Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1903-02-19
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NATIONAL PHANTOMS'
GHOSTS THAT HAUNT THE UNITED
STATES CAPITOL


Right When the Halls or LegisIa-
tion Arc Gloomy and Deserted, M
Told by One OF the old Guards.
Like most repositories of good stories,
the ancient man who has spent dec
ades as a guard In the capitol In WASH
ington did not yield up the fullness of
his narratory riches without struggle
ITS unpleasant to be made u mock
of by the skeptical," he protested. DO
you believe in ghosts, young mani"
"If answering in the affirmative be-
gets an interesting tale, / do" returned
the writer
well, starting on the premise that
you do believe to some extent in the
supernatural, l will admit you to my
confidence" resumed the old guard,
and here goes for the authentic yarn
Of the spooks that haunt the nations
capitol:
I'm the long, monotonous watches Of
the night innumerable are the epooks,
hobgoblins and the eerie, vapory
things which glide from the shadowy
hooks and crannies of the intangible
nowhere to people the capitol's vast
stretches of darkness. OF course you
know of the extraordinary acoustic
freaks which obtain in many parts Of
the great builGing-how whisper, q
breathed word at one particular point
Is audible at another scores Of feet dis
tant? Yes. Now. at night these acous-
tic spirits simply go mad. Where they
by day were pygmies they expand into
giants and a whistle, sudden sound,
football, resolves itself into a pam
demonium.
Weird, terrifying noises beat upon
pursue their lonely patrols through the
seeming miles of corridors, and then
the spooks, the shades Of the nations
great, the astral bodies of those that
toiled In obscurity for the nations good,
dodge the watchmens step, some
grand and awful in their speechless
dignity, some creeping humbly about
in apologetic silence, some laughing,
some sobbing, but all of them horrible
horrible"
The old man paused to muse.
"Do you know" he said, breaking
into his own reyerie explosively, FEB.
% is date dreaded by many Of the
capitol night guards? 1t was on this
day. in 1S4S, that John Quincy Adams
died In the chamber of the house of
representatives. now Statuary hall,
where the exact spot Is marked by
brass tablet. Promptly at midnight
on every anniversary of his death the
shade OF John Quincy Adams appears
In C. sort OF phosphorescent glow over
this brass tablet. Oh. dozens of guards
have seen Ii from time to time as well
as I, and / can refer you to many OF
them for affirmation OF my assertions.
"Once over the spot the shade begins
to gesticulate, after the manner OF n
member addressing the house. Then.
all of q sudden, the fine face becomes
distorted and agonized. the gracefully
waving arms fall convulsively, and
down sinks the shade with all the
movements of an expiring man. Then
the phosphorescent glow fades away,
and the ethereal effigy dissolves.
"But, although lost sight of, its pres
ence is still made known BY the .clump.
flop, clump, flop,' of invisible foot
falls departing down one OF the long
vacant corridors.
Stranger than this is the ghost OF
the entire congress of 1S4S, which ap-
pears In vigorous if spooky session ev-
cry once in awhile in Statuary hall, the
old hall of representatives, as have
previously remarked. Inaudible, but
spirited, are the debates; energetic to
the bursting point Of vehemence are
the silent political dIssensions. Pro-
voked by a doubling Thomas, MEM
Der of the capitol night watch several
years ago made affidavit that he had
seen this ghostly congress in session.
Yes, he was sober man and true.
"The shade of General John A. Lo-
gan Is frequent visitor at the capitol.
Almost every alternate night at half
past IL o'clock this ghost materializes
at the door Of the room occupied by
the senate committee on military and
militia. Silently the door swings open,
and out steps the looming and lumi-
nous presence, to stalk in stately dig
nifty away into the swallowing gloom.
This Is favorite phantom with the
guards Its conduct Is exemplary.
'@Then there IS the shade of Vice
President Wilson, who died in his room
In the senate end of the capitol, you
will recall. Its peregrinations are few
and desultory. When 1t does come,
there is always an expression OF con-
Germ and self absorption in the ghostly
face. The movements Of the vapory
body are restless and hurried.
"All of the older members OF the
night watch are well acquainted with
Vice President Wilson's apparition and
never fail to salute 1t, although, truth
to tell, the shade remains haughtily In
different to their Difference. This spook
barely fails to put in an appearance
when the body Of dead legislator or
statesman OF national renown is lying
In state in the capitol.
deep In the subcellar vaults spooks
of lesser magnitude revel in hordes.
Immediately beneath the hall Of rep
resentatives every night Is to be found
a tall erect, gaunt specter, whose iden-
tity has remained q mystery for years
In spite of unceasing efforts on the
the secret of Its origin and anteced-
ents. It's hands are clasped behind
its transparent back in a convulsive
clutch, and the face evinces condi-
tion OF emotions prodigiously wrought
upon. Many attempts have been made
by guards with rubber soles on their
shoes to catch this wrath unawares,
but failure Is the invariable result.
Prestol 1t has blown into thin air be-
fore the sleuthlng watchman is within
forty feet OF it"-New York Herald.
How the Flood Came.
The aboriginal blacks of Australia
have queer tradition about the flood.
They say that at one time there was no
water on the earth at all except in the
body of an immense frog, where men
and women could not get at 1t. There
was great council on the subject, and
II was found out that lf the frog could
be made to laugh the waters would run
out of his mouth and the drought be
ended
So several animals were made to
dance and caper before the frog TO in
duce him to laugh. but he did not even
smile. and so the waters remained In
his body Then some one happened TO
think of the queer contortions into
which the eel could twist itself. and it
was straightway brought before the
frog. and when the frog saw the wrig
trltn,. hp lnu~ba1 en lnuI thnt fhq whole