The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1894-02-24
lung AIRS STRANGE STORY,


LUNG HIS STRANGE STORY,
roid to Consul Bedioe a. . warning Not ~
scola Animals.
This Is the story told DR.. Edward
Bedloe, consul to Annoy, by his SAM
pAnman. Though Il was told the doc
tor in pigeon English, its rendition
into purer tone and classic phrase has
taken from it naught of truth nor
added aught Of falsehood. BY the souls
of the ancestors of Lung Hi, the sam
panman, it is true tale, and let no
man deny it lest his tongue rot out
and his entrails grcan with pain. The
sampanman told 1t as he sat on the
veranda near the doctors feet one day
after tiffln. He smoke bit of the doc
tors good Virginia bright tobacco in
pipe with bowl no bigger than pea.
The doctor had thrown stone at q
passing dog which had threatened to
intrude on the porch and repelled him
with harsh epithets: Lung Hi had
rowed the doctor good ten miles in
the official sampan that day and was
philosophical.
Zone cannot be too careful what one
does or says to an ANIMAL" observed
Lung Hi. sit possesses the intelli-
gence of the soul it contains and may
be the soul of ones grandfather or
some other near relative who should
be treated with respect"
Lung Hi drew full breath Of smoke
and craftily waited. The doctor dropped
his tobacco pouch near the sampan-
man; teaspoonful spilled upon the
spotlessly clean floor of the veranda.
Lung Hi handed back the pouch and
swept the spilled portion skillfully
into his pipe, relit it, and continued:
II speak thus to the illustrious chin.
chin doctor because OF wonderful
thing which happened in my own fam'
lily and which shall never forget. My
grandfather was poor coolie who
worked for day wage. But he was am
bilious and anxious to rise above his
caste. He earned eight cents day
two cents he spent for living and the
other six he saved until at the end of o
year he had saved $50. With that he
bought sampan and joined the guild
of sampanmen. At this trade he pros
pered, and in time bought other sam
pans and hired men to row them. Sc
in time my grandfather became very
rich man, and when he died was the
very richest man in my native village
richer than any other two men in the
place. His body was cremated and hi.
ashes placed in an urn and put on {
shelf in my fathers house, where they
remained many years, until after wal
born.
II remember the urn we'll. One da,
a careless servant in cleaning the room
knocked the urn to the floor and i
broke, scattering my grandfather
ashes all over the room. AS they wer,
being swept up, a tiny baby serpen
wriggled out from among them, ant
we knew at once that it held m,
grandfather's soul. So we put it in
box, and fed it daily on new milk, ant
as it grew larger on mice and small
birds, until in about year my grand
father had become a fine large snak
six feet long and three inches thick.
"About that time my mother CAV
birth to a fine man child. 1t was
splendid baby, and the whole villag
sung its praises My little brothe
grew fat and handsome, but in a few
months it sickened, became pale an
thin, and we could not see what wa
the matter with it. Finally my fathe
went to clairvoyant, who consulte
the stars and the rocks, and said that
vampire came at night and was sucl
ing my little brothers life away an
that he must sit up and beat him off.
$50 that night my father sat in m
mothers room all night long, bu
nothing came; nor was there anythin
the next night, but the night follow
ing, as my father sat on the floor hal
awake and half asleep, he heard
sound which filed him with terro
but he remained very quiet and opene
one eye slowly. To his horror he sa,
my grandfather wriggle stealthil
across the floor, crawl into my mother
bed, and fasten his mouth upon he
breast. She slept soundly while th
snake drew her milk. In few mil
utes my little brother began to whin
and rolled toward my mother. M
grandfather coiled his body around m
brother, and put the tip of his tail
my little brothers mouth to sue
while he drew the sustenance whic
belonged to the child. After he ha
filed his stomach he glided away.
"My father had sat perfectly silen
but in the morning a family council I
war was held, and my grandfather W,
condemned to death. He was execute
with an ak, his body was thrown
the pig, and his head was nailed to I'll
outer wall of the village temple, whel
, It still is"
This was the true tale of Lung H
the sampanman, told to Dr. Bedlo
consul to Washington Post.
RETALIATION.