Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-01-17
THE HAUNTED WELL
A GHOST STORY FROM THE TEN
yEssEE MOUNTAINS.
The Fate Of n Mysterious Nan VINO
Recump the Victim OF GnnE ="
which He Belonged Before His
Reformation.
Reformation.
uuntInrton crenn.l letter.

slssipp, rivers, in Henry county Tenn.'
x the Oldest settlement In the county.
A log house. with one corner fallen down.
the Debris OF two stone chimneys, two or
three decayed hewn white oak ioss'
q mart of the stables, one or two worm
eaton peach trees that have never laiie'
TO bear. and four white-oak posts arou"u
an old well mark the spot. Inc se''ie-
nent was made long before the pubic
rood uas laid out. and the latter runs
around the ruins. The well is on the hhe
where the yard fence once ran, ana an
old trough, rotten at one end, ana cracked
its full length, tells where the owner anu
traveller watered their horses three
ouarters of a century ago. There was
no other house within five miles OF H.
ovina, to the character OF the SOIL ana
topography of the country.
In the early settlement OF the county
when the tide of emigration was nowins
into the Mississippi Valley from south-
western Kentucky, the route was from
uonl<insville. Ky. to Dover. Paris. and
Jackson. Tenn, above, below, ana east
of Memphis. The first good water the
traveller got after crossing the tennessee
river vvas at the well above referred TO-
It's renutation extended far and VIDE
The place was settled by an old Dacheio,
named Carter. q noted hunter, VINO ulcd
I'm 1Slo His heirs in North Carolina sofa
Tho MACE ohere were about eight acres
~ tillable land surrounding iD to man
named Dozier. who came from the nor'n-
ern norton Of Christian county, ny.
He appeared to have plenty OF inoHSs'
and the citizens Of the county WI
dered why a man or ms means 49,,
hurv himself I'm this out-of-the-way piace.
IL succeeded I'm having il made
stage-stand. purchased forage an
bauled n a long distance, and enter
tained the travelling public. hls vu ,o1
ness became profitable, ana ne anu "u-"
to his possession in snort WINE ~
,,I,oiv negroes. IL was observed py
those who passed along the pupIic Iolu
and enjoyed his acquaintance INA ~
had visitors who remained Win ii'iI
several days at time iig'''i''s
-. ,,o,,or occurred during Carriers oc-
,,,nancv They did not appear to be or
binary travellers, who merely stopped
a. rest II was also noted that DoZier
,nade frequent trips to Kentucky; gene
ally In the company Of some or these
men He was a church member ana nor
,rSrcouentlv attended services at Paris
twenty miles distant.
win all this there was a suspicion IN
the minds Of many that n was rot
what he professed to be. Inefe We're
whispers here and there that said ne
had left Kentucky for her good rms
was about the time when II became
known that there was some one clrcu-
Iatine counterfeit money in the country;
hon lf
stations from kentucky 10 LOUISIANA,
and were stealing horses and negroes and
rrpnfno them off: when Murreil had
been arrested and sent to the State
prison to die; when Pennington, and one
Of his ueutenants. a neghbor Of Dozier s
when he lived in Kentucky, had been in
dieted. captured by Or. Bowling IN the
Indian Territory, returned to Hopkins
vile, and executed.
HE DISAPPEARED.
\ stone-cutter named Streator had re-
moved from HOpkinsville 10 Paris, ana
to some OF his newly-formed acquaint-
ances had impaired confdentially the fact
that Dozier was not as good as
he protested TO be. This uncertainty
i'm regard to his character was becoming
painf,l. when, all Of sudden, he dis
appeared. His wife, taking one OF the
negro men, had gone to Paris to pur-
chase some supplies, leaving Dozier at
home with two strangers from Missis-
sippi. Upon her return she found note
signed by Dozier. telling her that he was
callel suddenly 10 Kentucky, and advis-
ing her to follow immeditely. The
negro man she had left at home, together
with two saddle-horses, and her hus-
band, were gone. Probably knowing all
| about his past life, she followed, without
I a month after nIi
| disappearance lawyer in Paris received
| a letter from her, asking him to rent
/ the place. and sell the furniture, hogs,
! and cattle that had been left, saying
further that her husband had not re-
turned.
4 tenant was found, but he declined
10 remain, because he could not use
the water, having made an examina
ton of the well but not discovering
any cause for the offensive smell.
A year elapsed before another coul(
be found. when he left abruptly, givini
as his reason that the place was haunt
ed. and that he and his wife ha'
upon two or three occasions seen
ghost about the premises, which, OF
! each occasion, disappeared at or nea
the well-shed A free negro, name
Sneed was next secured, who remaine'
probably three months, when he aban
doned the little crop OF corn he had plant
ed His reason was the same as tina
Of his predecessors.
Returning from Paris one evening afte
dark, he saw an object dressed in white
at the well. he thought, drinking Whei
he approached, en- route to the stable lot
and reached within twenty PAGES, IL sud
denly disappeared into the well. He has
tily dismounted, called his wife, and lie
a candle down by means Of the bucket
but could discover no object below. tn
next morning he procured grab-hOok
and satisfied himself that there was no
thing IN the we'll Upon explaining tn
circumstance to a neighbor he was ap
prised Of the fact that others had wit
messed the same mysterious sight. II
thought it time for him to be gettin
away from there.
The next tenant was man name'
Washburne. from Dundas who was fon
Of hunting, and did not believe In ghosts
He had not been domlciled but FEY
weeks before he became aware there wa
something wrong about the place. HI
horses would snort and hogs rush on
from their leafy beds at the dead hou
Of night in evident fright while his dog
would go valianty TO their rescue onl
to return with their tails between thei
legs in evident alarm. He concluded tina
II was a bear prowling around and do
termined to kill It. A couple OF week
elapsed before there was another alarm
He seized his gun and slipped out at III
back door and around to the rear OF III
horse lot just in time to see an objeS
dressed in a long white flowing rob
come out OF the stable and move aero:
the lot in the direction of the we'll II
was not twenty PAGES distant. He Of
dered 1t TO halt. but 1t moved on.
I l.fft a ftt-f