The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1897-04-23

and some terrible grinning white OBJ
ject on a white horse riding after him
they did not know what to make o.
Il. A negro shouted "Ghostl" ant
then one man fred shot at the
thing. That was the signal for 9
general uproar, and a scene Of excite
ment and CONSERVATION such as Gen,
Houston said twas never equalIec
outside Of the Internal regions" Mr.
Homes would have stopped in front
Of the hotel, but his frightened horse
entertained different ideas on the sub.
ject, and ran on around the plaza. II
never occurred to a single individual
that the thing they saw was a human
skeleton.
Congress was in session at the
time, and the members rushed into
the street surprising that nothiag less
than the vanguard of Santa Annals
army had surprised the capital. In
those unhappy times every one car
ried arms, and, as Farmer Homes
came around the second time, with
his white hair streaming in the wind
and death or the devil on his white
horse in hot pursuit, the Texans
opened FIRE Pistols, musters aud
shot-guns were emptied into the pack
Of bones and they could be heared
rafting and cracking above the stem
torian yells of the flying farmer.
Strangely enough, not one shot of the
first volly struck the white horse.
Hounds, Of which there were forty
packs in the town, joined in the pur-
suit, while the engineers Of The two
steamboats, lying at the wharf turned
all the steam in the boats boilers iu-
to their whistles
"What in the devil is it1 said Gen.
Houston to the Secretary of War.
"Order out the rifles and capture the
thing. They are not afraid of the dew
il himself"
Women and children were scream
ing and the negroes were praying.
At a corner Of the street the farmers
bore eollided with an old negro and
fell, throwing Mr.. Homes sprawling
in the sand The negro c-awled
away with broken leg, and Mr..
Homes shouted: ole has got me
now, by thunder"
The old white horse having nothing
to follow, trotted around to Mr..
Campbell's saloon, where he stopped
aud interested himself in kicking at
the hounds. The crowd, including
several Congressman and men who
had distinguished themselves in a
dozen battles with Mexicans and In
dams, ran inside and fred at the
thing through the windows. Not a
man was game enough to face his
Satanic Majesty and ask him what he
wanted. These men were not afraid
on the battle field or the field or hon.
or, but the devil on his pale horse
possessed horrors that crushed all hui
man foftitude The string with which
the bones had been tied to the saddle
had doubtless become weakened by
the great strain to which they had been
subjected, and when three or four
monster blood hounds seized the
skeleton they easily tore it loose and
it fell with CHATTER upon the side.
walk. The whole pack fell upon it,
snarling and yelping, and dragging
it about in the street. Some of the
holder ones peeped from the saloon
and saw the saddle empty and the
hounds tearing a white object to
pieces, and one. into whose mind a
ray of the truth had crcpt, said: "Let
us 90 out and help the dogs to kill
the devil"
Gen Houston. when told the true
story. threatened to have these
worthless exiled or shot Mr.. Wilson
who is vet living, says that he had to
hide out from Farmer Homes for a
long time, and that he never did for
give him until they had met on the
battle field OF San Jacinto in the fol-
lowing April It is said that Santa
Anna never laughed but once while
he was a prisoner in the Texas camp
and that was over this story as told
to him by an American officer. II
think" said he, "that ! should have
run away as the old farmer did, for
we are all very much afraid Of the
devil. "-[Giobe>D Democrat.