Year: 1875




The country around the town of
Chuckleton in our State is of limestone
formation. The town stands on a high
hill, at the foot of which there is a won
derful spring, and the belief has always
been that the hill was full of great caves
and assures, through which the water
made its way to feed the spring. Well,
year or two ago they organized GENE
terry company at Cnuckleton, and they
located the graveyard upon the hill, a
short distance back of the town. After
they had deposited several bodies in the
ground, one day somebody discovered a
coffin floating in the river. 1t was hauled
out, and it turned out to be the remains
of Mr.. Piggott, who was buried in the
cemetery the day before. The coroner
held an inquest, and they reinterred
the corpse.


On the following morning, however
Mr.. Piggott was discovered humping m
against the warf at the gas works in the
river. People began to be scared, and
there was some talk to the effect that he
had been murdered and couldn't rest
quietly in his grave. But the coroner
was not scared. He impanneled iury,
held another inquest, collected his fees,
and buried the body. Two days after,
ward some boys, while in swimming,
found burial casket floating under the
bushes down by the saw mill. They
called for help, and upon examining the
interior they discovered the irrepressible
Mr.. Piggott again. This was too much.


Even the minister began to believe in
ghosts, and not man in town dared to
go out of the house that night alone.
But the coroner controlled his emotions
sufficiently to sit on the body, make the
usual charges, and bury Mr.. Piggott in
a fresh place in his lot.


The next morning while Jim Dobson
was drinking out of the big spring he
saw something push out of the mud at
the bottom of the pool. He turned as
white as sheet as he Watched it. and in
a few minutes he saw that it was coffin.
1t f1oated out, down the creek into the
river, and then Jim ran to- tell The
coroner. That official had jury wait
ing, and he went for the coffin. 1t was
old Mr.. Plggott, as usual, and they went
though the customary routine with him,
and were about to bury him when his
family came forward and said they would
prefer to inter him in another place
being convinced now there must be a
subterranean channel leading from the
cemetery to the spring. The coroner
couldn't object, but after the Piggotts
were gone he said to the jury that people
who would take the bread out of the
mouth of poor man in that way would
be certain to come to want themselves
some day. He said he could easily have
paid Off the mortgage on his house and
lot, his little girl take lessons on the
melodeon besides, if they'd just allowed
Piggott to wobble around the way he
wanted to.


There was no more trouble up at the
cemetery after that until they buried Joe
Middles, who used to have the fsh-house
over the river at Deacon's. They
entombed the old man on Thursday
night. On Friday morning one of the
Woodrufs was walking down on the
river bank, and he saw a man who looked
very much like Mr.. Middles sitting uI
in canoe out in the stream fishing
He watched the man as he caught two OF
three fish, and was just about to conclude
that it was some unknown brother oi
Mr.. Middles' when the fisherman looked
up and said:


"Hello, Harry"


"Who are your" asked Woodruff


"Who am 1? Why, Joe Middles, o.
course. Who'd you think Iwas?" re
marked the fisherman, as he padded il
shore with piece of board.


"You amt Joe Middles, for he's dead
l went to his funeral yesterday"


"Funeral?" exclaimed the fisherman
as he stepped ashore. "Well, new, by
George? maybe that explains the thing
Pve been bothering myself the wors
kind to understand something. Now
you know that remember being at hom
in bed, and then l went to sleep some
how, and when l woke up it was darl
as pitch. gave kick to kinder stretcl
myself and knocked the lid off of thi
thing here-a canoe l thought it was
and then set up and found myself ou
here in the river. | saw on it plat,
with the words Joseph Middles. aget
sixty-four,' and | couldn't imagine hoy


in thunder that ever got on that lid


Howsemeyer l pulled over to the shant


and got some lines and bait, and fioate
out again, thinking while was here
might as well get a mess of fish before
got home. And SO its aSoffin after al
and they buried me yesterday. Wei
that beats the very old -, now don
it? | IN going to row right over to th
; house. How it'll skeer the old woma
I to see me coming in safe and sound.
Then the resurrected Mr.. Middles pat
died off. The cemetery company faile
on the following month from inabilit
to sell the lots.