The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1920-07-30
selIost crllass ghat HaEs FolIowed al
Indians Curse.
Written BY John Sheldon.

ing OF Monday, the l1th OF last No
yember. The woman had been doing
all night downstairs, fully dressed
and simply resting as best she could
in an easy chair in order to be within
call of her daughter, Bertha who was
i'll.
Her husband, Fred Dean, was sup
pcsedly sleeping upstairs. No one ex-
cept Fred Dean ever slept upstairs IN
that house Nobody dared to. Dean's
house has had the reputation Of being
haunted
There is a legend in South Cali
fornia that about a century ago a
venerable Indian medicine man nam
ed Hago stalked through San Luis
Obispo and set his curse upon the
paleface invaders of the red mans
territory. Whether or not there IS any
truth in that legend no enc at this
late day may be prepared 70 say but
the fact remains that there Is huge
rock on part of the ranch land that
was owned by Fred Dean on Carrisa
Plains, and craven and painted across
the face Of the rock is the following
warning:
UPON ALL HEREAFTER COMING
wRoNGFULLY UPoN THIS LAND
SHALL FALL A CURSE
And there are many living in San
Luis Obsspo county today who will
tell YOU Of strange tragedies, ghOstly
visitations, mysterious disappear
ances and gruesone finds that have
followed in the wake Of that old In
dams curse.
These events may be absolutely
unrelated, one to the other, Old Hago
may have been lying after the man
ner of some of the Old Indian medi-
cine men. But the actual facts point
to series of extraordinary fatah-
ties, and the most staftliIg Iof them
all has developed since. that early
November morning when Mrs. Dean
was awakened by tlhed passing, freight
train and Fred Dean was found MUIR
dered upstairs in his bed
It was no ordinary murder Dean
had been the victim, of an assassin
who attacked him while he slept. To
have affronted Dean while he was
awake, or even half awake, would
have been a sure way of committing
suicide, because Dean never went
anywhere unarmed, not even to bed.
He had the reputation Of not being
afraid of anybody or anything, not
even a ghost. And it was also said
that he always slept with one eye
open.
The ranchman's head had been
split open, evidently with a heavy,
blunt bladed instrument His throat
had been slashed and there were
marks on the body indicating that the
fury of the assassin's attack had not
abated until the helpless victim was
apparently dead.
Following the tragic death of her
husband Mrs. Dean attempted to-
commit suicide. And later she was
arrested on charge of murder,
suspicion having arisen that shes
might know more about the Attain
than she had already told.
The strange sequence of events
which led to the arrest of the ranch
mans bereaved wife is almost With
CIT parallel Dean was widely known
throughout Califofnia He was a
ranchman He was also somewhat of
a POLITICIAN. His land lay within the
confines OF the territory over which
old Hago had guaranteed the efficacy
of his clirse And the Dean household
had not been the only one III which a
wish was expressed that Hago had
spread his malediction elsewhere.
More than 20 years ago, before the
house in which Dean was mysterious
~ murdered came into Deans pos
session, this very house was the scene
of another mysterious murder. A little
3-year-old girl was strangled to death.
Her parents soon thereafter went in
sane and the house was left vacant.
Then stories were told of ghostly
figures fitting about the house after
dark and weird noises which nobody
ever seemed able to explain.
Dean bought the house because he
said he was not afraid of ghosts. Mrs.
Dean and her daughter Bertha. now a
girl of 4 years declare that all the
time they resided in the house they
heard strange sounds which they
could not locate and noises which at
times filled them with terror
Doors frequently opened and closed
most 1nysteriously, both Mrs. Dean
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disappeared after the table had been
set for meal pom one occasion a
full pitcher 81 cream was sSvflfsked OFF
the table as though by magic while
members Of the household had their
backs turned in the room.
With such spooky mysteries as
these in mind Mrs. Dean and Bertha
refused to sleep anywhere but on the
ground floor, where they thought they
could at least have a chance to es-
cape in case a ghost paid them visit.
Il was Sleeping downstairs with
my little girl who had been i'll, % reads
the statement credited to Mrs. Dean
following her arrest. The train that
goes through Pasco Robles at 5
o'clock; awakened me- Then ] heard a
noise that / thought came from my
eat and opened the door to let her in.
But she came from different direct
ion.
Il thought it peculiar, but returned
to the couch / then heard noise
as though something heavy was being
moved. / called Fred, but he did not
answer.
Il then ventured up the stairs and
saw that Fred's door was standing
open r called to him again without
receiving any reply. hen ran into
- Il