Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1901-03-28
A Ghostly Experience
BY Sam Davis.

stories merely as literary diversion
and for the sake of narrowing the
feelings of the reader.
A ghost story, no matter how en-
PERTAINING it may be, if pure fab
rication, has no business in print, for
the world is full of people so credu-
lous in disposition that the most alb
surd things, if told with q serious
air, are apt to be accepted as the
truth, and the grossest errors, foist-
ed upon the public by careless inven-
ton, become perpetuated as esta5-
lished facts.
l make these observations that the
reader may become acquainted with
my views upon subjects supernatural
at the beginning of the narrative.
The time was winter, and the scene
of the manifestation lonely moor
lying between the city of Carson,
which is the capital of Nevada, and
the small farm where for some years
past have raised hay, cattle and a
small family.
A political function had kept me
out rather late, and I was driving
home after midnight.
The night was clear and starlit,
with snow on the ground and the air
somewhat nipping in it's disposition.
When about half way home, hay
ing still two miles to go, gradually
became aware that something had
happened to my buggy, for it seemed
to run with less noise than usual. In
Nevada the wheels of vehicles shrink
from the dryness of the atmosphere
coupled with the Indifference of their
owners, and mine were no exception
to the rule. There was always more
or less space between the tire and
the felloe, and the wags of the city
had way of saying that my ap-
proach was always heralded by an
Internal clatter which betokens Il
careless man with all his buggy
wheels out of repair.
It seemed to me suddenly that
something like % per cent. of the
usual clatter of the vehicle had
ceased, and I was at loss to un-
derstand why. The feeling came
over me so strongly that something
unusual had transpired that I hest
tated to ascertain the cause An ILL
defined feeling of dread was upon
me, and, blush to confess it, I real
ly feared to look around. Finally, by
a strong effort, I summoned my
courage, and, CHANGING back, was as
tonished to discover that the off hind
wheel of my buggy had disappeared.
What was more, the vehicle did
not seem to mind it, but ran as level
rs ever. The cessation of the clat-
ter which that wheel always pro-
duced was now explained, but the con-
tinued level running Of the buggy
was not. An awful, creepy feeling
now came over me that almost
amounted to pain, and in the midst
of my wonderment the noise of an
other wheel stopped, and knew that
it had followed it's predecessor. The
two hind wheels were gone: I DELHI
erately turned about and investi-
gated. Here was running along on
an even keel, nautically speaking,
with nothing but my two front
wheels to go on.
AS was considering the probable
fly of the others going, I noticed a
dim, hazy thing hanging to the hui
of my off front wheel. 7 speak in a
hOrsey sense, after the manner of fol-
lowers of the turf, for in reality the
wheel was still on. The outlines OF
the thing alluded to gradually be.
came more distinct and resolved
itself into the figure of a human be.
ing, and as sure as was alive it was
trying to take off the nut of the
axle. More fully to illustrate the i'm
pudence of the shadowy individual
in question, will further state that
my nut wrench was missing, and he
had evidently taken it to remove the
wheels of my own buggy.
I watched him now with more in
terest than fear, for it occurred to
me that after two wheels were gone
it did not matter much about tiie
others, and I determined to see the
incident to the end.
In Tess time than I have taken to
tell it this ghostly thing actually re.
AioNOu OAIC IuU OClOIc lily eyes, and
then, throwing it's weight on the
whee1-if I may be allowed to make
use of the word weight in such q
connection-the wheel and the ghost
rolled over together in the sage
brush. In spite of the weirdness Of
the situation I was obliged to give
vent to little chuckle, the first in
timation I had given the ghost of a
knowledge of his presence.
The familiarity which I had in
dulged in with the strange little fell
low seemed to enrage him, for he i'm
mediately became more in evidence,
and, slipping around on the near
side of the buggy-speaxing again in
a horsey sense-he fell to work rap
idly at the wheel, and, circumventing
the mechanical difficulties of the nut
with very little trouble, he had the
wheel spinning into the sagebrush in
short order.
AS half expected, the ghost made