Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1888-06-22
AMiebtnI Advsntnre.

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While stopping at Atlanta, writes the /
Gossip of the Philadelphia News, Z con /
cluded to take a cunning trip in the
timber about fifteen miles from small
town called Jessup. I hired colOred
man to accompany me, and we took
provisions enough with us to last three
days. I did not find very much game,
but I enjoyed the trip immensely with
the exception Of one incident. The first
two nights we were fortunate enough
to get lodging at farm houses, but as
neither of US was acquainted in that VI
cinity we got completely lost the third
day, and it was quite dark when we
were fortunate, or rather IN this case
unfortunate, enough to see a large
square house standing a short distance
ahead of Us. There was no light In the
window and it seemed to be untenanted.
1t stood on a desOlate looking slope
strewn with powders and bare Of veg
citation. We approached it and began
to recOnnOiter. IT'S empty" said my
cOlOred companion with a trembling
voice for. like most cO1Ored people, he
was very easily frightened. 1 knocked
on the door vigorously. but there was
no response. Finally we pushed open
the door and walked in. After striking
a match, of which we had taken the
precautiOn to lay in a good supply be-
fore we started, we looked around and
found ourselves in spacious apartment.
This and two smaller rooms took up the
whole of the lower floor. All three were
furnished sparsely, but well.
In the large room there was a num-
Der Of stiff backed chairs, a couple of
l hn7 nd q
table were a lamp, some newspapers
and magazines, all dated several months
back, an inkstand in which the fluid
had cazed from disuse, and a pitcher
with nothing in it. All the windows
were down and the air was sitting.
! There was dust on the table and win
dow silIs, which seemed to indicate that
they had not been busted for some time.
After making a thorough investigation
/ downstairs and concluding from the
/ appearance of things that there had
/ been no recent occupancy of the place,
we went upstairs. Here were four bed
rooms, all furnished, and the windows
we're also all down on this floor. Ev-
! erything was as silent and lonesome as
/ the grave. We opened the windows
and proceeded to make ourselves at
| home, cOngratulating each other during
{
| ing stumbled on such comfortable quar-
] ters. Presently We crawled into one of
| the beds. I did not 60 to sleep, how
! ever. The more 1 thought about the
! matter the stranger it seemed to me
that this large furnished house should
be standing there untenanted. There
must be some reason-sOme history
/ connected with it. felt a creeping in
my veins, and then it flashed across my
mind that the door had not been lock-
! ed. Could 1t be possible that the house
was haunted? had often laughed at
such things, but the very idea appalled,
me now. Perhaps some horrible crime
had been committed there Suddenly 1
/ became aware that the cOlOred man was
| trembling violently. "What is the mat
ter?" I asked, the sound of my own
voice making the cold chiIls creep up
my spinal column. Lets get up,
was all he said, and it was with cOnsid-
cradle of an effort that he articulated.
'Al1 right, said I, and we both hoped
out on the floor. In few moments we
were dressed downstairs, and outside.
The moon had risen and was flooding
everything with a white glare. We both
gave a sigh of relief as we turned round
to survey the building from the outside.
There was an inscription over the door,
which with the assistance of the rays Of
the moon, we could easily read, but
which we had, of course, not seen when
we entered the house. We both no
ticed it at the same time, and to be hon
est we both screamed at about the same
instant after we bad done so. We did
not lose a second, but ran-ran with all
the clumsy feetness of abject fear,
stumbling, falling down, scrambling up
again, always faster, however, until we
must have gone at least five miles, and
we sank down with sheer exhaustion.
What do you suppose we had seen? 1t
was the simple legend Small pOx Hos
pital." I escaped, but my colored
companion took the disease two days
afterward and died in less than a week.