Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1886-06-17
The COLONEL's STORY.
BY CAPTAIN JAMES MoNTFoRD.

mo dog was at tho threshold, great or small;
No pigeon ON the roof-no household creature,
No cat demurely doing ON the wall,
Not one domestic feature.
"The centipede along the threshold crept
The cobweb hung across its may tangle,
And in its winding-she the maggot slept,
At every nook and angle
Hood
"The person who passed through the war
without meeting adventures which thrilled
his blood, or mysteries which chilled it.,
must have been a very queer individual"
ave all met with adventures enough,
Colonel" replied; "but they fitted past
so vaguely that very little is remembered
by the great majority. What was noticed
has now become historical. Every table
groans beneath the weight of that great
mass"
"Umph!" said he, sitting down in his
chair. "But what is to become of the mass
of events which the historians of to-day
would swear at, eh?"
"That must furnish entertainment for
those who will listen. But see you have
a story; I'm not one of the sneerers, l
promise YOU"
"Well," said the old gentleman, laugh
ingly, "the tale will diminish in the telling,
but will relate it plainly"
"There was an old ruined house upon
the plantation of n gentleman named Muir
ray, in Tennessee, which had gained q
celebrity for being the harboring place of
the spirit of giant soldier, who was said
to have fallen under disgraceful circum-
stances during the War of Independence.
"The gentleman who owned the place at
ths RH6aiss5 aqts g, am speaking OF disclaimed all
deed, secuted the idea altogether.
"The house, which / shall attempt to de-
scribe after moment, had been erected by
gentleman of French descent called Gas
ton; but whether that was family name or
not do not know.
According to the story, he had two sons,
and, as very often happens in romances,
they both loved lady, the daughter of a
neighboring thane.
"The elder son was unsuccessful in his
suit, his brother marrying the lady and
bringing her home to his fathers house.
CAS- might naturally be expected, the dis
appointed suitor became very jealous of his
brothers good fortune, and, being of n fiery
disposition, his anger rankled into a stern
determination to be revenged.
"Both young men were patriotic, and inn
mediately joined the revolutionary forces at
| the first ringing of the bell of freedom.
"Gaston, as / shall call the elder, con-
cealed his hatred from his brother; but,
watching his opportunity, killed him.
Accounts differ as to the circumstances,
but the act was so cautiously carried out
that no one suspected CASTOR of the crime
except his brothers wife, who was probably
in possession of knowledge which satisfied
her as to the real assassin.
| "Soon after his brothers death CASTOR
| returned to the plantation to pass few
weeks with tho bereaved family.
| 0Tban n Nuao fhot hic hrotharG wifa r.
cused him distinctly of the crime, and
warned him of exposure as soon as his
mother, who had become very ill upon re-
ceiving news of her sons death, recovered
| and was able to sustain this still more ter
| rible disclosure.
"The several naIrators whom have heard
relate the legend give very full account OF
the scene, and Gaston's uncomfortable
position after the accusation.
"However, upon finding that neither
threats nor promises could restrain hel
tongue, he watches his opportunity until he
finds her one night in a solitary part of the
mansion, when he strangles her neatly
and bures the corpse in the cellar beneath
the house.
"There is great excitement the next day
and strict search is instituted but without
q satisfactory result, and the family at las
decide that the young lady has, in mo-
ment of mental disorder, thrown herself
into the lake "a very beautiful sheet Of
water, which / have seem not far distant
from the plantation.
"Soon after, CASTOR returns to the army
but his good fortune has deserted him
His guilty conscience preys upon his body
and mind, and in a sli2ht sLirmish he dis.
PLAYS the most uDmistakable cowardice.
"As a fitting close to his career he il
court martialed, found guilty of cowardic,
and treason, and executed by martial law.
"Such is the substance of the story hav,
heard related several times. The negroes
who dwell within a dozen miles of tn,
ruined house firmly believe the legend, will
all its embellishments, and no sum o
money would bribe them TO enter the hous
after nightfall, and even under the ful
light of the sun they look upon the place
with awe.
"In 1862 was stationed for the space o
three months at q point about half q mil
from the CASTOR ruin, and passed il regu
larly several times week.
at was low, weather beaten structure
entirely dismantled, and overgrown It'll
creeping vegetation, which was fostered b.
the dampness of its situation for it ha,
been built in hollow, but little above tn
level Of the Lake, which was about q mill
distant.
at extended back for considerable dis
tance, but had, in the daytime at least, moth
ing romantic in IFS appearance.
81 often wished 10 pay visit to the in
side, but leisure was wanting for Ions
time.
"But one afternoon, shortly before sun
down, was returning to my barracks b.
the road which passed the house, when ON
of those sudden thunder-storms so com
mon in the country arose.
II was entirely unprovided for l., and a
the huge drops pattered upon my head
while the play Of lightning overhead wa