The morning times., 1895-09-22

OBJ Russell Johnsii1g, what died wen wuz
a leetle gal OBJ yaller feber right on dis heah
dump. Wen he comes around oh mid
night he don make SCUM, but jest flies
like big bug III ober de place all in W lite.
'Obar back oh de sarbertory, nea h de dog
poun', is whar yo' kin see mos emmy col
night de speerit what puts spells on cherry
one wat sees him. A gentleman met dat
speerit an had a spell put on him. In two
mont's all his chillen dey died. De spell
speerit, Use heerd foxes say, looks like a
big blue man wild bone arms, an Wen
pussen meets it dey feel lest like dey're
goin' to be kilt, but de speerit goes away
like lightnin', on'y stoppin' TO pint its
long bone han at de pussen what sees him,
an dat puts de spell on i'm"
SECONDHAND GHOST.
'"Deed. boss" .ira wled out another
man lying beneath the shade of pile
of paper bnxes. Il 6oan like 10 tolk bout
ha'nts l amt ncbbcr seed wun, but I'll
tell bout wat my fakser seed afore he died.
1T wuz on Il windy night. an de rain wuz
Jest driZZlu' like. My fahdcr wuz comm
home an crissin' de dump. II wuz jest
bout hyer dat he stupped an couldn't
mobe. fu' 'Zactly III front oh him hose
an man riZ right out de gruun'. The hose
wuz NOR 'an twicet as big ez a common.
ord'nairy hose, an de man he'd on big
fedderin hishat. Both de hu' sc an man wuZ
lax smoke Suddenly de hu'se an man
jest went up. up, up, an jiserpeered in de
sky"
At the foot of Twentieth street the dump
is generally level, and there are more
rakers at this point than any other. while
huts and shanties are interspcrsed about
the surrounding COMMONS. Here an octo-
gena riau was found. He gave his name
as Henry Jackson, and wanted ''chaw,
please, sah.'
Its no use ub talkin'," said the aged
rag-picker inpressively, when the subject
of ''spookology'' was rounded up. "Its
no use ob taikin', but right bout desc
dumps de strangest tings have happened.
1 lib up on E street. hut since way back
wen Pres dent Ha'ison-not de last wun-
wuZ in, I've been a comm down dis-a-way,
an kin tell you s,,nle mighty quar- things
IL chousen to-"
A piece of silver in his palm caused the
ancient darky's big lips to roll back in a
grin, showing a perfect set of white teeth,
unimpaired by eighty years of wear, and
Henry JACKSON CHOOSe 10 tdlh
''Set down under dis tree" he said, IAN
I'll tell yer WuI de fust sight / ebber
seen wuz any number OBJ vars ago. l wuz
sittin' way down near de canal, where de
Monument stands near. De sun he'd Jest
set an l fought ub gittin obcr home /
looked my time, an it wuZ dark afore /
got half way home X light along dat ridge.
whar de row oh houses is sittin' now, /
seen sumpin' what wuz 'nough to near kill
a man.
~Dar stood TO- men wild ropes hangin'
from der necks and wife faces. | took
out. but seed dem To- men at ebbery turn.
/ wuz laid up To- two weeks arter dat wild
hi febcr''
The colored man recited numerous other
instances of his Imagination, among them
being a story of how a neighbor had come
face 10 face Oh the dump. five years ago,
with a man dressed in knickcrbockers and
triangular hat and carrying a gun, and
how one night not many years ago a stream
Of white human heads had been seen sitting
along the roof of the Van Ness mansion on
a dark night.
Indeed. according 10 the tales and legends
told about the old dumps by negroes the
large area is infested by several thousand
ghosts, all of which try to scare the darky
residents of the vicinity, who are so super
stitious as to believe anything told them.