Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-11-05
A TURBULENT GHOST.
Noisy Nocturnal Rounds of an
Invisible Visitor.
QUEER DEATH OF OLD JABEZ.

The Uncanny Incident That Disturbed
the Quiet of an Old Virginia Home.
A Nightly Tramp That Never Ceased
Until the House Was Demolished.
Il am not exactly prepared to say
that l believe in ghosts" said the old
gentleman from Virginia, but at the
same time, in view of certain things
that have been told me by persons
whose regulations for veraclty do not
admit of a doubt, | cannot allow my
self to ridicule the ideas of others who
do believe in an occasional return to
earth of the dead
"There is one case in particular that
know of personally and that can be
vouched for by number of citizens
in the upper counties Of my state, and
that Is the case of old Uncle Jabez
Martin, who knew n number of we'll
to do farmers in Fauquier as well as
in Spottsylvania, Rappahannock and
other counties in the northern part Of
the state. Uncle Jabe,' as most every
one who knew the old fellow called
him, had considerable of the nomad In
his disposition and led a wandering,
pastoral life. He was always willing
TO work when any one needed his seFv-
ices and did a good deal of rough car
| pentering in return for a meal o.
wittles and a shakedown,' as he eX-
| pressed 1t, and as he was pretty well
known in the land Of his pilgrimages
It was a rare occurrence when he was
not given a welcome.
II
/ one family in the state than he die Of
another it was the Greens. Virginia.
| as all know, is full of Greens. An es.
tlmable crowd they are, and nearly all
! of them consider themselves as relat,
ed in some degree of consRnguinity to
the others of that name. The Greens
of Virginia is the finest tribe of that
| name in seven states was the con-
stant boast of Uncle Jabe, and above
and beyond any other Green anywhere
he placed Marse nickie Green of Fau-
| quier, and that is where my ghost
story, If you, will please to consider It
as such. begins.
Csne wild night in the month of Oc-
cober not very long before the war the
old wanderer made his appearance at
Squire Green's. Mr.. Green was called
squire by virtue of being a Justice Of
! the peace. Jabe wanted his usual
meal O. whites and shakedown,' and
it was at his service. as usual. and
after good supper he sat on the back
steps of the house, smoked his old
pipe for awhile and then went to bed
Squire Green was engaged in some
work that kept him up until midnight,
and as the clock struck 12 he heard
heavy sound on the stairway. 1t seem
ed as i some one was coming down the
steps With heavy irons on the legs
The sound was carried to the door,
which was opened nolsily and then
closed with terrific crash.
Thinking 1t strange that old Jabez
Martin would be guilty of making
such unnecessary noise, the squire
rushed to the door and opened it. The
moon was shining in all its beauty,
and everything was perfectly calm and
nobody in sight Back again went the
surprised squire and up into the attic
chamber, where Martin always slept
when he made bis calls. He found
everything calm and quiet there 1t
was the quiet Of death, for old Uncle
Jabe was lying supine on his back.
| with his CLASSY eyes staring right up
to the ceiling, where the squire left
him until the morning.
when he related the circumstances
in the morning It seemed that every
other one of the house had been dis
] f,,r Itr 40 pniSns Tho
strange part of it is that next night
! the same sounds We're heard again,
even to the slamming of the door, and
an investigation proved that there was
no person to make them. There were
no towards in Squire Green's family,
but the noises disturbed them, and
when they We're heard, as they We're,
frequently at midnight they became so
used to them they would simply re-
mark that Uncle Jabe was trampng
again and go 10 sleep again.
Friends and neighbors who knew of
the ghostly exercises were averse 10.
staying all night in the house, and the
darkies couldn't be bribed to come near
the place after nightfall. The sounds
never ceased until after the house was
torn down. and even its demolition,
which it was hoped might reveal the
source of it's strange and grewsome
! sound, failed to present any eXplana-
tIon There are folks living today in
Fauquier county" said the relater of
the ghost story. who can, pnd | have
no doubt readily will. testify to the
truth of what have made mention
! Washington Post.
A Striking Misapprehension.
! Officer - Excuse me. madam; there
goes eight bells. It's my watch on
} deck Mrs. Lansman-Well, l don't
blame you for keeping your watch on
deck If it strikes as loudly as that