Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1898-08-12
A SUPERNATURAL WONDER.
A Morgue Keeper Tells OF START
ling Experience.

A MorEue Keeper Tells of r START
ling Experience.
Grlzzled old 'Bill" Clark, the head
morgue-keeper at % Adams street,
Chicago, has been so many years en-
gagged in the care Of the dead he al
most feels more at home In their COM
pany than in that of the living, at
whom he looks askanee as a rule, but
occasionally he will unbend into So
clability and at such times will draw
from the storehouse of his memory
weird and ghastly experiences which
cause the new hands at the morgue to
open their eyes in wonder.
No one, however, ventures at any
time to express even grain Of unbe-
lief in any of the venerable morgue-
keepers entire accuracy of recollection
and truth of narrative. "Old Bill' was
never known to tell lie In all his life
and he cherishes his reputation for
veracity as the very apple of his eye.
The other night he told a strange
tale about the headless peregrinations
Of the body of Marie Grlgnovitz, which
the police found floating in box in the
Chicago river just north of the forks
The corps was that of a girl Of is or
thereabouts and though It was manned
and hacked with knives, traces of it's
unusual beauty remained perceptlble
to the most unobservant of the hun
dreds who we're attracted by the curlos-
ity or duty to view the body. twas nude
when found and the absence OF the
head seemed to add an insuperable OBJ
stacle to the difficulties of identifica-
tion. Officials despaired and even the
most ardent of new-hedged reporters
butted their heads in vain against this
stone wall Of mystery. Everyone had
given up hope and 1t had been deter
mined to inter the poor headless corpse
next day when strangely enough, out
of nowhere, unheralded and by a route
unknown then and eqlaily undiscov-
cred now, the head appeared at the
morgue, exciting the wonder of all and
the superstitious fears OF thousands.
'T never did know how that head
came to rejoin its body, and l don't
suppose / ever will" said Clark, "but
what do know is just this 1 was on
guard at the old morgue that night
There might have been three or -four
bodies on the slabs, can't exactly say
one of them being, of course tins head
less girl Grignovltz. There had been a
good many visitors early, but after
awhile things got quiet, midnight
came on and l sort of made myself
comfortable in tilted chair and, with
q bit of pipe, and leaned back, think.
ing.
at may be my eyes closed for just 6
second or So but, anyway, quick rusf
of fresh air and the shutting of the
door sent me on to my feet with {
start. / glanced around quickly ant
ran to the door and looked out NJ
one was in sight and all would have
been still except that l heard a bel
tolling midnight. Then l stepped bacl
In doors, feeling a bit queer, somehow
turned up the lights and the frs
thing l saw was that the body of tn,
headless girl was gone. The nakeC
slab lay there before me, but its lat
occupant had vanished as entirely a
If she had become a spirit of air.
"Well, now, needn't assure you thi
took my breath away completely. AL
the time knew the body hadn't beel
stolen or hadn't disappeared by natura
means and this made me feel NOR
peculiar than ever. There wasn't an,
telephones in those days and I coul
do nothing by leaving the morgue, S
sat down in my chair again, feelin
q little shivery. I'd been there abou
a minute, guess, when l felt the sam
peculiar rush of damp air over my leg
and knew the door was open agair
Soft footsteps came toward me.
didn't dare raise my eyes, but the ta
, of my glance fell on the floor and
saw stalk past me the wet, naked fec
J of a woman. Then sank down in m
\ chair and closed my eyes with m
\ hands"
The old man stopped and with gref
] deliberatlon filled his pipe from a car
! vas sack.
"Well?" queried his youngest aud
tor.
"Well," said Clark, slowly, "just the
J the sergeant came in and together "
went over to where the bodies la
Lying on the breast of the headlel
girl, with her two hands holding
y was the stony, staring-eyed head 81
\ had lost, with its long yellow hair a
\ dabbled in blood. The lips were partG
and the white teeth we're clenched VI
y on bit of parchment 1t had red lie
\ ters on it, printed in English capital
y which said:
\ "'This Is the Head of Marie Grignovi
\ Traitor
y And we never found out a sing
\ thing more about the matter" conclu
I ed Clark, Nor could we persuade hi