Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-02


warrants from the proprietary board afore-
said
Monster of the Woods.
Now I DO not believe that anywhere in
your mythologics you will find any refer
ence to Leeds Devil but 1t was a pill
grmnge in search of the lair of this mon
ster (which has kept the pine hawkers'' in
a state Of terror since colonial days. that
made me turn my back upon the sea a few
days ago and sent ne trudsins across the
white floor Of The Pines and wadlng
through its dismal cedar swamps.
I was set upon the monsters trail by
Mr.. Francis Il. Lee of Trenton. an astute
historian who has made a careful study of
the folklore and dialect Of the pine
hawkcr.' The story goes that back in
mid-colonial days there lived in BurIing-
ton. on the Delaware city far beyond
the frontier Of The Pines-a woman
known as Mother Leeds" witchcraft
was then at it's height I'm the colonies and
she was accused as an adept in its black
arts. In l13I. according TO the tale, Moth
or Leeds gave birth to a male child whose
father at first unidentified. was later said
TO have been none other than the foul
tiend and prince OF darkness, otherwise
known as old Horny or Beelzebub. The
child was normal at birth. but before the
termination Of the tempestuous night OF
its arrival II Mortified several old crones
gathered about the bedside Of Mother
Leeds by assuming a serpent-like body.
ClOven hoofs. the head of a horse the
wings OF bat and the forked tail Of a
dragon. The Coloring OF the terrible mon
ster turned to a dusky brown and after be-
pOmmeling It's mother and her chap
fallen companions II uttered a series Of
loud. raucous cries and flew up the Chin
ney. Circling about from village TO viii
llge, while the tempest still screamed
through the the STONED
it's way 10 devour several sleeping babes
and then made for The Pines.
Consorts With Ghosts.
During the 40 years that have since
elapsed belated travellers crossing that
dark sylvan tract have seen and heard IL.
Joseph BOnaparte, ex-king of Spain. who
loved 70 hunt deer In this forest. is said
to have encountered It once. while Com
modore Decatur. who came to The Pines
10 test the cannon balls made from the
native bog iron at the since crumbled
foundry IN Hanover. is said TO have fired
one OF these rOjectiles-designed for the
Algerian pirates-directly through the
monster without hating Its mad pace"
The pine hawkers. whose experiences
have been even more terrible attribute 70
Il such supernatural powers as were as
signed TO the black witches of English
pals. lanes horses In their stalls. dries up
the cows In the clearing pastures. seres
the corn in the fields. Accompanied. as II
usually Is. by the bowling OF dogs and the
hu0tiug of owls, there can be no surer
forerunner of disaster. Where The Pines
lines the scashure it fits from one DESC
late. grass grown dune to another and IS
especially watchful upon those wild
heights when cuasttng schOoners driving
their prOws into the sand. pound to splin-
the bJr4 and al Gtrihutp !.
waves their freight of goods and human
lives. Upon such occasions Leeds Devil
IS seen IN the companionship OF beautiful.
golden haired woman in white. vet of
some hercc-eyed. cutlass bearing. disem-
bodied spirit of a buccaneer whose gal
leon. centuries ago was wrecked upon the
shore OF Cape May county. Again this
monster Is said TO share its haunts with a
hcadlcss seaman who. the Barnegat people
say. was decapttated by none other than
Capt Kidd himself and whose stiffened
trunk that pirate king left sentinel over
this N-gOtten buried gold.
Al other times Leeds Devil Is seen to
hover, like giant bird OF prey. above
some silent, star-bespangled pond within
the umbrous recess of a cedar swamp. Or
such occasions its foul breath blasts the
lives of hundreds Of fishes. found floating
next day upon the surface. tainted and
unit for food. Half cantering. half flying
through the shadowy vistas OF the forest
it drives before IL TO their coverts deer
rabbits and squirrels.
The "Pine Hawker"
Such is the black record OF Leeds Devil
transposed from the nasal dialect of tn,
Pine Hawkers." and these human deni
Gems of the forest must not pass by un
noticed. The true Pine Hawkers. from the
heart of the vast thicket, are descendants
OF the earliest colonial settlers of centra
and southern New Jersey. and. therefore
are largely of English or Scotch ancestry
but among them are slight infusions o.
French Huguenot. early Dutch and latel
Scotch-Irish blood. Several notable cause,
led their forebears to seek refuge within
the dark shadows of the murmuring pines