The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-08-16
THE SUPERNATURAL.

Referring to the various supcrsti
tons, as to ghosts and COLLINS, witch
es, spooks and bogies, spiritual mani
festations, bad spirits. good spirits,
and the numerous other bugaboos con
jured up in disorderd minds, to fright
en- small children, | can truthfully as
sert that up to the present time, Il am
now fifty eight years of age, J | have
never known but one occurrence fol
which | could not account by natural
causes.
When a child, | was treated to all
of the above mentioned terrors, with
numerous others, including bears, add
ed thereto.
AS grew up, however, | found that
the only things in the whole business
that ever materialized, were the bears,
and those only in menageries and as
adjuncts to itinerant shows
Singular, isn't it, that those who do
not believe in disembodied spirits,
never get chance to see one?
Now, | have all my life been hank
ering to get good look at a real, gen
uine, first class ghost, but have never
yet had my curiosity gratified in the
smallest degree.
The only unaccountable incident of
which have spoken, with your kind
permission, l will proceed to relate.
1t happened many years ago, when |
was about fifteen years of age, and yet,
every detail was so indelibly stamped
upon my memory that l shall never
forget it.
The scene was in the state of Yer
mont among the verdant hills that
nestle at the feet of the old Green
Mountains.
| say old Green Mountains because
they are older than | am. At any rate,
they were there in all their grandeur
when first saw the light of day and
it is my candid opinion that they have
been there ever since Chaos conceived
and gave birth to the earth.
1t was at the feet of these grand old
historic mountains, high up the hill
side west of West River, short dis
lance above where it tumbles into the
old Connecticut, that first drew the
breath of life; hence it was that my
eyes opened upon as charming stretch
of scenery as this country, so justly cele
brated for the picturesque, can afford.
To the west were the everlasting
hills, eliminating in the summit of
the mountain range. Below, toward
the east, was the narrow West river
valley, the clear, sparkling waters of
which stream being plainly visible for
upwards of fifteen miles, until they
meet and kiss and mingle with the
waters of greater Connecticut.
Then the intervening territory be-
tween the two rivers, and the valley
of the latter for distance of more
than twenty miles; and beyond, the ris
ing slope on the New Hampshire side
fading way in the dim distance, until |
the unparalleled view terminates and
centers upon the majestic crest of old
Monadnoc.
Many villages dot the intervening
space. Rivers, forests, mountain peaks,
innumerable farms, all combine to com
plete the unparalleled picture.
What beautiful sunrises we used to
witness from over the top of grand,
majestic old Monadnoc; and how mag
nificent that mountain looked sill
houetted against the eastern sky, rad
liant with the glory of the gold of day
So high up were we that we used to
claim that we could see the sun
half hour before it rose.
In one sense this was not an extrav-
agant assertion, for we could see the
sun one half hour before it rose suffi
GENTLY high to shed its rays uron the
valley below us.
Old Vermont, with its tender and
loving associations, the state that the
poet SAKE apostrophised, in toast at
a grand reception: vermont! Its
men, women, horses and maple sugar.
The first are very strong: the third are
very feet; the second and fourth are
very sweet, and all are exceedingly
hard to beat Well, that is true
every word of it.
The New England states, and espe
cally old Vermont and her twin sister,
New HAMPSHIRE, have been most
wretchedly slandered, and many I'M
kind things have most unjustly been
said against them.
One IS, that the country is SO brok-
en-, and the hills SO steep that they
have to plant beans on the hillsides,
with double barreled shotguns.
Another is, that there is where peg .
ged shoes were invented, it becoming :
a necessity on account of the hills be- |,
ing so thick and so near together that
the shoemakers could not draw out
their threads. I
And still another is, that the fields q
| n