Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-29
SPOOKS AND GHOSTS IN
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

thought otherwise. Well, he says to me
| that morning, AL he says, it came out
of the crypt You know there is an at
! fair like a coffin in the crypt; in fact, 1t
is a framework covered with black cloth.
| and 1t has been used to rest the collins
! of those who have lain in state in the ro-
| tunda. It's only framework of boards,
though. and is kept in sort Of vault
| in the middle of the crypt. 1t came out
of the crypt goes on Jake. abiding to
the ghost. and 1t was dressed outland-
ishly-that is, in the fashion of a hun
dred years or so ago. you know. 1t
walked all around, looking up at the cell
Ing. as though 1t expected something to
happen
And, sure enough something did hap
pen. The ceiling opened-remember. this
is Jake's story. not mine-'the ceiling
opened, and. looking up. could see clear
to the top of the dome. There seemed to
be some sort of mysterious light that dis
closed the whole business. Around the
opening in the floor of the rotunda in the
gallery the walls of the dome seemed to
be richly decorated. and the light ap-
peared many-colored. as from stained
like what l heard a man tell me once
about the tomb Of Napoleon in Paris.
Suddenly the whole thing vanished, even
the man / had seen come out OF the crypt
was gone. But it was worth while see
ing, ] tell YOU says Jake.
We'll, there was another time Jake
said he was going through statuary hall
one night-building quiet as tomb
when he saw a figure in black, with pow
dered hair. inspecting the statues. Jake
said he noticed the figure carried a gold
headed cane and walked very stiff
When he came in front of Washington's
statue he seemed, to Jake's thinking,
somewhat flabbergasted, and exclaimed,
That intended for me-outrageouS; the
rest are bad enough. but I'm the worst
OF the lot; why couldn't they have con-
tented themselves with a bust, and not
gone the whole length?' Jake said that
those were the very words the figure
that time the statue of Washington,
larger than life, that now forms one Of
the treasures of the Smithsonian Institu-
ton, faced the Capitol, and Jake always
speculated as to what Washington-if it
was Washington-would have said if he
had seen that eff1sy.
Jake firmly believed that statuary
hall was haunted, and the wonderful
echoes and the whispering gallery he at
tributed to spook influence although 1
tried to explain the thing to him on
natural grounds as well as l could from
having heard it somewhere. He used to
believe that early-day MISUNDERSTOOD
know statuary hall was the old House
ghostly debates there unseen by any
mortal eye and unheard by any mortal
ear. He even went to a. spiritualistic
medium in this city to get a. ghost-speak-
ing trumpet. for he had heard that they
use this sort of thing at seances, and,
indeed l afterward found out myself that
they do. Well. he told me that he had
listened to the most wonderful speeches
through that trumpet, and sometimes,
when he would not put in appearance at
40 time n An
him in statuary hall with the ghost
trumpet at his ear, and listening, to all
appearance, entranced. The fact is,
began to think he was a bit 'dany,'' and
But otherwise he seemed reasonable
enough, and, as he was very conscien-
tious. l overlooked the lapses due to the
ghost trumpet But 1 had to forbid him
carrying it with him while he was on
duty, after a while, for he simply couldn't
tear himself away from 1t. He had every
desire to do ST. too, and perform his
duty well.
Reminded me of a story of a monk
who was very heavy sleeper and found
it impossible to wake at tho proper times
in the night for his religious Offices, and
who invented a bed to turn him over
into tank Of water at these times; the
very first time he was turned into the
water he kept on sleeping there and was
drowned Not that Jakes trumpet ever
resulted in any injury to him that / know
Of, and 1t surely was better than a spirit
bottle. He certainly did long for it.
though, when l forbid it to him. AS to
what he heard or thought he heard in
the thing. of course ] can't say. 1t must
have been all Imagination On his part. but
he did begin to hold forth in the most
wonderful manner, quoting what Henry
Clay and Daniel Webster had said the
night before, that 1t began to get on
giddy. j tell you l was glad when he
dropped that trumpet business.
Jake used to tell stories about the
ghosts of lobbyists that haunted both the
Senate and House sides most persistently.
Now, as matter Of fact, none Of the
rest of us either then or afterward have
ever been able to see one Of these spooks
and to tell the truth, for my part I'm not
sorry for 1t. There was one spook lobby
ist that Jake used to say haunted the
Senate anteroom, with whom he got quite
friendly; indeed, he would be disappointed
IL he failed to meet the ghost at a certain
time. Jake never had any conversation
with this ghostly lobbyist, he said. but
somehow or other he got the idea that in
J his lifetime he had hailed from Zeorgia,
and that his claim was for some shoats
that Gen. Sherman's troops had looted
from his premises during the march to
tHe Sed "hetnef ne got this Informal
ton through the ghost trumpet or not I
am not able to state; he never said.
These stories of Jake's used to nearly
scare the life out of young man who
| was here then, and, 1 believe. were the
| cause of his resigning from the watch
AS far as l was concerned, his stories
used to amuse me.
He had queer notion which he said
was conveyed to him through ghostly
channels, probably the trumpet. to the
! effect that President Lincoln had been
kidnapped and confined In a room in the
| lower portion Of the Capitol for a day
and a night, and was liberated through
| ghostly influence. This was just previous
to the assassination of Mr.. Lincoln and
the conspiracy against the cabinet Jake's
account was that sort of second gun
powder plot was then put in operation by
the conspirators, and Lincoln. during the
night of his confinement, was not only
| treated to the plans for blowing up the
Senate and House, but was chained in
the room with the barrels of dynamite
which it was under contemplation to use
4 <~ 49, Tt