Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-07-21
All MOONS GHOST.
How a Troublesome Specter Was
Efectually Silenced.

EHectually Snenced.
| went out to Japan in the year 1871
time when the old order of things in
that fascinating and romantic country
had by no means altogether given way
to the new. Truly, a railway was in
Process of construction; there was q
telegraph system: the army and navy
were rugged ont in European uniform
and all civil officials were supposed tC
have one evening dress suit of imagin
airy European cut. But the mass of the
people still chung to their ancient Gus
toms and pr ejudices and notions ant
superstitIons and costume, and. above
all, to their jea lousy and suspicion o.
the tojin baka, the stupid foreigner
Europeans and Americans were no'
the only objects of dislike. The AFRO
giant Chinaman came in for a large
share, and certain community of Ian
guage enabled the Japanese to revile
him more caustically and effectively
than he could the usually unlinguistiC
European. Our comprehensive Chi
nese head of the native department o.
the oflice-was one All Moon. He wa:
about as thoroughly hated a man as
could be found, although he was Z
good and upright servant to us-per
haps too good and upright to suit the
gentle native. More than once he had
been waylaid, attacked and beaten by
Japanese whom he had offended by a
too rigorous execution of his duty; and
more than once his life had been
threatened. The result was that he be-
came soured and vindictive, and
changed from merely a strict performer
of his duty into a tyrant and bully.
One afternoon in November ! was en-
gagged in the daily duty of checking the
amount of bullion and coin in the
treasury-the large strong room at
tached to every office. All Moon was
at my side taking down the contents OF
dollar bags and ven" boxes in a book
when suddenly the book fell from his
hands, an expression of insufferable
agony came to his face, he pressed his
hands to his sides, uttered an awful
cry, which / can never forget, and fell
to the floor. When we picked him up
he was dead A post-mortem exanina-
ton revealed no traces of poison-sim-
ply one tiny piece of powdered glass.
We therefore knew that he was the
victim of one of the most subtle, insin-
uating and terrible forms of poisoning
known to nations addicted to that
science.
Efforts, of course. were made to trace
the perpetrators of the crime, but with.
out success. Arrests were made by the
native author tiles for the sake of ap
pearance, and a number of poo,
70 N
lobe prison: but the crime. which wa.
undoubtedly the work Of many, could
be brought home to nobody, and the
affair soon ceased to occupy at any
rate European minds But from the
evening of All Moons death the treas
ury was regarded as haunted. and from
that day only one Chinaman could be
found who would, without the mutter
ing of much jargon. pass through its
great barred entrance This man was
All Moons successor in the post OF
comprador, the late head ''shroff OIL
native cashier, a man named Hal Ling
a shrcwd. clever fellow, who. strange
to say, was as popular with the Japan
csc as his predecessor had been the re
verse.
lie was a good-looking man of fifty
with one OF those calm. unruffled, cx
pressionleSs faces which generally
characterize the statues of Buddah Mir
yana. He was very European in his
tastes. inasmuch as he took Il great in
terest in pony training and racing, and,
mirabile dictu, for Jhinaman. was
not at all bad rider. He spoke
English beautifully. without the small.
est infusion of that childish jargon
known as "Pidjin" English; and upon
one occasion l saw him knock an
offending coolie down in a very scien'
tific fashion. and asked him where he
had learned to hit. He replied: On
board an English man-o'-war.'
So All Moon was tremendously laid
to rest in the Chinese cemetery near the
racecourse. and Hal Ling reigned in his
stead.
Hitherto it had been our custom to
employ Cinnamon as night-watchmen,
partly because they were more reliable
snxn japanese. and partly because they
kept awake better. But after All
Moons tragic death not Chinaman
would consent to sit up through the
long silent watches of the winters
nights in the neighborhood of the
haunted treasury. Hal Ling laughed
n. his countrymen's superstitious fears;
bvt they were not to be moved. and SC
Japanese were put on
But gradually the japanese became
infected with dread, and solemnly de
rlared that at the dead of night they
could hear the spirit of the murdered
All Moon striving to burst its grave,
bonds, and grooming terribly all the
while. 1 pooh-poohed the notion, and
sent the towards about their business;
Init the men who replaced them,
strangers from Toxic. who knew moth
ing about the tragedy, heard the same
sounds, and refused to remain So. al
though was utterly devoid of supersti-
ton. / determined to watch myself one
night. I did SO. Not q sound did hear
from eleven at night until four in the
moruing-the troublous period for All
Moons spirit, and / turned into bed
ealing at the natives for q lot of chick
en-hearted idiots
Still. As the complaints were renewed
during the following days, 1 thought