Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-02-16
TRENTON PIKE GHOST.
FRIGHTENED EVERY ONE AND WAS
BADLY SCARED ITSELF.

the Whole Village Took Hand in
Solving the Problem-A Daylight Search.
Out to the Red Lion is favorite trip
for New Brunswick sporting and driving
men, and the old tavern which has stood
four miles out on the Trenton pike ever
since the old coaching days is also a wet
day resort for the farmers of New Bruins
wick township, and in the quaint old par
lor you may gather all the social and po-
litical gossip of the country SIDE, and so
long as lockjaw is not a rural epidemic you
can also hear many hair stiffening legend
or side splitting joke revived under the in
fuence of good company and good cheer.
Monday afternoon a goodly crowd was
assembled, when a newcomer said:
Wasn't the Trenton pike ghost located
somewhere out here?'
oh yes" replied Landlord J. Holmer
Bergen, the place was close by here, and
the ghost is closer by now'
Il don't see anybody here that looks at
all ghostly What do you suppose you
Nean?"
There he is, sir. The only true and
genuine ghost in North Bruins wick town
ship, and Mr.. Bergen pointed to a small,
modest looking gentleman who was smok-
ing with his chair tilted back against the
window. That is the retired ghost Let
him speak for himself"
THE STORY.
What Freeman Ayress" almost shout
ed half dozen younger members of the
group, while the older men chuckled aud
IDLY, saying;
"Oh, yes! | remember all about it now.
Tell us the story, Freeman, for the benefit
of the boys"
After being a little further importuned
Mr.. Ayres lighted a fresh cigar and pro
ceeded:
1T was in the summer of 1868 or 1869.
I'm not sure which, that this thing hap
pened. Frank Tracy kept this house here,
and the big frame cottage down yonder on
the left as you go to New Brunswick was
owned by another man named Tracy, who
lived in New York. The house was empty.
and Frank, who looked after it, had a LOT
of oats stored in one of the parlors. At
that time was young fellow, working
on the dam at Parsons snuff mill. and
went past here to and from home.
Frank Tracy had a chore darby he
called Nose, and one morning early, as |
was going to work, saw Nose coming
down from the hotel with bag for oats.
Something put it into my head to give the
darky a scare, and | slipped into the cot
tage, which was open at the back, s.ad
went up stairs.
Nose came into the parlor whistling
cheerfully and began filling his BAG. let
out groan like sick cider mill
'Wh-wh-who's dah?' | heard Nose
eXclaim in kind of awe struck whisper
He evidently listened a little bit. and
then went on filling his bag. | let out
another two horse groan and brought one
foot down on the floor like pile driver.
SOARING THE NEGRO.
'W-w-a-u gh! O-o-o-hn yoyled Nose as
he flew through the door, fell over the ward
fence and hew up the road, yelling at
every jump till he fell on the hotel porch
and all Frank Tracy could get out of him
was:
"'Ghosesl Oh, Lordy, Massa Frank,
chooses! De Lord have mussy on dis pore
niggahi Ghosesr
"A bucket of water and a tumber of
liquor brought him around so that he was
aDle to tell how ghost seventeen feet
high, carrying it's head on pitchfork, had
warned him for stealing oats; that the legs
had kicked him out and the hands had
tried to knock his brains out with the head
on the pitchtOrk, and a lot more of it,
Frank Tracy, of course, took no stock
in the ghost
The next morning ! was in the cottage
again, but Nose never showed up until
broad daylight, and Tracy threatened to
thrash him because the horses were not
led. At length | saw Nose coming down
the road like u scared colt, while Frank
and another man stood in the road at the
hotel watching him. | let Nose fill his bag
and then | began my racket. OF course
Nose fled, but held on to his bag. He went
up the road on the full yell | tell YOU
thought was having lots of fun, and so /
did as long as it lasted. When looked
out saw Frank Tracy and lot of the
neighbors coming full tilt for the house
lin three minutes they We're all around
the place, and more We're coming. never
saw a crowd gather so quick in all nv life
didn't like the looks of the thing at all
could not get out, and besd DIES did not
want to get out into that crowd for / knew
there were a good many of them who
didn't like to be fooled. 1t was the ghost
that was scared now. When they came
nosing in down stairs 1 skipped up into the
garnet, which was only q cockloft /
groaned and made little row occasionally,
and when did they would scoot outside.
THE GHOST CAPTURED.
'Then the stage from New Brunswick
came, and all the passengers got out to
help hunt the ghost. Frank Brewer, from
Franklin Park, came over with squirrel
rifle, big knife and huge bloodhound.
Finding the fellows fled every time i
groaned, | ventured down into the second
story and found a lot of wallpaper that
had come off from the dampness.
wrapped it around me and paraded in front
of the windows
"'There! Look! There it isr shouted
Squire Tom Pearce. It's got on a striped
shroud. It's the ghost of some convict
George Brown took a crack at me with
his rifle and fed to the cockloft again.
Fll bet there never was a sure enough
ghost that wanted to get out of the bust
ness any worse than l did.
''They organized a storming party, and
Fred Van Deursen volunteered to go into
the cockloft. 1t was not 6oored, and the
first thing he did was to bre ak through the
plaster and nearly break his neck gave
q groan and the storming party fed. Fred
Van Deursen was no coward, however, and
after he had rubbed his scratched shins