The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-11-04
THESE ARE GHOST STORIES.
rurRE rs NO LAW COMPELLING
TO BELIEDE THEM.
All the Same. they Are Good Stories of
rhsir Kind " Read Lnte a. Nisht By
Prom the 81. Jouis Globe. Democrat.

cheats are but human essences, therefore In
,,IItiuol and idiosyncratic. Naturally, then,
-tos,s of the rcd men are given to fighting and
snrce revenges. In Tennessee county, lying
',,no both banks Of the Cumberland River,
,hcre is an Indian burying ground, 40 big and
,rII Of skulls rs TO bear out the tradition which
.oates II the scene Of a great battle between the
...ots and Choctaws. The battle came off be-
,ore white men set foot there, but the pioneers
have handed down a tale of how the remainder
~ the defeated tribe took refuge In n cave so
higb mn the face OF the river blum IL could only
no reached by pole ladders, made by chopping to
.bort SPURS the boughs OF tall. slender trees.
once they were up, the ladders were thrown
down. and with arrows and fragments Of rock
the besIeged kept the besiesers Mt bay. But q
subtler enemy, famine, assailed them.
There was water in the cave, so for a week
they waited. watching the while those below
them in the valley build a great death pyre. At
las, A Young chief, in roaming about, found an
outlet which led OBVIOUSLY to the upper world,
. mile away. At dusk the beleaguered stole
through il, only to nnd themselves IN the hands
Of their foes. They were put to death the next
ward in search of fresh worlds to conquer. But
they never came back. so much the tale afirms
and there are the skeletons and beads and
.hells and pottery to back up the legend, which
is told but rs the necessary preamble 10 what
A small farm house had been built close to
the place OF skulls. IL was unoccupied, and, the
%pT %Pts S,S St z fr wsn- the pi ISrm' on ns' aste sp%s NAN IN
September, a hail brought him 70 the door to
md q Io move = ro waSSIah s teI I who Se n nss 80 gain im Sna
diately what he would take for the Indian bury
Ing ground ID, place &c rro dhs man rHsb was " Sor an lutte. utter
quickly struck. Inside a week the, new family
WAS at homeland such Of the neighbors as had
70 work hard, seeing he had brought along such
a lot OF sharp mattocks, picks, and shovels,
He gave out that he was going into truck gar
denins for the neighborinH. county town, so
there was not a ripple of talk over his having
ALWAYS a shovel or hoe in his hand. Things
went uneventfully up to the full moon In Octo-
Der, some six weeks after the stranger moved
in; T Ss1I. n aSS cries Z Sf fearful II 4, one Se m%cr onigy a ah few
heard them, as, the police were remote and
hardly any one abroad at that hour. A band OF
'posstim hunters and one bclated traveller on
the big road spread, abroad news of them. how
ever. so next day the former owner went to see
what was behind It,
THE SETTLERS STORY.
He found the land buyer sitting. in the ohm
ney corner, beaten black and blue, with
smiling a trire sheeplshly when his hurts were
mentioned. After a little he appeared to think
better OF u and this Is the story he told:
II lived all my life up in Sparta, two hundred
miles from here. l never knowcd there was
one day as | was %ploughing my little corn
patch, I looked up and say 9 tall old man,
a long rifle In his hand and wearin' a buck
skin huntin' shirt, standin' In the next row,
passed the time Of day and all that. he burst out
AL Of a sudden. 'sayi Do you want 70 he rich 2
, wS1s toy hard sa ysr L % tth ad ii dr II 9 @ldRf fa a" " to
wouldn't cheat. nor rob no Twin man. Then.
says he, sorter laughin'. How about er dead In
that. Then. to cut tho matter short, he let on
as he was my. old woman's great grandsire, and
ghosts he'd found out wher some Injuns had
buried a big jar full OF gold beads and bracelets
and Choctaws, and had got the gold down in the
Georgy ~diggings.
watch over il, and would xiii the man that tried
to take it-pnless he got at II the one night in
t the !ca4n T sSses shs sSa LEFT e.m 1t s dti Slra That .b w SaIG for
away At that from sun down TO the time the
Then he told me about this plaoeIi o sell ont,
s soSDs here her , Hnd h SGYt "a and nd. dig sS0 and d IL until aIan, |
braves was so jealous of havin; it talked about
with another laid in the crotch OF them, and ali
three feet under ground, then was TO dig there.
but me; i aug: ana, io%SS the TSsand To *
the moon to full, but last night i set In. and /
tell you made the spade fly. BY IL O'Clock or
true as You set there found the jar. Then i had
20 be keerful-the old man had told me IL was
S SssisS Of S fns gold r aust. I had "a to S Dix m It r foot lSsS e
at each side OF II, and | tell you It wasn't easy
workin' down thar. But after o while I felt
up, thinkln' "a git my, breath, then take a
purchase on II that would fetch 1t up,
the hole was dark-the tree shadows had COW
cred Y while ! was diggin'.. dropped down to
no break, and run for all l was worth. It come
up as nice a. you pleaseIand ! tell you i was
then, before / could lay hands on IL again. some,
thin, took me blim! In the forehead, and bangl
little. cold. sharp things cut and sc sne | SSstdi n mei
and all the time the blows kept rainin' down. I
p po%ilsssa n for there ! w we're d sftyy rba s4sle with ii t6S er
aff noSed had been too slow. and the ghost
s-trailln' him. They kept up beating me about
The visitor went. What he saw was a deep.
the bottom, such as would be left by the removal
OF s9mething a long time buried. No jar was
tinct print OF a moccaslned foot, with Just be-
side it q earnelian arrowhead. which shone as II
They've took their gold and buried it some
sEdhnsTe else" said the gold seeker. Now,
lnjun's grave"
TOLD BY An INDIAN TRAVELLER.
As far as the East Is from the West, so far Is
my next incident. 1t was told me by a clear
headed man, who has spent fifteen years among
the Hlndoos, not as a magician nor as "A mission
airy. but In attention 10 his own concerns. His
vile went with him far up the country. and
they set up their own bungalow within hail OF
ono of the sacred cities. They had all native
servants, and often went six months without
sight OF a European face. After they had been
some ten years In residence the wife fell sick OF
q banning fever. Doctors were summoned from
afar at great expense; still she grew no better,
and her husband began TO feel himself indanger
OF bereavement.
He rarely left her, but one afternoon late she
begged him to walk about the garden. IL was a
prim, pretty place, with gravel walks and a
Eravelled plat Ia the centre with tiny fountain
playing. As the master OF II stood watching the
water one OF his native servants directed his at
tentiOn to a high-caste native who was Just
entering the gate. Though the man was an en-
tire stranger, his noble, helpful cOuntenance
seemed 10 radiate comfort. He came up 10 the
house owner, saying in HindOOstanee;
There is one sick In your house. | would see
her" Though surprised beyond measure, the
American. after a little hcsitancy. took the
stranger into his wife's presence, She lay fully
The native bent down and clasped II, saying