Evening star., 1935-10-27

&AkSA AAAS S~AAAs
cooling effect, while Snow made his
escape.
Col. Beau Hick, as he was called,
and who made this corner his rendez-
vous, and whose ghost Is said to have
frequented the place after his death.
was born In Virginia in 1918 Of re-
putedly respectable parentage. He
was gentleman Soafer who was never
known to work, bot who lived by his
wits. He first sane to Washington
about 1888, when nearly 20 years Of
age. He had some money when he
arrived. but he spent 1t all within two
years. This he had little trouble in
doing, since he loved to follow the
races, where he could always be seen
dressed in the most approved style.
sporting a diamond pin, q gold watch
and massive fob. Q cane and q beaver,
which afterward became so character
istic Of the individual.
GAS gentleman of elegant leisure
and fashion," it Is said "his tout en-
semble was proverbial for neatness."
elegance and simplicity.
REAU'S end came at Providence
Hospital on September /, 1873.
First, his body was inferred In potter's
field. On the day following his burial
in q pauper's grave several of his
admirers and friends, who had Just
learned Of his death, contributed a
sum suficient to give his remains
a respectable burial place. The re-
moval Of his body to Congressional
Cemetery must have been an interest,"
ing event.
The grave had evidently been robbed
by some "body-snatchers" and, being
frightened from their tnhuman pur-
pose, fed and abandoned the re-
mains. The last rites were hastily
performed and the new grave closed
forever over the mortal remains Of
q most remarkable man, possessed in
life Of character strangely COM
, pounded of all the contretemps Of
an erratic genius.
The old bridge erected over Rock
Greek at M street in 1888 had its
ghostly tradition, too, according to
Hugh T. Taggart, who says:
ut gave way one stormy night and
precipitated into the creek-then a
considerable body of water. as We
have seen-a stage coach, which was
crossing it, and the driver and horses
were drowned. After this occurrence
and the repair of the bridge lively
fancy. aided by a little superstition
on the part Of the denizens Of the
vicinity, had no difficulty in outlining
on stormy nights the ghostly figure
Of the driver, with his coach and
horses. crossing it as he had been
wont to do in the days of his NOR
tality. The traditions Of the town
are particularly rich in stories Of
ghosts and hobgoblins Among them
may be mentioned the Drummer
Boy Of the Little Falls and the Head
less Man of K Street Bridge
Although the former has never been
actually seen since his death, 1t may
be asserted upon the authority of
several more or less veracious persons
that the roll of his drum can be dis
tinctly heard at the gruesome hour
when night and morning meet when
churchyards are supposed to yawn
and graves give up their dead.
THE tradition in regard to the
drummer is that during the early
part Of the Revolutionary War he was
drowned in crossing the river while
proceeding to a muster on the Viz
ginia side. What caused the appear
ance of the headless man of K Street
Bridge have not heard, and whether
his forbearance has been due to q
moral perception of the improperly
Of taking what did not belong to him.
or Of the inutility to spook Of such
an appendage as the head, it seems
that he has never made an effort to
supply himself with that article at
the expense Of any of those who
have had occasion to pass that lo-
cality. The only losses of heads which
he has been known to have caused
have been Of a purely figurotive char
acter."
But, ghosts or no ghosts, Halloween
has for many years given the people
Of Washington-especially the younger
ones great amount Of pleasure in
attending masquerade dances and
parties. Old-timers will never forget
when Louis Bartels, L. Moxley and
the De Neales, out on Georgia ave-
nue., were the costumers who fur
nished the funny faces and ridiculous
costumes and the gay and attractive
ones, too, which many Of us wore to
the Halloween night dances given by
Louis @. Marini. Flora c. Dennison.
later Flora G. Dyer; James @. Gill.
Pistorio E. Proctor and George T.
Sheldon. Indeed, we were not much
bothered about ghosts in those daysI