience I ever
band Was ut old Fort William, on
Governors Island, in New York har-
fbos, ever twenty years ago. I was
a sergeant at the time, married, and
with my youngiwife bad beon living
in a small house on the lower end Of
tho island. but the commanding. Of
ficer concluded to tear il down and
was told TO select tho beet rooms
Of the pon-com missioned officers
quarters 10 the then unoccupied
fort. With my usual military du-
ties and the fatigue Of moving and
placing things TO rights was'pret-
ty we'll tired ont when night came
and slept like log. My wife was
worn out, too. but did not sleep 30
sound as not to besdisturbed every
night by what she called 'tbe fnn-
uiest noises that sounded. just like
thunder but l paid but little at.
teutiou to her, thinking that it was
only the..uoiso Of passing steamboats,
or the wash OF the water on the
shore. It.. might have beeui two
weeks after had settled down that
one night | awoke suddenly from
souud sleep with that peculiar. feol-
ing OF dread or uneasiness npon me
which arises from an unknown cause
and has been experienced. by nearly
all Of rs.
"Jobn. do you hear il now :" ask~
ed my wife when she discovered !
was awake lit sounds like some
persons at work below"
Listening for short time, | rec>
oguized familiar sounds, and had ]
not been positive that the doors
we're. e,.locked,. .with the keys changing
on nail in my room, l would have
sworn that the batteries were manns
ed by experienced lsgunners. The
quick tread. Of the men as they
dragged the guns in, the ring Of
the rammer,: the handling Of tue
shot that lay piled in readiness for
use, the return Of the iron wheels
over the rails as IL was run out Of
the port was perfect in every detail,
only lacking the words Of command
and the report Of the piece to com
plete the illusion.
As l listened the uprore increased
10 volume until it was impossible for
us to hear each others voices With
out raising them to q high pitch.
The guns were served with what
seemed incredible rapidity aud the
very walls, msssivei as they were,
trembled under the heavy artillery
in continual motion, whilo the balls
we're rolling from one end Of the
easements to the other, striking the
sides with heavy thuds. Unable to
stand this state Of affairs any longer,
| arose and,. lightiugl my 4. lantern,
took the keys along. with a loaded
revolver. and, descending the stairs
as lightly as possible, reached the
doords. The noise at this point
Was, IL anything, more deafening |
than whom l left my room.
Cautiously inserting the key into
the lock / cooked my six-shooter.
throwing the door open sudden
ly, with raised lantern and weapon
presented, entered the nearest CASE
ment to fiud it uuoccupied, save by
the grim old gun and the shot
stacked in their usual places. 1t
was the Same in every battery on.
tered. Not footprint disturbed
the thick dust upon the floor, nor
was there finger mark upon either
the gun or shot. The tompions
were in place and no carriage had
travelled over the rusty rails. Con-
founded even still more than I was
before, / returned to my room, and
was disturbed no more that night.
The racket, ,however, commenced
again the following night and. was
kept up, with slight intermissiop,
for o month. Ny account Of this
singular disturbance was met with
jests and laughter from my fellow
soldiers, which they modified, it 10
true, when corroborated it by my
wife, but then ouly so far as to de-
clare that il was o scheme on our
part 10 get removed from uncomfor-
table quarters TO one Of the new
quarters then about completed.
Nettlsd ct their taunts I vowed
that II ever the noises commenced
a0ain / vould have okhar wittnesses