The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-05-30
skeleton N GRAINS
Discovered in an Old Virginia
Manor House.
SECRET PASSAGE TRACED
By a PIucky Girl Who Makes
the CHASTITY Find.
SECRET PASSAGE TRACED

at Lower Brandon, the ancient mansion
OF the Harrisons, on the James river.
The discovery involves infinite posi-
biittiy Of mystery and romance
1t calls up the romantic and picturesque
history of early Virginia, figures of war.
| riors. beauties. feudal land owners ia.
nous statesmen, revolutionary patriots
royal governors and all the long pageant
OF men and women who once made the
! Old Dominion the center OF this :.oun-
| try's civilization.
brings to memory forgotten stories
| Of peril and adventure and episodes Of
! the tnnumera3ie wars through which the
! ancient house has passed.
The HarT1sons may justly be called the
most historical family in the country.
fer, since the first settlement OF Virginia.
down to the present day, they have never
| ceased to hold positions of the first public
Importance. They have occupied Lower
Brandon for neary 200 years. The Ben
iamin Harrison of the revolutionary per
iod, signed the Declaration of Independ-
enoe. His son, William Henry Harrison,
became president of the United States.
ex-President Benjamin Harrison. Burton
n. Harrison of New York whose wife
is the clever novelist, rs another mem
Der Of the family, and so is Mayor Car
ter Harrison of Chicago. All are de-
scended originally from the Harrisons of
Brandon.
Lower Brandon is now occupied by the
widow and two daughters of Mr.. George
Harrison. 1t is beautifully situated on
the banks Of the James river, eighty
miles below Richmond
It was Miss Guile Harrison, the older
daughter Of the house, who made the
greVsome discovery which has aroused a
thrill of interest She was exploring the
Oldest part of the house, the eastern
wing, built in 1712 and now little used.
She entered a spacious apartment, which
was once the bedroom of the Mrs George
HARRISON Of the last generation.
The room is surrounded by a wainscot-
ing of oak, which reaches about as high
as a mans head. In the center OF the
eastern SIDE of the room is an enormous
open fireplace. the InanOelpiece of which
rises higher than the wainscoting Some
instinct of curiosity led Miss Harrison
toward a wooden projection in the dark
woodwork about four feet from the fire
place 1t was something like a trigger
in shape.
She pressed her FINGER ON this, and, find
ing that it yielded little, she pressed
with all her might To her surprise a
great. panel in the wainscoting opened
and flew backward. A secret chamber
appeared before her. out of it came
smell of the dust of centuries.
Miss Harrison procured a candle and
coIrageously proceeded to explore the
mysterious chamber. She found it to be
only three feet deep by six in length.
At the end near the outer wall there
was a hole. and this proved to be the
head of a steep stairway. The young
woman went far enough down this TO
satisfy herself that it led to a consid-
cradle depth, but the atmosphere became
so sufocating that she was forced to
give no further exploration.
The discovery naturally caused a COM
motion in the Harrison family. No one
in the present generation had ever heard
of the room or passage One would never
have guessed at its existence from ex-
aiming the outside and inside Of the
house.
In order to solve the mystery Of the
passage completely worlImen were en-
pIoyed to make an excavation outside
the place in the room where it began.
After clearing away great accumulation
Of earth and rubbish they came upon
a pavement. In this a big, iron ring
almost rusJed away, was sunken. They
pulled il, and Up came a slao CT stone
a flight Of steps. partially buried in dirt,
led down from the opening. One of the
men crawled down this, followed by the
family At the bottom they came to
stone vault. large enough for u man to
move about in.
Here the greatest surprise Of all await
ed them. On the groung lay a human
skull and a few other crumbling remains
OF a skeleton. When these things were
touched they crumbled away TO dust.
Near the skeleton long chains were fas-
tened to staple in the wall with man
acles dangling at the end of them. It
was next ascertained that the passage
from tie secret chamber which had
been discovered in the inferior Of the
house led down 70 this vault.
The existence of the secret chamber
and the passage was not so extraor.li-
nary, because such contrivances are at
t2ched 70 nearly all the colonial man
sion of this region. They were used
as refugees in time Of war and Indian
raids, Some of them run down 10 the
James river
But the skeleton and chains-what
could be the meaning Of thern?. II Is
Yet an utter mystery Mrs Burton Har-
rison- who is a great aUI hority on the
history OF the old Virginia and is 1sr-
ttcularly familiar with Lower Brandon.
has been appealed To- and has replied
that she can suggest no solution Of the
mystery. E,N-Presiient Benjamin Ear-i-
son and Mayor Carter Harrison. who
take an interest in the home of their
ancestors, have also said thar they were
completely mystified BY the discovery.
The history Of the Harrison family is
50 singulariy distinguished and hono-a-
DE that one can adriiy understand the
meaning Of such skeleton in the closet
They were patriots during the rsvolu-
ton, generous and public-s5eritei citi1ns
at ali times. The suggestion has nat
uraily been made that some desperate
enemy Of the family. or some member
who had brought great disgrace upan n
vas incarceCsJed here. but nothing has
| been found IN the copious records and ls-
gendas q the Earrlsons upon which n
base this
The estate Of Lower Brandon was
founded by John Martin soma Tin. h.
fore lf4s. A. the beginning q re esrh-
teenth century II vas purchased ny Cd
Nathaniel Harrison who built the south
east wing Of the present house n 7--a