Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-04-02
fHE HAuNrEn rAvERN.


An uucanny AleAouse which Has Beea
Frequented by Ghostly yisitants-
About half 3 mile north of North
Erremont, Mass, ON the road to Aus
teriitz, Il. ", and close by the Joiner
farm, stood forty years ago an old tav-
ern, once occupied by a man named
Todd Strange stories were told of the
house, and one tenant after another
left, giving no cause for its abandon
ment An old gentleman by the name
of ssGranther" Willard saw one evening,
Just after sunset and before twilight. an
old man, with broad-brimmed hat. blue
coat with brass buttons, and old-faSh-
toned knee breeches and polished shoe
buckles, coming out of the old house
His style of apparel was thirty or forty
years behind the age, and .-Granther"
determined to speak to him
The man came toward him. so that he
could see him very plainly All at once
the visitor raised his right hand and he
vanished with lightning-lil like rapidity-
A neighbor of ''Granther's" once saw
an old woman leading little child. She
walked quite rapidly, but the man tried
to overtase her. When he got within
ten feet of her she was gone into thin
air.
A man named Webb had, a short time
before the house was abandoned as a
tavern, undertaken to stay all night
He had heard that there was a door in
the room where he was to sleep that
would never stay shut. He took from
his wagon piece of halter strap, with
which he firmly secured the door
Shortly after he had gone to bed he
heard footsteps outside the door. and a
noise as of some one dragging chains
along the floor All at once the room
became almost as light as day, and yet
it did not differ materially from day
light The door that he had so carefully
secured opened noiselessly of its own
accord, apparently. and, while he could
see nothing, he could hear and feel that
| footsteps were approaching his bed. He
| Jumped out on the floor. and again the
| room was dark
Then he could hear noises in the eel
| lar, as if some one were digging and lay
| ing up a stone wall. He got up, dressed
himself and awakened the landlord, and
| told him that he could not stay there
any longer.
..Pshaw.'' said the Boniface, ''are you
foolish enough to be frightened out OF
your sleep by few rats?"
Rats or not said Webb, II an
going;'' and he did go.
| Several years after ''Granther" Mill
ard saw the sights there was an alarm
of fire one night, and the ''old TODD
| tavern was in flames But little effor
was made to prevent the fire from de
stroying it
The next day some men went up te
look at the ruins. In the cellar Their
appeared to be a portion of the wal
that had been taken down and refaid
Several men pried at the wall witt
sticks and it fell down, and behind tn
wall was found mans skeleton, bit
of blue cloth, some grey hair, and two o
three horseshoes. Old men then remem
bered that forty years before they ha,
heard that traveller and speculator i
horses between the United States an
Canada had been seen in and about tn
old tavern as lately as he had bee
heard of anywhere But as more tina
a dozen different men had tried to kee
the tavern there was no means of fas
tening the crime upon them--Chicas
| Journal