The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-12-18
A TRAMP'S CURSE.
Dire Disasters That BefelI the Town of
Nelson. Iowa.

Dire Disasters That BefelI the Town of
Nelson, Iowa.
The inhabitants of the town of Nelson,
Iowa, have come to the conclusion that it is
doomed by curse placed on the town ten
years ago. At that time it had 100 inhabi-
tantS, but now 1t has barely 80, and these
will get away as fast IS possible. The
cause OF all this Is that ten years ago man
was hanged by q mob, and before being
sent to enter the unknown world he turned
toward the town and cursed it and all its in
habtantS. The curse was not an ordinary
one, and while it was being delivered the
men who were ready to hang the wretch
were completely awed
A woman's screams had reused the people
one afternoon, and when an Investigation
was made Mrs. Wilson was found to have
been waylald by tramp. Her screams
frightened the man away, but the people
had heard of the depred atioD5 of the tramps
at other places, and determined to give such
a warning that the gentry would stay away
from their village. A search was instituted
and . man found who was taken before
Mrs. Wilson and identified as the man who
waylaid her. He was given no chance to
defend himself, but was hurried away TO
the nearest tree and strung mp without
mercy. Before the rope was pulled up he
was told that if he wished to offer a prayer
he could do so, but to cut it short.
Instead of praying the tramp turned
toward the town and in most dramatic
manner began cursing it. He called down
all the calamities that nature could visit
upon it and asked that fire, water, wind and
pestilence should ravage the place until all
the inhabitants would, without exception,
be dead or destitute. Upon the men who
were about to launch him into eternity he
called down especial disasters, and prayed
that they may die violent deaths and their
families be beggars on the face of the earth.
His curses only served at the time to
hasten his death, for he was Jerked into the
air to cut short his words while still calling
down tribulatiOn. Fourteen men were con-
cerned in the hanging, and to-day every one
OF those fourteen men is dead, and each died
of violence. While their families are not
beggars, they are in poor circumstances, and
all have at times been assisted by their more
fortunate neighbors. Within a year after
the lynching a fire visited the town and
burned over half the houses and the people
had barely recovered from this disaster
when a tornado swept over the place, de-
stroyng ten houses and killing four people.
Another disastrous fire came about a year
later, and this was followed by food, which
destroyed the streets and yards OF the town.
Then came an epidemic of typhoid fever,
which was peculiarly fatal in its spread and
which took twenty lives before it could be
checked.
Within five years from the time the curse
was pronounced the town had dwindled to
half its former size and the people were be-
ginning to feel that they had better move
away. An exodus began, and to hasten the
hegira came waterspout, which tore
through the business street and almost
Wi ed it away. The last FIVE years have
been noted in the place as having been very
disastrous. for fire. storms, and pestlence
have visited IL several times, and the whole
was capped by the IRE which came two
weeks ago and licked up the greater part OF
the houses which remained.
The people had left in such numbers and
the place had obtained such bad name that
no one came 10 take their places. and the
result was that three-fourths of the houses
of the town were vacant. A fire started in
vacant house, spread over the town, and
burned twenty buildings before it could be
checked, throwing seven families out of
their homes and destroying $1,000 worth OF
property. The remaining inhabitants are
now determined that they viii fOrsake the
place:-Fairburg Qowa) special to Philadel-
phia prpss