The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-12


70 oe very much bleached, as IL by ex-
posure TO the weather while others still
4ad' punches OF hair clinging TO them.
~ some the teeth were of snowy white
ness. while in others they were dark.
showing the stains OF the betei nut
some OF the skulls seemed 10 be turned
~ a. 70 give a side view, and thus expose
large holes in the side which had prob
aDly caused the death of the persons they
represented. In one case the face seemed
- oe turned completely away, while the
BACK OF the skull disclosed a long. narrow
opening. which suggested a blow from be-
hlnd with battle ak. But most Of them
seemed 10 me We're looking
/ straight at me through the dim
red light with hollow eyes and grinning
Jaws. In some the teeth had dropped
away. and in others the lower Jaw was
! missing, but in the majority the entire
skull with fun double rows OF grinning
As 1 noted these things. mentally won
aering whether / was awake or dream
ing, l saw that the more ] looked the
more skulls / could see. Line after line
OF them seemed to make their appearance,
staring silently at me with their horrible
empty eyes and grinning that ghostly.
CHASTITY grin. silent. yet so real that I
could not believe them the creatures or
inauguration Sometimes il seemed 70 me
that / could see them move, and / lis
! tened, horror stricken, to see If there came
any sound. But no; IL was a silent but
/ extremely expressive company by which
was surrounded. Tier upon tier they
/ seemed to rise until they melted away
1 in the darkness: round and round me
stretched the lines of grinning staring hor-
| rors, completely cncircliug my bed ana
I seeming to look at me from every direc-
/ ton ana altitude and with every express
unable to move. The strange sight fasci-
/ mated me, Yet filled me with indescribabie
/ terror.
| Suddenly the character of the light per
| vading the apartment seemed to change
| to a greenish hue. giving to the array of
heads about me the most CHASTITY, appear
| ance possible 10 imagine. The light SEEM
/ Ell TO come IN waves, now lighting up the
| room quite freely and now slowly disap-
| pearing. As II did so the vision of horrors
seemed to slowly disappear, only to spring
| again into existence as the light was re
! newed. Finally the climax seemed TO
/ come. The light gradually disappeareo,
| the darkness grew more intense ana the
| interval of its disappearance longer than
| any other. Then came again that sound
as of a cannon. followed by q bright
light which fully illuminated the apart
ment 1t disclosed a scene of horrors
/ more vivid than I had dared imgaine Not
only was my bed surrounded by rows OF
/ grinning skulls, but the entire room, from
/ the floor to the ceiling, was lined with
| them. The walls We're a. solid mass or
| skulls, little and big light and dark, star
| ing silently at me with their Dig, vacant
| eyes grinning with horrible meaningless
| jaws each seeming to outvie the other H.
/ the fantastic attitude or appearance which
! But i was when I looked above that
| the climax seemed to he reached. NOt
| only were the walls lined with these un-
/ welcome reminders OF q past SeheIdtlOh'
! blIt the ceiling was festOOned with them.
! Hanging from the roof was partlculatly
| choice lot of skulls evidently mostly Chl-
/ mes and japanese. They were suSpended
| bv long black braids of hair, apparently
| the pigtails of the deceased and as me
light fell upon them they hunG treH4nns
above me. the hollow eyes looking Gown
| unon me the side locks of black hair fall
! ing about the faces, and the W'hite teetn
cleaning and grinning in the now pIlEllss
| light was horrible sight. AS gah-u
/ a Gust of wind swept through the room;
| sUavine them backward and forward ana
| crashing them together WIN the mos no.
| low ghostly sound imaglnSple rms , We
] ,9ora than nv nerves could endure. With
| a veil | sprang from my bed, anu leall.Is
! through the nearest openlnS-oooI u VIZ VIZ
| dow I do not know which, l soon 1oun9
| rnvself running at the top OF my speed
| down a narrow road through une Vlliia8e.
Il noticed there was oIlgnI ,,i I1il
| o1,e,.1,v,h ere and assumed that some Dullu-
mo was burning nearby. l ran on anu
| an not knowing or caring Whlther, Oily
| willing to put distance between myssI ,
! and the chamber of horrors from Whlcn
bad inst escaped Finally l fell eN-
! hausted at the roadside, ana on recovering
NV self-possession found that had passeu
entirely through the town ana was On q
hilton overlooking 1t. l began 10 ioQh
about me to see the source or the nshJ
which still illuminated everything, Whsn
heard voices, and, stepping quickly mo
- ebadov awaited developments. 10
nv astonishment and delight, saw ~ lnS
uarties approached that it was my Irlen9
whom ] had so much desired 10 SEE, anu
,,,bo nod been reported as at some distant
camnbor camp. 1t goes without saying
that he was quite as much SUI pIlseG az
my presence as l was gt auIdlSSu oxnla i1.S,
! tfon that ] was able to make MIN un
| derstand how l happened to De in thdl
part of the world at that parucular tl Una
| - 'But / don't understand yet ne salu,
how Won happen to be here, on TINS open
| road. at this time of the night. You haa
no reason to expect TO meet nlJ , ne ti, ~
| I had left no word when would return,
| q No I said but ! preferred the rodd
| or the forest or anything that couIu
! imagine to the sleeping apartment lroin
| which I have Just escaped.
" iiTben sat down on a rock opposite
| him and told him my experience. some
| thing as I have told 1t TO you. As l. pl h17
/ ceeded 1 was annoyed to observe s IiliIe
! on his face and as the end of my recltal
/ came he rolled off the stone on Whlch ne
! sat confused with laughter. ".
- what's the natter SAD, angIily.
| do YOU suppose l am telling you a Ialry
! story, merely for your amusement?
Not at all, my dear ie di ne te,, hIi-
| me the truth. and that you nave really
| had a horrible night of 1t. But II IS 50
| easily accounted for and so natural In
! smiling The fact is, these people put you
/ in their skull chamber to sleep. You see,
/ every native who has any sort or tamly
pride has his skull chamber in which he
! deposits the skulls Of those he mas klllfd
| in battle or neighborhood or trlnal 1euqs.
! EVERY man not only collects all the skulls
| Of those he has personally killed, but
/ adds to his own collection those inherited
/ from his ancestors and what odd ones ne
can pick up to swell the number lilt 50 i
! happens that the representatives OF ole
and aristocratic families have large col
/ lections in which they take great pride
and arrange IN their cHdihDeIS Win great
these skull chambers are considered
| choice apartments for the young men
who are being trained for war. as TO
| sleep in them is believed to add eour-
and fit them for battle service. It is evil
| dent that your host. seeing that you
! We're a young military man, thought he
/ was doing you a great service by plac-
| ing you in this chamber, and that you
| vouid recognize ii as a delicate compli-
! nerf when you awoke IN the morning
! and observed your surroundings.
u walked with my friend to where l
could see the source of the light, vol
cano in eruption, after which l shared
! his quarters desiring no further expert
ments in the Formosan method of war
| rior making