The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-08-16
CHAPTER XXTII.
The Hac's Den.

This woman had been by the side Of
John Brooke when he died; had taken
Isaac Al<ers from a living tomb; had
struggled through the wilderness, over
hills and through valleys; had been at
tackled by wild beasts and crippled; had
gone through many vicissitudes and.
finally. after a long struggle, arrived
at Cedar Dell with the papers. Upon
arrival she had been the object of
her mission and conscience pointed out
a continuation of her duties. Having
heard of the cave from a countryman
the day before she entered the village
she resolved to make it her home and
remain in seclusion for awhile. at least
till she fully understood the conditions
of the objects of her mission. The next
day after she had entered the cave viii
layers came by twOs and threes and
dozens to look in, and their supersti
tious tongues began TO wag about the
murder den, as they often called it.
Mystery upon mystery was heaped up
about the history of the cave, how muir
derers used to hide there, and how
their victims nightly were lured to the
mouth of the cave, and within, by the
plaintive cries of women for help. but
when they entered the cave they were
never known to return, and how an old
witch once. who had a familiar spirit,
has sold herself to the devil and drawn
UP the contract and signed it in her
blood and burned it in the witch-fre.
from whence it went directly to Satan.
that being the means by which written
communications were sent to him, &C
cording to the opinion of devil wor-
shippers.
Though Wendeck could see the corners
and gOers and hear their clatter from
her dark nook, where she would often
b &c h.
weary she did not care to show herself
for three days. at the end of which
time she sailed forth to find a few who
wanted their fortunes told and get
supply of eatables and some tobacco.
She found the villagers, though anX-
ious to hear their fortunes told, so
afraid of her that they would frequently
run out of the house If she would enter,
If they had not time to lock their door
before she came in, but when they once
stopped long enough to hear her talk
on some Of her philosophy Of human
kindness. ever after they would cling to
her as helpless child to it's mother.
The unexplained and uneXplainable
things in nature have given to the hui
man imagination and fear various ideas
and Impressions that have, after ages,
woven themselves into a system Of
mythology that I might call the ETHEREAL
sea between ghosts and men. Across
this sea come and go the ships of super
stitiOn. They sail out into the unknown
and sail back from the unknown, ever
carrying a cargo of darkness and Won
der. This cargo consists Of strange
echoes. mysterious sounds the fall Of a
leaf the hooting Of an owl the coil of
a serpent, the howl Of a Watchdog the
death Of grass about the grave. The be-
levers of any Of the mythOlogies must
essentially be fatalists. Superstition and
fatalism must ever go together. When
we speak of superstition we embrace
the whole world, yet no one confesses
that he is superstitiOus; everyone is, and
ii is all Of a kind, differing only in de-
gree The conjury Of spirit communi-
cation has drifted through all ages
from the dark doings Of the priests of
Isis: the necromancy Of the Chaldean
Jews. the mystified cunning Of the
Jesuits. the mOnOmania of the Shakers
the wierd nominations of the dervishers
the wild rawlings of an Indian "ghost
cabinet" for % cents admission. Was
always and is still prompted by either
deceit, superstition or insanity.
I have the honor of the personal ac-
Quaintance of an attorney who has
served upon the bench with marked dis
tincton. He is a man Of fine education
strictest integrity and superior intellect
He is a pronounced inhdel. He cannot
believe in the revelation of the bible
His reason, he says, will not let him
the dead were resurrected, and yet at a
dark circle seance he will see through
the dimly lighted room a hand appear
above the inclosed booth Of the operator
and disappear as quickly. He firmly be-
lieves that that is his mothers hand.
and any distorted countenance that is
made to appear Of disappear from be-
hind the curtain he believes to be his
dead mothers face. He seems satisfied
to believe this without any investiga-
ton or without searching the cabinet
When trying his case in court he is
most particular to weigh and balance
all evidence When II comes to his par
ticular whim he seems quite afraid
somebody will expose the trick and show
him his error. In espousing any cause
or belief humanity seems to be anxious
to defend IL and the more absurd they
find it, the more vehement the defense
This is especially true in religion and
politics.
Through these open avenues, super
stition and ignorance, Wendeck always
easily passed to the confidence of the
household but when there, never failed
to leave a good lesson behind and point
a moral. While she used credulity as a
lever, she endeavored to raise her
hearers above superstition. especially
above the selhshness of supposed provi-
Dental acts.
Almost the first one to ask her aid
and have his fortune told was Carl