El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-24
BILL STERETT'S
GHOST RACE. !

"I'n bet you $40 you won't go out to
that haunted house and stay there all
night alone" The speaker was Judge
Ed Bower, who for years was the coun-
ty Judge of Dallas county, Texas. His
remark was addressed to Col. William
Green Sterett, better known IS plain
"Bill" Sterett, who for ten years was
we'll known correspondent at Wash
ington and is now picturesque per-
sonality of wide reputation. The banter
was made to "Bill" away back In the
winter of 1886 before he went to Wash
lngton. A party of convivial friends
sat around q comfortable fire in a res
taurant in Dallas, Texas, discussing
politics. spinning yarns, slipping from
the cup that cheers, and incidentally
keeping out of the storm that was rag
| ing outside.
The storm was what is known in
Texas as ''wet norther," and "wet
norther" Is to Texas and the southwest
what q blizzard is to the Dakotas and
the Northwest. While blizzard kills
| people q "wet norther" only makes
them wish they were dead. A "north-
err" of the southwest is simply the tail
the amount of moisture in blizzard
| whether the ''norther" is wet or dry.
A dry norther is bad. but wet north
er is something awful. 1t blows and
drizzles and freezes. A man caught
out in one of them on q bald prairie
with light clothing on and no stimuli
ants "to speak of is in for the rough
/ est experience of his life.
The norther of this night, says the
New York Sun, WAS fully up to the
| sample and 1t caused the friencs in the
restaurant to tarry longer than usual.
The conversation finally turned to
ghosts, spooks, haunted houses and I'm
canpy things. Judge Dover told a
story of haunted houTe about mile
from the city limits of Esllas. He said
that the ghost that infested that house
was known to assume many different
shapes and to appear at any and all
| able to stay at the house all night,
much less live in it, and consequently
| it had been tensntless for more than q
wear. "Bill" Sterett announced his
utter disbelief in anything of the ma
| ture of ghosts, and denounced Judge
Bowers story as superstitlous rot. "
1t was then the judge made the banter
in the opening sentence of this story.
Bill took the wager at once and his
friends set to work to help him pre-
pare to win the money.
he had been sent to Fort Worth on an
assignment, bought q quart of good
whisky, narrowed a six shooter and
"hiked'' out for the haunted house. It
was terrible night and Bill had not
gone two blocks from the comfortable
restaurant before he regret ID making
| the bet, not because he was afraid OF
ghosts, but on account OF the weather.
The fine rain hit his face and stung
like yellow jackets. The pavements
were slippery and outside of radius
of ten feet from an electric light, which
looked this night like the spirit photo
graph of q pumpkin, it was as dark as
tho inside of q tunnel at night. At the
city limits Bill hit the ':black waxy"
mud. A man who has never tried to
walk in the "black waxy' mud of GEN.
trail Texas doesn't know what human
locomotion under difficulties is. 1t is
| to human pedal extremities what sticky
| fly paper is to the feet of the ny.
Bill perservered, however, and final
ly reached the haunted house blowing
like q porpoise. He pushed open the
with which he had provided himself,
stuck 1t on the mantle in some of it's
own grease, and proceeded to take an
Inventory of his surroundings. There
was nothing in the room except an
empty cracker box. There we're few
dry chunks of half burnt wood in the
fireplace, and, kicking al end out of
the box and whiting few slivers
from it, Bill started chunk fire. H.
took long pull from his quart bottle,
sat down in front of the fire on the
cracker box and soon began to feel
quite comfortable.
In a few minutes Bill heard an I'M
earthly noise at one of the windows.
He pulled his siX-shooter, raised the
window, threw open the shutter, but
found nothing but dampness and dark
ness. He chit the bottle and resum-
ed his seat with the exclamation that
sit was nothing but the wind" In
occurred at another window. 1t took
Bill little longer to reach thatwin-
dow than it had the other though it
was no furthur from him. He found
nothing. He resumed his seat and
took another drink. He was beginning
to feel little queer and to wish he
had not left the comfortable restaurant.
In very few minutes the same
hair-raising noise seemed to come
from the door. The door was only
fifteen feet from him, but 1t took Bill
almost fifteen minutes to reach it and
summon the courage no open it. He
threw 1t wide open and then jumped
back six feet with his six-shooter cock
ed and ready for instant use.
In through the door ran little kit
ten, thin and poor, wet and bedraggled.
II did not stop until it reached the fire,
and then curled up on the warm hearth.
Bill said that never before was he so