The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-09-11
ers and made himself as comforta bl e
as n0SxihIa for the NIGHT

ers and made himself as comforta bI e
as possible for the night
He was awakened in the middle of
the night by the sound of footsteps
to find a man standing in the door
of his room. To the astonished city
visitor the newcomer finally related
a tale, the substance of which was
that he was the founder of the village,
and that his daughter Nina, beauti-
full girl, feu in love with an artist
who formerly visited the place. The
father did not approve of her choice,
and ordered the lover away. He stop
ped all communication between the
two before the artist left. and when
a letter arrived from him addressed
to his daughter the father kept it
from her. Before long the maiden
sickened. and when. as she grew worse,
the father sought for the letter to give
her. he could not find IL
The girl died. . and the agonized
parent from that time on had been
doomed to search for the hidden let
ter With the coming of the morning
the city man. moved by the pitiful
tale, instituted search for the letter,
hand into hole in a wall found it at
the bottom of a catbird's nest That
night he placed it on the center table
in the house where he had passed the
night before. Again his midnight
caller ca ne, and the sleeper was
awakened by a crv of great joy.When
he finally reached the table where the
letter had been it was gone
The devil-fungus, a mysterious
plant growth supposed to have had its
existance in caverns on the mountain
sides in the vicinity of Lake Placid. is
the subject of another legend in which
Mr.. Van Foevenburg has interested
himself The story told in connection
with this weird bit of plant life is that
a party coming into the Adirondacks
.fN Erzr- n -7rr7ea fF1aT lad
ed a maid and two men who loved her.
One of these men. much older than
the girl, was not deserving of her,
but their engagement had been an
nounced. Features of the devil-fun-
gus, according to the story, We're its
power to initiate the charms of a
beautiful woman and the intoxicating
scent which It was capable of emit
ting. The story runs that the elder
man, falling beneath the spell of the
Younger man, who was an expert bot
anist, and that the former immedi-
ately left the woods and the youthful
lovers 10 themselves
Another interesting legend of Es-
sex County is one concerning Dis
covery Mountain. near Eliza BEETHOVEN,
which has been Investigated by John
A Carlstrom. According to this. an &C.
centric old hermit who made his home
for years on the mountainside was
experiments in an attempt
TO get electricity from coal direct. Be
fore he died he conf1ded to the head
of a party of engineers who found
him suffering from the effects of the
explosion a portion of his secret and a
precious bit Of stone which he direct
ed be placed at the head of his grave.
where after four years it would begin
to flash forth messages to the world.
Doing as he was bid, the engineer re-
ges being flashed from the
as the hermit had pre-
dicted.
In an attempt to get to the spot on
the mountainside where the wonder
full stone was buried. he was captured
NIT by the excited townspe0pIe. who |
attributed the mysterious light appear
ing nightly to the wandeIings of the
sId hernlit's ghost. Managing TO |
break jail. the engineer succeeded in
getting the stone In time to read its
went out forever. Acting on the old |
hermft's instructions. he sealed IL up. |
to remain thus for a period of ten |
years. at the end of which time the |
secret could be given to the world !
But again he was hailed to court.
The packet containing the rrecious |
stone was taken from him. Scarcely |
lad it been broken open before tho |
stone exploded with a re-
sounding crash. filling the court room /
with a wonderful electric flame The |
engineer and the man who cantured |
him. who. by the way, was killed, |
were according to the legend. turned |
4 peculiar copper color. their skins
that of an Indian. In this
manner was the secret of the hermit
IF Discovery Mountain lost 20 fIls
world
There is a very pretty little indian
legend associated with the Ioy-a, co
nae Lake. which is known as the
birth of Water Lily Accordfn- 70
fhfa Iif.Ia story RIa H. -. 4 :