Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-11-15

the heart Of the woods. After walk.
ing toward 1t for considerable dis
lance II seemed to them no nearer,
and they had become alarmed and
suddenly turned and fed, believing
1t to be ghost. One traveller, who
had entered the road at dusk, had
meyer been heard of again.
after these events, anyone who
saw the window at night took to his
heels, and at last few persons would
| 60 through the woods after dark, ex-
cept In o carriage or in company.
No one riding In . carriage had ever
seen the mysterious window, but one
man riding there alone had been at
tackled by an unknown person and
robbed. The Dedham woods began
to have bad reputation, but the
dark events that had happened there
were assigned to ghosts, and the van
fishing window and light were spoken
of as the Phantom inn that travelled
away sometimes made a side
tour through the Dedham woods, and
l used to be warned to beware Of the
phantom inn. / used to answer such
warnings by speaking to the dog and
saying:
1--WE are not alarmed, are we,
Silas? Speak, dogP And the dog
would rise up In the air and shake
his paws and say sharply, 'Silasl'
"Was / ever afraid when riding
alone in the old De6ham woods? !
always speak plainly, and / must say
that sometimes was. A sort of q
shadow OF fear would come over
me. never believed in ghosts or
haunted houses after my early years.
Yet a superstitious nature clings to
me. 1t has often made me feel creepy,
until stopped to reason. 1t stands
to reason that dead folks don't appear
with leather boots on, and hats and
buttons and clothes woven in looms.
1.-THE Dedham woods used to be a
lonely place. 1t is most farms now.
They stretched then away towards
the coast. There were no towns like
Hyde Park then; no Ponkapong with
villas; no costly summer homes.
They had a woodsy smell in fall, and
the air was full of the odor of sassa-
fras in spring. The crows had nests
in great groves of pine trees that
looked like islands amid the white
birches and oaks. The sunlight
spaces between the trees were full of
bluejays that would eye the coach
with outstretched necks. / can seem
to see them now. The Indian pipe
used to grow by the wayside, and
back Of it wild roses and green brakes
and clematis, which bloomed and
feathered late. In the fall the
fringed gentians lined the ponds and
dotted the cranberry meadows. The
horses liked to slack up in summer
and walk under the cool shadows of
the trees.
1.-The sun glinted as it were through
the bowery trees, and the locusts
sang in the oak tops on mellow
August days. The air was full Of
greenness, light and bird songs.
Many's the time I've ratified the
coach over that detour from the
main way.
"Oh, those were lonely roads ain
winter. The winds used to whistle
like this--woo-oo-oo. Just as though
they were spinning-woo-oo-oo. They
seemed to catch the spirit Of the sea,
which was not many miles away
woo-oo-oo; like that.
people began to move away to
York State. They called it up
country then, The Mohawk Valley
seemed as far away at that time as
the prairies do now. l had q good
offer to 60 to Albany and take stage
route from there to Buffalo. caught
the up country fever, and resolved
to go. ! may seem weak, but one Of
my greatest regrets on parting was
that / would have to leave my old
friend Silas, the coach dog, at Green
harbor, and / might never see him
again.
lone day as / was stopping at the
old Scituate Inn, just before setting
out for Albany, met stranger
there. He called himself Searle. l
shall never forget the eyes of that
man. There seemed to be hidden
spirit, not himself, looking through
them. They remined me at once Of
the travelling window and light or the
phantom inn.
But Silas, the dog-I never met
such mystery as when the dogs
eyes first met those Of that man. 1t
used to be said in Old New England
times that dogs would see ghosts
coming and start up and howl, be-
fore people could see them. That
dog seemed to see something mys-
terious in that mans eyes.
He leaped into the air when
Searle appeared and said 'Silas.
HE then shook all over, dropped
on his feet and ran round and round
me, whining in fearful tone. 1t
seemed as though he must have seen
Searle somewhere before, mysteri-
ously in some out of the way place.
What did it mean? have thought
of it hundred times-what did it
mean?
Going up the country, ! hear,
said Searle.
"'Yes, have concluded to take the
Albany route said /. There is
more money in it,
Coin to take your dog here
along with your He's fine one.
NO, said /, I'll have to 60 by
the way OF New York, and up the
river to Albany, and I must leave