Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-02-28
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
By WASHINGTON IRVING.
FOUND AMONG THE PAPERS OF THE LATE
DIEDRICH KNIcKERBocKER.

!. tie nuuSoll, at tilal Droau eXp41slOn Q
e the river denominated by the ancien
: Dutch navigators the Tappaan Zee, an
e where they always prudently shortene
!. sail and implored the protection of 81
5 Nicholas when they crossed. there lies
/ small market town or rural port, whicl
! by some is called Greensburg, but whicl
is more generally and properly know
' by the name of larry Town. This nam
was given it, we are told. in forme
/ days, by the good housewives of the ad
jacent country, from the inveterate pro
pensity of their husbands to linger abou
, the village tavern on market days. 81
that as it may, do not vouch for tn,
fact, but merely advert to il for the SAKE
of being precise and authentic. Not fal
from this village, perhaps about three
miles, there is a little valley, or rather
lap of land. among high hills. which is
one OF the quietest places in the whole
world A small brook glides through it,
with Just murmur enough TO lull one To
repose; and the occasional whistle of q
quail or tapping of a woodpecker is
almost the only sound that ever breaks
in upon the uniform tranquility.
| recollect that. when a stripping. my
first exploit in squirrel shooting was in q
.
one side of the valley. | had wandered
into it at noon time when all nature is
peculiarly quiet, and was startled
by the roar of my own gun
as it broke the Sabbath stiffness
around and was prolonged and reverber-
ated by the angry echoes. If ever /
should wish for a retreat whittier might
steal from the world and its distractions,
and dream quietly away the remnant of
q troubled life, / know If none more
promising than this little valley.
From the listless repose of the place,
and the peculiar character of its inhabit-
ants, who are descendants from the
original Dutch settlers, this Sc
questered glen has long been known
by the name of Sleepy Hollow, and
its rustic lads are called the
Sleepy Hollow boys throughout all the
neighboring country. A drowsy, dreamy
Influence seems to hang over the land
and to pcrvade the very atmosphere.
Some say that the place was bewitched
by high German doctor during the
early DAYS of the settlement. others,
that an old Indian chief, the prophet or
wizard of his tribe, held his powwows
there before the country was discovered
by Master Hcndrick Hudson. Certain it
is that the place still continues under the
sway of some witching power that holds
q spell over the minds Of the good people,
causing them 10 walk in continual rev.
eric. They are given to all kinds Of mar
vicious beliefs; are subject TO frances and
visions. and frequently see strange sights
and hear music and voices in the air.
The whole ncighborhood abounds with
local tales, haunted spots and twilight
superstitions; stars shoot and meteors
glare oftener across the valley than in any
other part Of the country, and the night
mare. with her whole nine fold. seems TO
make 1t the favorits scene of her gambols.
The dominant spirit, however, that
haunts this enchanted region and seems
to be commander-in-chief Of all the
powers Of the air, is the apparition of a
figure on horseback without head.
1t Is said by some 10 be the ghost Of a
Hesaiaa trooper, whose head had been
carried away by . cannon ball in some +
namoless battle during the revolutionary
war, and who - ever and anon seen by
the country folk, hurrying along in the
gloom of the night as il on the wings of
the wind. His haunts are not confined
10 the valley, but extend az times to the
adjacent roads, and especially 10 the Vi
cinity OF n church that Il at no great dis
tance. Indeed, certain of the most nu-
thentic historians Of those parts. who
have been careful in collecting and col
lating the floating facts concerning this
spectre, allege TINT the body OF the
trooper having been buried in the church,
yard, the ghost rides forth to the scene of
battle in nightly quest Of his head. and
that the rushing speed with which he
sometimes passes along the hollow, like
a midnight blast. Is owing % his being
belated and in hurry TO get back TO the
before daybreak.
Such is the general purport OF this le-
gendary superstition, which has fur
nished materials for many a wild story |
in that region of shadows; and the spectre [
Is known at all the country firesides by |
the name of the Headless Horseman of |
Sleepy Hollow.
II Is remarkable that the visionary pro-
pensity have mentioned is not confined 1
to the native inhabitants Of the valley !,
but Is unconsciously imbibed by every |
one who resides there for a time How /
ever wide awake they may have been be-
fore they entered that sleepy region. they I
are sure in little time to inhale the 1
influence Of the air and begin I
10 grow imaginative-to dream dreams I
AMI see apparitions.
/ mention this peaceful spot with all /
possible l3ud, for it is in such little re-
tired Dutch valleys found here and there /
in the great state of New
York that population, manners and Gus
TOMS remain fixed. while the great tor
rent of migration and improv cment
which IS making such incessant changes /
IN other parts of this restless country
sweeps by them unobserved. They are
ike those little hooks of still water which
border q rapid stream, where we NAV see
.he straw and bubble riding quietly at
lnchor. or slowly revolving in their
mimic harbor, undisturbed By the rush
IF the passing current. Though many
years have elapsed since | trod
he drowsy shades of Sleepy Hollow,
yet | question whether | should not
still find the same trees and the same
families negotiating in its sheltered boz
iOln.
In this by place OF nature there abode
n q remote period of American history.
hat is to say, some thirty years since, a
worthy wi srhf Of tho unrna ~ Ial,-ho1 4