El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-01

WASHINGTON. D. c., Mar l.
M President-elect Wilson when
he comes TO Washington VIII
take up his residence in a haunted
dwelling. The white house has long
been famous fer its ghosts
The most interesting Of these spec
tiers is that of q woman with cap eoL
antique pattern, a garment resembling
4 lace shawl and widely dlStenQeQ
hoOp-skirts. She IS not seen at mid
night, as is customary with most Wen
regulated ghosts, but Just before u4E 70
break gliding slowly along the wide
hallway. which extends lenSIlWlse
through the middle of the White House
1t is always from the west end TO the
east that she moves, ana Nuen she
reaches the closed double doors. Wnlcn
gfve entrance to thet East Room, she
passes through them as II they oIIeIeu
no obstacle, and Tanishes-
May BE Abigail Adams in Spirit
Nobody can tell with pOSlrlVeneSSs OF
course, but the SupposItlon IS LnaL me
phantom is that Of ADlgan ADAMS lIie
first mistress of the White House she
took ND her residence in the mansion IN
the autumn of 1900, when II was as yet
by no means finished; ana history re-
Iates that she used the East Room (orl-
ginauy intended for q banquetIng nam
as a laundry. drying the family wash
But Of what account is one ghost,
more or less. in the Presidents Palace
as it was called IN the early days OF
the republic No mans amDlJioh- 70
occupy II was ever leSSeneu Dy stories
Of the "haunts" that infest it,
The most familiarity known and best
authenticated of White House specterSe
is that Of Abraham Lincoln So Tar as
can be ascertained IL never appears
elsewhere than on the Stalrs-Ihe dou-
bic flight, that is TO say. which Tor
1nerIy led Up TO the Executive business
offices. At the present time (slnce the
reconstruction OF the mansion by
ROosevelt) the upper floor is occupied
wholly by bedrooms
Mr.. Lincoln $50 witnesses OF the phe-
-QOmenOn aver IS always seen walking
uU the stairs. It is impossible to mis-
axe his tall awkward figure and sham
bling gait When he gets 10 the top,
ne lOOks around, smiles sadly, and dis
appears One might imagine that ne
melted into mist
In earlier years the attic. was said
TO be haunted by president William
Henry Harrison (whO died in the w hIte
House)-thOugh why he. should have
selected this part OF the mansion 1or
his phautasmal activities is not easy 10
explain The attic was then a LUMBER
room filled with discarded furniture,
stacks Of trunks and quantities OF
sent to 1.-THE White House by we'll
meaning but foolish people Now
(since the recOnstrucuon) II IS occu-
pied by servants quarters and the
shade Of Mr. Harrison is seen there no
A Harmless, AmIabIe Ghost.
the one most Individually haunted IS
the room in the capitol, now known as I
StaIuary Hail. which formerly was the
chamber Of the House Of Represents |
Ti1-as r was there that John Quincy
Adams died-he was a member OF con
gress for Is years after ne REIN
quished the pEesldency-an the seat /
ne occupied when fatally stricken Dy 4
Daralysis is marked to this day by I
brass star set IN the marble floor Ihey 4
do say that his ghost frequents the 1
place. an amiab1e and harmless specter, |
md that his footfaIls-but Of them q 4
There was a member Of the Capitol /
nolice not long ago. who made formal I
affidavit that. entering Statuary Hall 1
one night, he beheld there the entire I
House Of Representatives In 1888, as
sembIed as if for la1-making purposes, /
"a phantom legislative crew lncludlnS 4
Mr. Adams himself and many oJher /
famillaTly known IN history ]
but long dead Al Of them, to a man, 1
turned and looked at him as he came :
ina mysterious and ghOStly light IL
lumined the sCene-but not one OF them /
said a word. The police officer was I
dismissed for drinking, and the charge
may have been Just but there are
other Watchmen at the Capitol who
shake their heads sO4emnly when the
they chose they likewise could tell OF
strange happenings
For more. than a generation past
me eruides OF the Capitol have called ]
the strange echoes and other acoustic /
Of this remarkable room 1
There Is something positively uncanny
about LheLn-1Or example the distinct
zudfbiIity Of the lowest whisper (
uttered a long distance away, if speak
er and listener respectively stand on /
certain marble blocks Indicated 10 (
them.
This viii be a matter Of familiar 4
recollection TO tens OF thousands Of /
people who visiting Washington have /:
fad -T on
the Capitol But imagine If you can. I
the same place IN the gloom Of night (
when the ordinary daytime noises are
absent There IS absolute silence, and =
the white marble statues Of great men /
dead and gone. ranged around the /
walls, seem 20 gestculate with their /
ghOstly fingers Were there nothing |
else the scene, at such an hour, would /
be greWsomely suggestive Of the spec /
trsL
GhOstIy Footsteps Heard.
But, under these peculiar clrcum- /
stances, the nocturnal intruder observes !
Z. most singular phenomenon, which has 4
never been adequately explained his I
footsteps, as he walks across the hail. /
are closely followed by other footsteps,
not apparently his own, and the latter i
as TO seem, with their patter-patter, to /
be on the point Of OVertaking him. /
He looks around instinctively, but sees |
Presumably 1t Is naught but i
Similar sounds Of footsteps haunt j
Dther parts OF the capitol Years ago ]
a member Of the watch, on duty at \
night. became convinced that some liV-
ing persons who had no business there [
were hiding perhaps for some dishon-
est purpose, within the precincts of the 1
building. Accordingly. he provided ]
himself with a pair Of rubber shoes,
and. taking no light, stole softly
through the corridors, with the idea Of
the supposed intruders- Time
and again he got the footsteps cOrnered
in q place where there was seemingly
no possibility OF escape. bat Invariably I
they were heard from in another direc-
ton, and could never be OYertaken-
There are, moreover, at least four
observation-disclosures specters that haunt
different parts Of the Capitol. One Of
them Is that of q tail military-IO looking
gentlemen, dressed in a frOck coat,
with a long mustache and gOatee. On
many an occasion he has been seen at
night walking about the corridors be- !
meath the House OF Representative his /
hands clasped behind him, and with an /
aspect Of extreme melancholy. Always Z
pacing up and down, as If waiting for
something or somebody, ne vanishes
when approached, like G magic lantern
picture
The Senate wing has similar ghost
)ut in this case the phantom has been |
ffcfacrorfTV identified If is that Of