Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1890-07-09

isolated community, supposed to be uL
known to fear, was trembling and shaking
over the visitations of a monster which was
known among them as "Maneater,"
which had been going among them s'seek-
ing what it might devour." No one had
ever seen the dreadful and terrific animal
except some little children who, ,crazsd with
fright, described it as great thing walk
ing On it's hind legs, entirely covered with
hair, yet it grinned and waved its long,
bony hands and arms as it chased them.
AS he sat there by and by there began to
fly around and around him mighty flock
of birds Of prey, or bald eagles. The air
about him grew, thick a..d dark, with the
lowering black winged birds, and he count
sd them, and found seventy five all told
After while one of them that seemed to
guide the flight of the others, desce lded to
the ground and hopped up to the old man.
| He saw something tied around the eagles
neck, and looking foand iJ to be q bell. and
upon il inscribed these mgsti, words, 1--WE
are the Ohio wonders, follow Us They
then began TO sloaiy fly off, and the old
man, in direct obedience, to follow; over
paths more secluded and wilder than ever
his ramblipgs had known, they led him on
and on until a rocky, barren alcove was be-
fore them, and there they alighted, and the
eagle with the bell on its back again hob
bled up to him. The old man looked up,
and there, at little distance from him.
stood the "man eater" he was paralyzed
with fear. He had no gun with him; he
was afraid to run, but suddenly to his as
tonishment he noticed that the eagles had
flown far, away, and were scarcely visible,
and that the ''man eater'', at sight of him,
trembled and covered into niche of the
rock; so he left with less dread, and start
ed to gather men and arms to attack the
monster go long searched for, and now so
mysteriously found.
THE WILD CREATURE GONE.
To his surprise, on returning to the spot,
the wild creature was no where to be found,
and his companions believed he was crazy
or had dreamed thu story he had told them,
so he kept quiet on the subject, but the cat
tie continued to disappear and the ravages
of the man. eater to carry ruin throughout
the mountain. Another day shortly after
wards he was out with his gun when again
the "Ohio wonders" began to circle like a
dark moving diadem around his head. AS
before, the leader hobbled up to him and
then slowly flew off. he carefully following
their course. By and by they stopped, and
SO did he. Il was at the margin of fam
Gus fishing pool we'll known to all fisher
men in the mountains; it was SO deep that
its bottom had never been fathomed, and
there was dark, mysterious look about its
silent waters. Here the eagles flew rapidly
away and left the old man alone to see rise
up out of the depths of that black pool
serpent, that rose and rose, uncoiling its
Shiny length of shining body until it was
seventy.fve feet uplifted into the air; it
then sank back into its bottomless homo of
water with never sound of even disturb
ing ripples. After this the poor eaglc.p pur-
sued s'man-eater" and serpent-seeing man,
began, like his rude companions, to think
he must be crazy, SO he did not tell of his
second strange sight, but went on, ever
fearing some yet more horrible disclosure
from the guidance of the "Ohio Wonders"
He did not expect in vain.
EVIL.MEssENGERs.
One morning as he was steadily laying
the strokes of his axe against the heaTy
trunk of giant of the forest he saw bis evil
messengers, the birds of prey, the third
time descending upon him. He almost tot
tered with apprehensive fright, and Gid not
so easily yield to their summons; but they
were determined, AID the leader hobbled
around and around him, the strange little
bell tinkling with its motion, until he was
forced 10 again read, "We are the Ohio
wonders, follow u.s." and then there SEEM
ed to be an irresistible power impelling him
to follow their guidance, as before. He
was relieved to find that it was over no new
track, but to the same pool where thu great
serpent had outrisen from its mysterious
depths. He saw nothing at first, only the
seventy. five eagles lowering close together
around and around the silent ring Of water,
as though in some act of nesmerism.
MAN.EATER.
Overhapging one edge of the water, far
cut, was the leaning limb of . trea, near
which he stood. Suddenly he saw lying
upon this limb the "man-eater," seemingly
in q heavy sleep, with his long arms and
legs wrapped around it, like huge cords for
his support. He next saw appearing above
then, as though under some sudden direc-
ton, with one pondrous blow from his axe
he severed that dropping limb from the
tree, and then stepped back to watch the
giant, hairy form of the "man-eater" fall
into the great nest of Shiny serpent coils,
the two monsters to tangle together in a
combat of satanic fury, while overhead,
like hanging, shifting black cloud. the
birds of prey circled around and around,
their wings making no noise of Tapping.
The fight waxed more and more furious.
Yet the water, disturbed, made no sound
of even gurgling, but after time, when
tne coils had almost hidden their victim,
and yet were lacerated by it's claws and
teeth, there was fash of keen fame like
forked lightning, and the very air quaked
and quivered with the death hiss of the
great water serpent, which came with a
hoarse, unearthly wall, and the ''mau-eat-
err and the serpent sank together into
their grave of black, bottomless water.
The birds of prey, with Glow solemnity,
SCARED to unseen heights, and alone was
left the old man of the mountains to tell