The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-09-03
PREMoNITIoNs OF DEATH.
Curious incitienceS Which Await
a Natural E.Npsanation.

"PremonitionS Of death are often
secuted at" said well known Wash
ington newspaper man. but there are
occasionally authentic instances aris-
ing which raise doubts as to whether
there may not De, after all. some sort
Of indetinablc spiritual phenomena IN
the incidents.
1t will be recalled that q well
known chief Of division in one OF the
departments. in apparent perfect
health On the last day he appeared
at the office. died recently Of apopleNy
on that night. | have since learned
that on the evening in question. Short
ly before he retired. large dog in his
household set up such 4 prolonged ana
dismal bowling in his yard that he
went out with a revolver. under the
suppoSitiOn that there might be IN
rruders prowling about, although the
doc howled aud did not bark. The dog
refused to stop bowling upon the ap-
preach Of his master, and followed
him in the house, whining and Show
ing evidences Of distress. looking up
into the officials face in such pecu-
liar manner that the members ot the
family at the time Thought 1t exceed
ing strange. The dog continued 10
follow his master about the house,
acting strangely in the manner have
described. On the following morning
the official was found dead in his room.
The above incident is a curious
fact, as is also the following, and
while not of startling ghuStly interest,
is also local to Washington, the par
ties being members of my own family.
Some time ago my wife'S mother
started on journey to California.
Several days after her departure an el-
derlv colored woman, who had been d
slave in her family, having been raised
with my wife's mother, called at the
house. AS in similar instances in the
South. there had been warm attach
ment existing between former mis-
tress and slave, which has continued
through life. The old servant was
yisibly agitated. She declared she
had been warned that my wife'S mo-
ther died at an early hour that morn
ing on the train. When asked whether
she had received telegram to that
effect she replied that she had net, but
that at the hour in question she had
been awakened by the ringing Of tie
front door bell. In responding to the
call she had found no one on the steps
in each instance, the bell having been
pulled three successive times. Her
house, by the way, was on down.
town street. and was recently raZed to
make room for a business structure.
AT about 10 o'clock on the morning
of the day when the former slave had
communicated the intelligence of my
wife'S mothers death we received a
telegram from the officials Of the rail-
road, dated from far western state,
announcing her sudden death at about
the hour when the colored companion
of her early childhood had heard the
pulls at the bell. Had the bell been
rung during the ordinary hours of the
day we would have attached no i'm
portance to the former slaves positive
assertion of a spiritual visitation from
the deceased lady, but as it was about
3 o'clock in the morning the incident
has ever been one Of more than usual
interest in our family. II the pulls
at the bell were not supernatural, they
were asSuredly a strange coincidence" ="
Washington Star.