The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-01-24

Aid of Visible Hands-It Goes Through
Cow While Green Balls of Fire Drop
From the Tips of Her Horns-The
wheel Makes a Perfect Figure Eight in
the Middle of the Road-Strange Phe-
nomenon.
The good people Of Eas: Central ave
nue., beyond Chisholm creek, are now
in fever Of excitement over a most
mysterious, invisible scorcher. and not
a mothers son or daughter Of them VIII
stir out Of doors after the chickens go
to roost
Central avenue is the public highway
to the cities Of the dead. 1t is the path
Of mOrtality-the highway through
which every Wichitaian passes TO his
last resting place after he has kicked the
bucket and shuffied off his mortal coil.
1t has always been more or less haunt
ed, or supposed 20 be haunted, but until
| recently no one could ever be found
! who could positively testify 10 having
seen anything strange. Many and many
/ have been found who are willing 10
/ swear that as they wendell their way
along the avenue they felt a creeping
I in fright over their shoulders expecting
/ to see a ghost ready to pounce upon
! their backs.
Peter Cooley Of 2502, the street men
| toned, has seen what others have felt.
! Peter is an Englishman and the even
! ing the war neWS was chalked on the
/ Eagle bulletin board ne felt that il was
/ necessary for him TO get up a little ar
I tificial enthusiasm. He and Barney Ross
=
10 Jim Donovan's place and they found
another friend or two who had no SER
iOus objections 10 taking a drink OF
spirits. Mr.. Cooley ordered four whis-
/ kys and one brandy and after drinking
/ them the FIVE began TO talk about the
! great battles Of history. Barney Ro6s
+ then set EN- up twice in succession and
/ Mr.. Cooley ordered another round. The
man who drank the brandy seemed TO
/ have the best Of the argument and when
the next round was ordered Mr.. Cooley
took brandy, too. About 10 o'clock they
started for home but when they reached
Emporia avenue one OF the unmentiOned
two gentlemen said, well, boys, if the
! war breaks out times will be pretty
/ good and think can afford TO set EN-
J up once That's right" said Mr..
! Cooley; II don't mind If l have a night
cap before going home" At this place
.
/ Cooley dabbled IN that. To make q
long story short they stayed there until
I Officer Sutton stuck his mead in through
the door and in minor key suggested
that it was getting late. The party dis
banded and all left for their separats
homes.
When Mr.. Cooley crossed the Chisolm
creek bridge on Central avenue the
court house clock struck midnight. AS
t. Df,1al g}s-gNr
rooster lent his clarion voice 10 convince
Mr. Cooley that ii had reached that be
wiching hour when grayeyards yawn
and give up their dead. Mr.. Cooley has
tened mis- stride, expecting 10 be able 10
reach his homo from the west before
the ghosts could reach u from the oil
rectiOn OF the cemetery His calcula-
tlons were all right so far as pedestrian
ghosts were concerned, but he did not
take into consideration the possibility
Of ghosts using bicycles.
He was just half a block. from his
home. He could see the lamp light
shine from his paTlor windows 50 pow
erfully that he knew Mrs. Cooley was
awaiting his arrival and he then be-
gan to have more dread Of family cur
tain lectures than ne had Of the peaceful
dead.
AS he was reaching down into his
vest pocket for another Glove he saw
something pass through the beam Of
light and his heart jumped to his mouth
Every hair in his head began to move
and his bald spot felt as If 1t was under
the current Of a static machine. He
wiped his eyes and looked again and
there before him. twenty feet away, he
saw bicycle scorching down the road
towards him The little bell Lnlled, he
jumped aside with a yell and wniZ went
the bicycle past him. He shivered and
trembled and big beads CT perspira-
ton stood upon his brow.
Even at midnight it is nothing 10 meet
a bicycle on the road, but great scott,
what a strange thing It IS to meet a
bicycle travelling at the rate Of twenty
miles an hour without a rider. That
Is just what Mr.. Cooley saw. That bt-
cycle was spinning and scorchIag along
without a rider
Mr.. Cooley, when ne found the energy
Of his legs, ran Ike a. oayote and dash
ed in through the door Of his homo with
such force thar his afrighoed wife faint
ed and the dog came within an ace Of
eating him up.
The poor old man was deluged with
peTSpiration and his face was as pale
as the moon al her zenith. His daugh-
ter came screaming down stairs, like
one released from a horrible nightmare
ana she. too, nearly tainted She APP
piled the usual resi- ora Jiv<as TO her mo-
Their and in time all of them went 70
bad but not 10 sleep.
Mr.. Cooley, after soba- second
thought. concluded the riterless bicycle
was simply the result of mixed drinks
and he never explained his strange Oon-
duct either 70 the wife Of his bosom or
the daughter Of his heart.
As he peaceably read the ibIe the
next night his good. wife frequently
looked a him over her glasses and then
pegged away at her knitting again. The
fact is she thought her husband became
temporarily insane the previous night
and she was very uneasy over il.
Wednesday night about , o'clock or
a little later NJ Cooley heard his dog
Dufer barking violently and having
read in the Eagls abous chicken thieves
he took his revolver from under his
pillow and went 70 the back door. As
he opened i he saw his fiue Jersey COW
kicking her heels in the air Ike mad and
making for the street De jumped in
% his trousers. then into his shoes. a a
Jerry Simpson. Then MO his coat, hat
and overc5at and away h. went after
The cow. He was guided after his JsT-
s5y by the Light Of the milky way and
now and then by the Eiimrner % Ed
GolGberS'S bIiake-S. He gained stead
ily on the COW and finally caught The
end of her rope at She foot OF College
Eiu. He was not afraid Of ghosts any
more for il was long after The hour
when he saw the riGeriess bicycle The
previous Monday night Ghosts amt
going 20 town this hour" sad Nj Coo
ley - himself. but he never for 2 no
ment thought about ghosts coming
back from town.
All a. once his Jersey puli=5 OF tire