The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1915-09-09
WAS 1T A
DREAM?'.
By WILLIAM CHANDLER

tli " wv
not in my youth receive much educa-
ton and am %lamcntably ignorant Of
American history. These things l
mention because they bear upon the
experience | am about to relate. New
er having heard or read of the char
iclcrS | shall mention. it is impossible
that ! should have coniurcd them up
from memory.
One | left my home for a
tour in the middle west. Reaching
Pittsburgh. | made ii Il starting point
for visiting Ohio river towns between
it and Cincinnati. The Ohio, which
the early French settlers named La
Belle Itivicrc Rcautiful river, afforded
such attractive scenery that ut Mari
eta l left regular modes Of travel.
hired Il rowloat and, putting my bag
gage in it. principally II trunk full of
samples, drifted -thcrr was no need OF
~pulling-loWn the river. inlrm!in" 10
take in the principal towns by the way.
Shortly before nigll,lull | cinlc IL :Ii
island SO beautiful that | WAS tempted
to land and inspect it. Tyin" my boat
to the point that formed its up,"' end
| made my way through %unlr"hrls.l
and cIearingS. There WAS no Oh" o.,
this part of the island. and | WAS ~,
pressed by Il feeling Of lonrlinvs~. j.,
turning to my boat, | >uipei fau:n /.
contents Of Il lunch BASKET H..
bought for myself on the shore. VIA.
ped myself in my blankets an, ia.
ed in.
The night was chilly. and | failed t
keep warm. Rising to walk about, ~,
a few minutes, looking southwark! |
saw Il large dwellin" hn,iSr. mess: at!
the windows Of which were ii.ji.l.lEt-
ed. | thought it strange thu, , lis
not seen it during ms walk at i,i.r',
fall. Hoping to secure Il warm hwi. !
went to the house. which WAS perhaps
a quarter of Il mile diStanl. As | APP
preached | saw hat it WAS of colonial
build, with Il pair of wings. Before ii
was a lawn and behind it We're trees.
Knocking, | was admitted by an Old
darby. ana on my asking if could
get Il lodging for the night he called
his mistress. who came out into the
spacious hall. She was a pleasant
looking lady about thirty years old
and OF courtly manners. When | ask
cd her if ! could he accommodated for
the night she replied with the accent
of an Irish lady of high degree that !
would be welcome to the best her
home afforded and invited me into the
living room.
! | was struck ut once with the furni-
ture, which had either been there for
a hundred years or had bccn purchased
from some dealer in curios. There was
a large fireplace in the room. in which
burned Il cheerful blaze to take off the
chill autumn all. The lady left me to
order some refreshmcnt, and. all being
still. | could hear voices in an adjoin-
ing room separated by a thin parti-
ton. One was the voice of the lady
who had left me, the other that of a
man with the same inflection-an Irish
gentleman.
II fear" he said. that the colonel is
about to lead us all into a wild
scheme"
1T can be no more visionary than
our comm" across an ocean to build
a home on this desolate island. For
my part | have great confidence in the
man and his scheme | believe he will
be able to carry it through successful
~, and We shall be very rich"
ut is YOU. my dear" replied the
man ''Vhn ho,-n I,ao, ;rf,t,,n+,1 I.
this man who they say can win any
woman. | I'M engaged in Il scheme
with one whom l have never seen, but
who has won you to it and through
YOU me. Suppose some Of the persons
he has taken into his contidcnce'-
| heard no more then. Whether |
doZed i'll the interim | don't know. but
presently ! heard voices again, one
the lrishman. the other Il man who
spoke in melolious tones.
wv must give out that the land
speculation is our real purpose" said
the latter. and offer Il hundred acres
to each and all of our adhcrents."
"Rnt suppose there is no war with
s..-.. suggested the Irishman.
We LlNSl DllllS Oh Il WiI. lie gen
eral'-
Again there was an interim or a
>lui.lbr. from which | was awakened
by a crash. Starting up, ! went into
the hall in time to see that men with
muskets, having broken down the front
door, were pushing into the house.
Some children ut the head of the main
staircase were looking down in terror.
Then followed a scene Of destruction
that l shall never forget. The SOL
diers-for such they seemed to be-
were roaring about the house, most of
them drunk and all helping themselves
to what they wanted. Then suddenly
the Irish lady appeared and was pro-
testing. when suddenly l found my
self lying on the ground shivering. 1t
was coming dawn, and l saw that l
was amid a ruin, the only surviving
thing being a we'll house.
Returning to my boat, | dropped
down the river and at the first landing
place told my strange experience to q
man to whom l sold a bill Of goods.
Great heavens!" he exclaimed. you