The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1920-01-22

-grims, The Doneison house was
thrown open, and Donelson himself,
!, 81 ble in hand, met the visitors at the
Some of them stared at the cur
ions tracery above the lamp ana
shook their heads. They could1 q. I
see anything.
YOU haven't got the spirit in you
Donelson would tell them.
Ithey crossed the threshold. Several
women exclaimed, IF it isn't Morg
wife lust as plain as day, and the lit
tie baby, too" And then they began
Sunday afternoon the little yard
in front of Donelson's house was
choked with motor cars. New arriv-
ais had to stop and unload down the
road. The living room BECAME. SO
had to ask those inside to pass OUT
and give the newcomers on the porch
" Monday the crowds increased:
Donelson's son, Theodore, counted
three hundred motor cars in the
front yard that day, and he believes
he missed few at that. A ROCK IS
land freight train stopped on SID
ing three-quarters of a mile away
and the whole crew, engineer, IRE IRE
tramped across the field to the farm
house and trooped into the living
room. Some of them could see it,
others couldn't. at anv rate, the
story spread that afternoon and
night to every switchman's shanty
and every way station for fifty miles
up and down the line.
Tuesday afternoon while the
crowds were still pouring through
the living room, stranger appeared
and took Donelson to one size: he
told him about dream he had had.
II can't repeat that aream,' Don
elson told reporter for the star
land | can't tell just what connec-
ton it had with the picture, but
When he had finished arguing with
me we went back to the living room
and l got my bible. l asked the PEG,
pie who were in the room to kneei
down with me and pray. Then l got
down and asked God that ii that pic
ture was the work of evil spirits, or
spiritualism, to take it away, I'M
mediately l was led to, go into the
other room to get tower. 1t seem
ed as if a voice within me urged me
to put soap and water on that towel:
l returned to the living room and
was led to stand up on chair.
'And then, right there before all
those people prayed again that II
devil for God to take it away. 1t
disappeared"
Ibid you rub the wet towel across
the ceiling?" Mr.. DOnelsOn was ask
well, yes did. But that wasn't
what took the picture away. 1t was
praying that did it, and all the PEG,
pie who We're in the room then Will
tell you so, too. :,
grims who witnessed the disappear
ance of the picture took decidedly
hostile attitude toward the stranger
who took Donelson aside and told
him of his dream. Some were in
clined to regard him as the agent of
the devil and there was some talk OF
lynching right there in the front
yard. But Donelson's prayers pre-
vailed.
The picture" remained on the
ceiling about ninety hours from the
the time he rubbed it with soap and
water and prayed. In that period
perhaps five thousand persons saw it.
One man placed two chairs together
and climbed up where he could ex-
anime it with a microscope. He
tried to scratch it with his finger
nail and couldn't seem to make an
impression on it. He tried to make
similar marks on the ceiling nearby,
but failed. He made minute ex-
animation of it and later drew it
from memory for the Star. He says
there was some kind OF picture
there, but he hesitates to give an
opinion, as to it's origin.
Many intelligent people of Mercer
county are inclined to believe that
Mr.. Donelson was sincere enough in
his picture miracle" but most of
them are of the opinion that it was
nothing more than a religious hallu-
cination. Donelson is a devout mem
Der of the Apostolic church.