The Saint Paul globe., 1897-04-25
The Face in the Tree.
A UNIQUE Ghost Story from the Rio Grande Country.

COTULLA, Tex, April 22.-It is not
often that three or four reliable, we'll
informed men in their sober senses
come in contact with a ghost in broad
daylight. Additional interest attaches
or more citizens investigate it and dis
cover something that is entirely be-
yOnd all human solution.
Edwin Keenes is a we'll known cattle
man, Of Burleson county, Texas. Jud
Harris, Ed Addison, Oscar Ellis and
Howard Smith are thoroughly reliable
stockmen, who have all been raised in
this section Of Texas. Last Thursday
these gentlemen came into the town OF
Summerville, IN BurlesOn county, Tex
as, and aroused the curiosity Of the
people by relating a very eXtraordi-
nary story-so extraordinary and so
much like a ghost story that the gen
tIemen themselves said that they did
not expect any one to believe them.
They talked and answered questions
with some hesitation, and, although
they are all distinguished for their in
finite humor, they looked very grave.
They said that they were driving a
herd Of cattle through the timber in the
Davidson creek bottoms, when the at
tention Of Smith and Addison, who
were a little in advance of the others,
was attracted by a peculiar looking
object in a large oak tree. 1t was
near II o'clock, and there was not
cloud in the sky or the least fog to OBJ
scure their vision. Both men saw the
object at about the same instant, and
both stopped their horses. "Why, there
is a man up there in that tree" said
Smith "a funny-looking man." said
Addison; ''I can't see anything but his
head and shoulders" By this time the
other members Of the party had come
up, and they all stopped around the
tree and gazed at the strange sight in
amazement They could plainly see the
head and shoulders Of an old man. 1t
looked as If the part Of his body that
was visible stuck out from a cavity in
the tree. The object was about fifty
feet from the ground, and at that point
it looked as if the main body of the
tree had been broken off and two
great limbs rose from the broken trunk
on either side. The cattlemen rode
around, and viewing the strange OBJ
ject from different points they looked,
as they said, with all their might"
They concluded that the man was
standing in the hollow Of the tree.
They called to him, but he neither re-
piled nor moved. One of the gentle
men pointed a pistol at the object, but
it did not change its position. They
regarded it with awe and trepidation,
from the fact that it presented a very
ghostly appearance. Its hair which
was very long and unkempt, was as
white as snow, while the features were
very suggestive Of a corpse. While
they were gazing at it in wonder one
of its long, bOny-looking arms slowly
raised in the air and slowly moved
in the direction of the herd of cattle
They could plainly see the long, color
less fingers, None Of these men are
without the courage of the average
cowboy, but they did not stand on the
order Of the suggestive gesture. The
impulse to reach the herd in the short
est possible space of time seemed to
have possessed the whole party simuI-
taneously. As they rode along after
the cattle they discussed the matter
D'OA anu ONSI, anu no OCn6r SUBJECT
that was started during the evening
seemed to be worth talking about
They had about come to the conclusion
that their eyes had been made the
fools Of their other Senses" when Peter
Jamlson rode into camp laboring under
the widest excitement The first thing
that he said as he dismounted from his
horse was:
Boys. 1 have either seen a ghost or
an old mans head sticking out Of the
tree"
They were all most thoroughly dis
turbed, and they determined that
they would visit the tree again the next
day and make an investigation that
would solve the mystery. Around their
campfire that night no other subject
possessed any interest, and their sleep
was disturbed by visions of the ghostly
looking old man in the tree. On their
return trip the next day they had to
pass the same tree, or, rather, they
made it convenient to do so, and to
their utter amazement there was the
same head and face occupying the
same position. They felt little bolder