Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-10-25
TIE DEAD HHHD.


ItiL Dkii0 tItthC'
! san Francisco Argonaut
A few days after the battle Of Jones'
; boror. having received a forty days fur
I lougA / determined to pass the time in
/ The n ghbOrhooi Of quiet little town
/ near tho Alabama line and the beauti-
! ful TaIapoosa river, and started alone
/ on horseback from a point near Stone
mountain. Leaving Atlanta to the west,
| 1 wsut southwark, intending to cross
the Chat,ah9ochio ~ tones bridge.
When / reached the point where the
battle had ragged most hercely, the road
became - nearly impossible that
turned out of il, intending 70 make my
Nay through the scattered brushwood
/ Or a line as nearly p2rellel with 1t as
3 Jlss.b BILE. l began TO grow sick with the
fed deadly CdOr Of rOtdng flesh and
bleed. The flies rs.ned upon my hands,
. my t3ce. my clothing, poured against my
B -J-zs 3-j attempted TO settle down up
on horse and rider in swarms, IN
streams. IN clouds. An awful silence
brocdej over the desOlate region, and
/ here and there black patches of shadow,
floating over the u4eaTy earth, marked
where the yuitures, gorged and saiated
VITA their deyilish feast, had risen slow
iy and reluctantly and were silently
wheeling over head upon their funeral
Nllgs. I was in the midst OF the nor
l--, Of tina. most horrible scene in the
raua o. W3r-a battlefield shortly al
ter The battle.
1,y horse seemed uneasy and restless
and &c W-s growing LATE SO l rode TO an
abandoned farmhouse by spring IN a
.-zv.1e near by, and bivouacked there
for the p ght At last, however the IN
casinos o. my beast communicated IL
self 10 me. and again mounting l gave
him the ram and urged aim TO ind the
mysterious presence which was dis
Wr5.ug our rest In passing q patch Oh
scrub oak near the Old e3r,hW1rks Aus
er stood sun and trem0.ed. dis
mounted and peered into the shadows
for the diving horse or soldier / expected
10 find l1ere.
AsIl1cAeI around, seeking for some
th.ng SUI able 10 hitch 20, my attention
was e.urlt by what l suppJ-c-to be he
top par. of Tie stump Of small sap
ping .re s.0oJ up, shattered and
wh..e.G as ..i FL had seen cu- eff by can
non ball.
pm. my left hand uToI It to ascer-
tain whe her the baker c-u.d be securely
fastened TO it. 10 sooner had my hand
come in contact Wi-I ,le ,op Of the sup
posed stump than e shU- own like the
fingers of q human hand and c2sped my
own Ike q vice.
IL was the dead arm Of CORPSE SICK
ing s,raga, up tromtha sh2llo" trench,
IN WHEN it had been partially buried,
tJa he el- Of more than two feet.
lam no coward, bu- when there alone,
amid The surrounding horrors, in the
Ehls-y moonlight uueXpec .ed'y l felt
The fingers Of that dead mans hand
grasp mine IN their chilling clutch, a
r--.I OF terror swept over me. ana for
one brief instant, 1 ,hink l would have
taken 10 nay hee.s If The dead hand had
not held me so fast in its skeleton grasp.
DC seeml- 20 me Jhat al / had ever
heard or read of m-uta, Authorizations,
Ollc force psychology, wi-chcra-t and
srs.tC9,.sU occurred 10 my mind at
once. clearly AMI So. hou. any conscious
usa OF m.uau0uic effort to receive it.
AT last / exclaimed:
"If there is any life or being connect
eli I'm any way with his corpse that de-
s.res To- communicate with me, I ask
some word or s.gu indicative Of such de-
sire"
Instantly The skeleton hand. upon
which the dry AID slrlye,e5 skin re-
manned. re.sX5d It's grasp and then
light closed eg2.n upon my own, but
without any of thai, sD3smcd.c force with
which En- the first instance j, had clutch
ed my hand.
"I. chat pressure Of my hand signifies
yes repeat it,
AEl.n The h7ny fingers relaxed their
h0 and lg-.. resumed i.
Uere was communication established
at .c-s- Bv means Of my spoken Ques-
ton and he yes" or no pressures Of
the terrible hand I carried on CONVEX
So iou Ui.h the presence, by which
learned hat be had been a Confederate
l1.t.tr ID IN Arkansas regiment, and
that r. would p,-Ce my pencil and note
book on the ground and bend down The
arm Sd e could write. he would explain
every hing by writing while l slept.
said CO. myself. II am not dreaming, in
sane or lever.sh but perfectly se.i-pOs-
81 WI see this marvel TO the
ends" AMI determined 10 follow il out,
despite my ,Cathi1g OF the battlefield
and my -cpugn3Lce Of the creepy hand.
ARRANGED the paper. placed the pencil
put up my blanket shelter and smoked
here. watching and listening TO the
sc-ape. scrape of the pencil until / te-l
asleep.
was awakened by wha, seemed TO me
@ breath of cold air striking my face,
and around me was darkness and 81
le1ce. I s.ruck a light and saw the book
Ou.sprc8d and the pencil, lying upon it.
1 drew the book over 10 myself and read
the following statement, written light
ly. bu in the clear, free handwriting OF
an educated maa:
Thank YOU. my brave friend. Ever
since was separated from the corpse
Nng here I have been striving TO get
into communication with some living
man. You at first did not realize my
presence. but your horse cid, and for
hours and hours I was trying TO force
him 20 come 90 this spot l have no, OBJ
tanned a new body-wh.ch IS the great
est want and need Of man as soon as he
leaves his earthly fOrm-2nd therefore
it happens that the contact Of my naked
soul and spirit with any physical object
is torture to me. and the light, especial
ly the light Of the sun, is a cause OF eN-
0ut .e suffering. In spite Of the an
cuish caused by these efforts l have
rtrsevsred in trying to communicate
-.,., Il IL L.nr