Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1906-11-09

town TO MarShail, is Tr1plettS tttll,
in connection with which there is
tradition that goes to time even be-
fore the terrible days of the early
eos. 1t was not long, however, be-
fore the outbreak of the war that
this event occurred.
The hill is not steep, but is rather
mild eminence which the road
gradually ascends and descends.
Near the highest point, and not far
from the highway is a very good
spring. 1t was here one night in so
that an overseer, one Veazey, who
was travelling with band of slaves,
concluded to make camp. Veazey
was a cruel man and his excessively
brutal treatment of his charges had
led them to a state of desperation.
After finishing his evening meal he
saw that all were carefully manacled
and shackled and lay down for his
nights rest. 1t was for the last time.
In the night one of the slaves, a young
woman, rose stealthily and with a
heavy stone Drained him as he lay.
BY his keys she released the party
| anu tuSy pCpuldJSd anu oOuShI " Oo
cape.
No inquiry can ascertain what be-
came of this unfortunate party. Some
of the old residents say the girl made
her way successfully to freedom.
There is another story that she was
captured and made an example Of"
We can well imagine what this would
mean.
In the late sos the attitude of the
slaves in this part of northern Vir-
ginia was rebellious and defiant to q
great degree. 1t was within a mile
of Tripletts hill that the white resi-
dents found over 100 muskets that
had been brought into the neighbor-
hood underground" stored in
cabin and ready for the black mems
hands when they should rise. North
ern abolitionists were among the me-
groes melting them to rise in rebel
lion. The race and sectional feeling
was high and 1t was at this epoch
that the famous Black Horse cavalry
was organized, it being primarily
night patrol whose purpose was to
Tlu6 Jllc SShu Oil bidSho hOi'iS
when found roaming and break up all
meetings of negroes and attempts at
organization.
Under such conditions, in country
patrolled by riders whose authority
was of the nature of vigilance COM
mittee, who held slave life at trifling
value and who owned bloodhounds, 1t
| ip II, that fhn C1Qua pirI
who had murdered her prosecutor
could escape. And what the ven.
geance would have been on the black
who had murdered white at such a
time it is painful to conjecture. But
whatever the fate of the girl, since
that time the spot where the tragedy
occurred by the spring has been local.
ly known as haunted. No doubt the
white population fostered the belief
in this among the ignorant and super
stitious blacks. 1t is only among the
latter, except in single case, that
any persons have claimed to have
seen an apparition of a headless man
stalking the road over the hill.
The belief of some of the older
darkies in this ghost is so sincere that
nothing would induce them to cross
the hill at night. A character among
the local colored population a few
years ago was Uncle Ephraim and he
claimed to have seen the apparition
in several different forms.
This is the way Uncle Eph tells the
story;
"Well, sub, Use ben in ter Warren
ton in de evenin ted get my ole
oman some caliker, an Use comm
home long bout hour befo' moon
o rise. It's mighty dark, sub, mighty
d dark, an Use feelin' mighty suspicious
6 long bout de time / comes ter Trip
n lett's. Use nearly up de hill, sub
p nigh JUS bout opposite de spring, an
d Use feelin' plenty lonesome, wen {
n big black houn' dog comes lopin' lont
E. up side of me, an stops an wags hi
l. tail an looks up at me. Use kinde
n glad TO comp'ny, sub, an ! tells hin
g good doggie' an pats him, an he's a
m nuzzling my right han wen / says te
1T him. It's nice night, doggie, it's
70 right nice night, amt it?' an JUS de-
of he looks up an speaks right plain
st Tt shore isl Well, sub, runs an
at runs, an I never quits runnin' till
ID gets to de cross roads an into Buc
is Johnson's sto'. l don't go over TriI
in let's no mo-. It's warnin ter me
le sub. Wen l goes ter town now, sui
lg I goes down by Cyarters' an back {
as Mo- Blackwells'."
g. Ridiculous as this seems, it wa
real enough to the old man, who's
as imaginations were no doubt actual S
IT. far as he himself was concerned.
a. was fact that at the store run b
m the Johnson brothers at the eros
re roads he had burst in one night
,ir year or two before, almost exhauste
ce with running, and had poured out tn