The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1894-10-04

When the letter was brought him by
n peiphbor, he looked at 1t, turned it
over, looked at it again and then
laid it unopened on the table. In
about two months he wrote a reply,
stating that the war had ruined him,
that he had no place to Keep ms
children, that he had instructed his
lawyer 10 pay them 5000 apiece a
wear till they were twenty-one years
old, and that he had made further
provision for them in his will. Other
letters he received from his mother
n-law, and afterwards from his
children, but the only way they knew
he was yet alive was from the rogu'
lar payment of the $500 on the first
| day of every January.
After some years he ceased to be
an object of curiosity to his neigh
bors, though not until many a strange
story was told about him. One of
these got abroad thus: "Bill," said
a young farmer to his ~neighbor, on
the road one day, whats that you
was a tellin' Jim Stokes about Jake
Philippson?"
GLOW do you know | was a tellin'
him anything?"
.sSam Smell said he hcarn Jim say
suthin' bout it,"
"Well l Jest told him what
seed"
"What was that?'
cone day las week | was a ridin'
long the road thar by Jake Philip
sons place, and | seed 4 man oven
in the graveyard, looked like he was
diggin'. When | got closer | seed ii
was Jake hisself. | wondered what
he, could be a dom; so crep' up to
the fence and looked in. Well, he
wasn't diggin' at all; be was pulIin'
at a rope as hard as he could. |
crcp' still nearer, and then seed
that he had a pulley hitched to a
tree ana was a pullhu' that thar iron
coffin of his wife's out OF the grave
"Now, Bill" said his friend, "yoc
are lynn as usual"
Il 'clar TO goodness, | amt lynn.
But if You don't want TO believe me,
Jest come to my house tonight, and
Wen 20 lhar, and you kin see if the
grave amt empty"
That night the two men went t,
the old graveyard, and sure enough
the grave vas empty. Not far of
they found the heavy iron casket
and it, too, VAS empty.
r.. This story spread like wiIdttr
through the community, and ii wa
proposed to 60 to the wretchod ma
and demand an explanation of sue
conduct; bu, it was finally decide
- that it was nobody's business but hi
own, and he was not molestcd.
After this it began to be said tina
n of all hours OF the night lights coul
be seen flashing from various room
in the house; and that sometime
the poor man could be heard talkin
very earnestly to someone, ofte
pleading very patheticalIy, but ge'
ting no answer at all.
NC So used did the neighbors final
.es become to thinking of him as a beil
lin apart from the rest of men that The
a ceased to go near him n to inquil
IN. after his needs. But a surpri'
ed awaited them. One morning in vii
ny ter, about fifteen years after IL
es close of the war, old John Silye
ge said to his wife: 'Ole woman,
amt right TO let Jake Philippson LIN
IN over thar all by hisself. lie was
Ell mighty fine young man, and it wasn
IL. right for us all to give him up
nd sence his wife died"
r. but he turned away from us ;
H. hisself," said Mrs. Silvey. ''Didr
er you and me so thar and try to con
u fort him, but he wouldn't hear
If. word we said?'
ell ~ know that, but if he shou
ny take sick and die without nobo'
by with him it would be powerful ba
ch | am a gWine over thar this morni
re and try to persuade him to cit som
his body to come and live with him"
ID, "Who can he get?" asked the {
ter lady. "Nobody would live thar W
nth a crazy man"
led "Well, Pm a gwine owe thar al
re- how.n
he So the old man climbed up on
horse, and rode over. 1t vas abb
IN eleven o'clock in the morning wi
hit, he reached the house. He knocl
lily at the door, but no answer cal
ure Again he knocked; silence 81
his Pushing open the door he enter
led. there lay the body of Jacob Philil
he son in a pool of blood on the hc
He had been struck in the head v
ook q sharp instrument, and his skull
me. open. No clew to the murderer
les ever discovered; and the only
and tive that could be imagined for
lea awful deed was robbery. For it |
this to be said years before that
was Philippson had hidden a large
no. of money on the place. The mel
his bors buried his body in the en-
ness grave of his wife. Old Mr.. Sill
ken locked up the house in the preso