The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-02-06
BILL ARP.

BILL ARP.
Arp tells OF Midnight Adventure.
Atlanta Consultation.
Twas Illuminating about ghosts-well, ,
of course, there are no such things--that
ia to say nobody has ever seen one, butw
have all come pretty near it. Several
times I have almost seen ghost. The
fact is they won't let you see 'em right
square and fair, go that yoh could swear to
It. A visible ghost wouldent be ghost,
and an invisible ghost is hard to see,
especially in the dark. But there are
times and places when ne can't help try.
ing to see them. Now, Of cou1se, there
are NO such things, but still they have
habits and haunts jast like folks. They
stay around graveyards and upstairs in
dark closets, end they walk the road in
dark, swampy places, and linger around
country meeting houses in the night. They
like dark, gloomy solitary places, and that
makes me think that ghosts are unhappy
They have done something bad or suffer.
ed some great misfortune before they we're
turned into ghosts. The spirits of good
people don't make ghosts. 1t was hard
work for the witch of Endor to get the
spirit of Samuel to come up. He didn't
want to come up, and said, "why hast
thou disquieted me to bring me up" And
that is the reason Why ne are all afraid
of ghosts. They are the spirits of bad
people. Well, of course, there are no such
things, but that is the way We feel about
it. saw a ghost one dark night as I was
passing the old Fairview church, about
Two miles from town. It was walking
right towards me in the big road, and
was white-perfectly white-and had lega
and arms, but no head. I vas about to
turn my horse and run, but he dident
want to turn-he wanted to go home, and
he wasent scared q bit, and so I let him
rack on until we met the ghost, and it
WAS the miller going home with sack of
flour across his shoulders and his head and
his white hat bent forward. That liked
to have bsen q ghost. In fact, it
would have been if it hadent been the
miller. Many time have thought how
near I came to see ghost, and I'm not
sure yet but what it was ghost, and
suddenly turned into the miller. They
are mighty smart, and as quick as light
niDg-that is, if there are any such
things, which, of course, there are not.
Last night about 10 o'clock I was com:
ing over the high hill that is back of our
house. had been to see sick grand
child and it was near way to come by
the old graveyard. Nobody has been
buried there for forty years, but that
makes it all the worse for ghosts. They
are old, experienced ghosts, and can just
raise up the hair on, a mans head most
that is, ifheha any hair. That is
one advantage which bald headed man
has over other people. A ghost can't
raise up his hair. / wish it could, that is
ifit would stay raised. That old grave
yard has tried the fartitude of my chill
dren many time, and last night it tried
me, for it was very dark and the little
pines we're gloomy and sighed mournfnlly
in the wind. vas coming down the
steep hill feeling my way along carefully
with my cane, when, just as / happened
to glance upward the distant horizon in
search of light, I saw dark shadowy
6gure'bob up aerenely just before me and
stop-and | stopped. was just about to
run into the thing, but as it dident ad-
vance any I advanced step-a very eau
tious step. It quivered a little, but came
no nearer. Again ] stepped forward and
gave sweeping stroke with my cane, as
if to cut it in two, and I did cut it in two,
but it never moved. Amazed, I pauzed
and pondered, and said to myself, "What
In the dickens is It'll" just then in the
dark, dim light of the murky horizon
away 10 the east I saw the mysterious
thing take shape and become pointed at
the top, and all at once it flashed over me
that it was the ateeple of the Methodist
Church that was quarter of q mile away!
And it was. Ofcourse I dident strike at
it any more, and I felt cheap as dirt for
being such a fool, but comforted myself
in thinking how brave I vas and that I
showed fight at ghost. Maybe it was
ghost. Who knows but what it was a
genuine ghost, and for fear of being'
caught and exposed, it turned itself into
that steeple. No wonder it scared me, for
the poet says:
"some have mistaken stumps and posts,
For spectres, apparitions, ghosts.
But when IL turns into steeple, =.
1t will alarm the most of people"
It is astonishing how big thing away
off can turn into little thing close by,
and vice versa. Albert Strickland told
me that hs knew feller to shoot 9 times
at a coon in the fork of very high pop.
lar tree and nobody could see that coon
but him. Albert says that at last an idea
struck him, and be went close up to the
feller, as he Was loading his rife for
another shot, and he discovered a little
fuzzy animal hanging to hair on his
eyebrow. He brushed it off with straw,
and the feller couldent find that coon any.
more. The little animal belonged in his
head, but had strayed off on an exploring
condition, and vas teaching the young
idea how to shoot Albert didn't say who