The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-18
DEATH WARNINGS.

Andrew Long, in London Post.
Ii is not ancient families of distinction
alone that have their banshees or death
warnings, though the spectral woman be-
held in Ireland by Lady Fanshawe, with
her shrieks and flying hair, is the most
popular and picturesque, and. linguistical-
ly considered. the only genuine banshee
Other warnings are inexplicabe knock
ings. as in the case OF the Wood family.
IN which the phenomena are recorded
from about 1860 10 the present day The
dates and evidence are given in MIR.
Myers's Human Personality" Alexander
Dumas chronicles the same death warm
ing. heavy knock at the door OF his
room, in house at some distance from
that In which his Porthos-like father ex-
pired, but Dumas does not say that the
phenomenon was. so TO sneak hereditary
The White Bird oe the Oxenhams is first
mentioned by Howells, in "Literae Ho
Eliance,' about 1885, and appearances
recorded down to 1870. In the writer's
own family, curious creature, like a
cat, but not a cat" has been on duty for
some seventy years at least, but has no
tradition attached 10 it, and has only
been seen by women of the kin. and only
before the deaths OF women. L first heard
of 1t when, a boy. / saw a black and
tan cat. not a common sort of cat, which
the terriers foC once decline to chevy
My description led TO an account of the
family portent, but / believed that mine
was common cat, and did not believe in
the death coincidence which was detected
The dates did not appear 10 fit, when closely
considered. On recent occasion the ami
NAL was seen I'm the house of a member of
the family, by person unconnected with IL,
and got its coincident death, the seer never
having heard of the traditional appearance
Those who have seen IL speak of ii with a
singular horror. Though the evidence is
good, copious. and of long standing / am
entirely skeptical as to our banshee, though
| inclined to think that other people have
| genuine banshees. 1 am unable to account
| for or defend this illogical position as one
would naturally believe most in ones own
banshee.
| A curious species OF death warning Is
| that in a story perfectly well attested, of
| a table by deathbed which suddenly gave
| a jump. The clergyman WHO was praying
| alone beside the dying man saw this feat,
| and the people in the room below heard
| the noise and asked what had caused il.
| The names of the observers are published.
| now give another set of specimens of this
sort of warning, only altering the names
| of the witnesses. On Oct. It., 1879, my in
| formant, Father Jones, was a boy of ten.
| He was sitting at table. drawing, i'm view
| of his mother. who sat by a window at
work. Both commanded a view of the
| chimney piece, which stood a large
heavy earthenware bowl. Mrs. Jones' the
| mother, corroborates Beside her was an
| old-fashioned octagonal work table. the top
/ of which had hinge. and opened as the
| lid over n work box. Such table, hexago-
nal is before me, and the lid is of con-
1 siderable solidity and weight being in early
| Victorian mahogany. The lid of the work
| table was shut: Both persons fronted the
fireplace. Suddenly the attention of both
was attracted by the odd behavior of the
earthen bowl on the chimney piece. 1t slow
IN worked its way along the surface of that
shelf TO the extremity, whence it fioated
/ downward, rather than fell to the stone