Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1910-06-11
THE HAUNTED WELL.

mer county, was III Tue to"u VI Nai-
rem. where was born and brought up
1t was worked so long ago that l will
not try to set q date for 1t. K. X.
Treadway and Elias Warner, farm
hands Of Foster Mobiles. were the orig
inators Of what became known as the
haunted or talking we'll They made
n good sell out of whole cloth, and the
people everywhere were taken III by
It.
1.-THE Mobiles farm was some distance
from their own homes. They carried
their dinners while at work in the field
and one day sat down to eat at an
old we'll which had pump logs leading
from it to the trough. They observed
that the water did not run from the
logs, and they made the experiment OF
talking into the logs at the trough.
Their words were conveyed from the
trough so perfectly that they appeared
to come from the well itself. Then
they decided to play joke on their
comrades.
'They had excellent foundation for
a good ghost story. In the preceding
winter John Wick, who had gone with
his neighbors to Albany with wheat.
disappeared They had disposed OF
their loads and had covered about
mile of their homeward journey when
Wick discovered he had forgotten
some Of his purchases and returned
for them, saying that he would soon
overtake his friends. He was never
seen again. His team was found I'm
der a shed, but no trace Of him was
ever discovered.
"As the Wick incident made deep
impression on the minds Of all In their
neighborhood 1t was decided to use the
spirit of John Wick In the hoax. War
ner was to tell the boys that he had
heard the spirit that day at the we'll
"That night there was meeting OF
the members of the band for practice.
and Warner, who was one of the mu-
sicians, told the others the story agreed
upon-that when he tried to draw wa
ter from the we'll as the bucket struck
the water the spirit Of John Wick
cried out:
"Take the stone off my headr
"The musicians after practice ac-
companied Warner to the we'll. Many
approached to the side of the WELL but
the more timid remained at a safe
ToI- Of hn hnII
est, stood with his hands on the curb
and leaned his head over to catch the
first sound from the spirit
Warner tied a red handkerchief
around his head. and Treadway lay in
the trough to do the talking when the
signal was given. Warner lowered
the pail into the water, and as it struck
the water the words came in sepul-
chral tones from the well:
"Take that stone off my head"
1.-THE band of musicians fed. An OK
was lying a little distance from the
we'll when the commotion startled
him. He was in the act of rising when
Lake reached him, and Lake in his
anxiety to put safe distance be-
tween the haunted well and himself
sprang completely over the OK length
wise without stopping.
Being fleet of foot. he arrived home
sooner than any of the others except
David Starkweather, who was on
horseback. David on his arrival hur-
riedly turned his horse, saddled and
bridled, into a wheatfeld. He was so
badly frightened that he did not know
what he was doing.
1.-THE news spread through the neigh
borhood rapidly, and the next night
there was crowd around the we'll to
near the spirit talk. There were old
and young people of both sexes.
Treadway resumed his place In the
trough, and Warner was the medium
to communicate to the spirit.
HE wore a red sash about his loins
and handkerchief Of the same color
around his head. With pole as his
wand he troubled the waters in the
well, and the response came forth,
Take the stone off my head?
"Soon the neighborhood no longer
confined the story to the haunted we'll
People from miles around congregated
each night at the side of the well, and
finally the deacons of several churches
assembled In solemn conclave, with
Deacon Warren Wick as the leader.
'They knelt around the well, and
Deacon Wick addressed the throne of
grace In such a stentorian voice that
he could be heard for half a mile. At
the end Of the prayer they arose, and
Warner troubled the water with his
wand. Take the stone Off my headr
came forth, as usual
Deacon Wick then demanded In a
loud voice, In the name of God and
the archangel. who are your
1.-THE spirit Of John Wick was the
solemn reply.
"'How came you thereT asked the
deacon.
81 was murdered and put here
ut was resolved to dig into the we'll
the next night, and the folks were on
hand with shovels and picks and bars
to carry their resolution into effect
and remove the stone from the head
of the murdered man. The boys then
thought that they had carried the joke
far enough and told the truth about
the affair, greatly to the Indignation
and chagrin of their credulous dupes.
MANY of the people there were su-
perstitlous and believers In witchcraft.
In the midst OF the excitement as
Mr.. Skinner was taking load of peo-