Smyrna times., 1903-02-25
NATIONAL PHANTOMS
GHOSTS THAT kAUNT THE UNITED
STATES CAPITOL.


tiOn Arc Gloomy and Deserted, as
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 a struggle. |
It's unpleasant to be made mock /.
of by the skeptical," he protested. do |.
you believe in ghosts, young man?"
If answering in the affirmative be-
gets an interesting tale, do" returned
the writer.
We'll, 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:
In the long, mOnOtOnOus watches of
the night innumerabe are the spOoks,
RobgoblinS 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 building-hOw whisper, a
breathed word at one particular point
is audible at another scores of feet dis
tant? Yes. Now. at night these acous-
tic spirits simply 90 mad. Where they
by day were pygmies they expand into
IL "a.
a football. resolves itself into a pam
demOnium.
Weird, terrifying noises beat upon
the earGrumS of the watchmen as they
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. sCme 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 reverie explosively, Feb.
% is a date dreaded by many of the
capitol night guards? 1t was on this
day, in 1913, that John Quincy Adams
died in the chamber of the house of
representatives. now Statuary hall,
where the exact spot is marked by a
brass tablet. Promptly at midnight
on every anniversary of his death the
shade of John Quincy Adams appears
In, Of r,I
this brass tablet Oh, dozens of guards
have seen it from time to time as well
as l. and l 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 a
member addressing the house. Then,
all of a 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 efiigy dissoves.
But. although lost sight of. it's pres
ence is still made known by the 'clump
flop. clump. Hop of invisible foot
falls departing down one of the Ions
vacant corridors.
stranger than this is the ghost Oi
the entire congress of 1913. which ap
pears in vigorous if spOoky session ev
cry once in awhile in Statuary hall, thu
old hall of representatives, as | hav,
previously remarked Inaudible, bu
spirited. are the debates; energetic t
the bursting point of vehemence ar
the silent political dissensiOns. Pro
voked by a doubling Thomas, a mem
Der of the capitol night watch severa
years ago made affidavit that he hat
seen this ghOstly congress in session
Yes he was a sober man and true.
"The shade of General John A. LC
gan is a frequent visitor at the capitO
Almost every alternate night at hal
past - o'clock this ghost materialize
at the door of the room occupied b
the senate committee on military an
militia. Silently the door swings opel
and out steps the looming and lum
nous presence, to stalk in stately dis
nifty away into the swallowing gloon
This is a favOrite phantom with tn
guards. Its conduct is exemplary.
"Then there is the shade of Vic
President Wilson. who died in his rool
in the senate end of the capitol, yo
will recall. It's peregrinations are fe'
and desultory. When it does com
there is always an expression of col
Germ and self absorption in the ghostl
face. The movements of the vapor
body are restless and hurried
"AI of the older members of Il
Di0bt watch are we'll acquainted wit
Vice President Wilson's apparition al
never fail to salute it, although, trut
to tell, the shade remains haughtily /
different to their Difference. This spoC
rarely fails to put in an appearan
when the body of dead legislator
statesman of national renOwn is lylI
in state in the capitol.
mnnnn I'm the smhcellAr VAULTS $1,000