b

0 I? Y

OLD VA15CE DJN,

A S t a t i o n o f t h e Underground

One day in 1903, t h e 6.ishes and t i l l t h e o the r

Railroad

morning work t h a t s1 housewife would have i n For t Loudon Vi l lage was done, an(:i 1 had s t a r t ed t o h u l l a basket of lima beans, when a very l i t t l e old lady ccme t o my ki tchen dooro

She said t h a t her name was lilrs, Nary Glass and t h a t she had come t o spend t h e I knew t h a t lvlrs, Haiston was rot day with bks. Haiston who l ived across t h e h a l l .

a t horrie s o I: i nv i t ed lvks, Glass t o spend t h e day with me. Richmond. Furnace on the morning t r a i n anc'l woulci not be able t o go back until t he evening t m i n

She had come from

Tde hulled beans and ta lked t h e morning away. After 1 had fixed some lunch i

we went t o s i t on the f r o n t porch.

It was a lovely day i n l a t e September, b u t t e r f l i e s were f l o a t i n g around, the crLckets were making ~1 racket down i n t h e meadow field where t h e men were shocking corn, t h e trees on b i t , Jordan and 14.1;. Parnell were changing from gre&n t o brown, bronze, orange and golci, and t h e sun shone through a hole i n t h e roof making t h e place where we sat cozy and warn. and a loose board in t h e floor kept time t o her rocking,

The c h a i r I4rs. Glass sat i n creaked a l i t t l e

W r s Glass, 1' 1 said, "have you always l i v e d i n t h i s neighborhood?",

"Yes, I Jived up Path Va1le;lr ever s ince I WQS born,"

"Do you b o w who built t h i s hause and how o l d it

lrMo,I l she r ep l i ed ,

YT!hcn you never l ived here?"

I asked.

don ' t ; t h a t was before my time."

4

''NO, 1 never lived. in t h i s house, but 1 v i s i t e d here a l o t , and stayed here

long time ago but 1: remember it well, f o r a month one,time, morning since 1 came here toc~.ay, better than what happened l a s t week, I t

T have been thinking about t h a t v i s i t more o r less a l l It wqs

."Would you mind t e l l i n g me about t h a t v i s i t ? It would be a treat t o hear a t I would love it, if first hand $1 s t o r y about something that went on so long agoo

it would not; t i r e you t o o muchoI1

"It won't t i r e me a b i t t t , she said, mostly nobody wants to l i s t e n .

YS l i k e t o t a l k about o l d times, but

Well1', I said, 111 have the whole afternoon. Tell me everything from t h e beginning to the ,end of t h a t v i s i t , " This i s t h e s t o r y she t o l d me:

It s t a r t e d when my brother took on a bad sickness. I was sent down here'to keep me away from h i m . closed. She put sulphur, camphor and a little piece of a s a f e t i d a i n each of tlhel!l, attached 60 each of thern, 1.1other tie6 one around my neck so the l i t t l e bag would l i e on my chest, ane t o l d me t h a t i t would he lp keep the sickness away from me and tha t I T E J ~ S t o war it a11 the time,

There was so rnuch sickness t h a t winter t h a t t h e school was Mother had rliade f i v e little bags,

These were sewn shut and a piece of white yarn

Mother said, "The o the r four bags you give t o Aunt Mollie as soon as YOU g e t there. 11

rage 2

They had Tom, the o ldes t boy; next ~ 1 s Bmnie named after h i s Uncle Ben; Abbie was about ny age, e i g h t ycam OX, and Susie came behind a wayso She was l i t t l e ,

Tom was r i g h t big and d i d n ' t t ake kindly t o t h e sulphur bag b u t ' A m t I.lO1l.y said, "Thomas, you keep t h a t on under your c lo thes day and n ight whether you l i k e it or not,tr

Aun:t Nolly had six bedrooms f ixed up but they on ly used two of them on account of t r a v e l e r s staying overnight Sonxtimes, two beds - Aunt I4olly and Uncle Surn s l e p t i n one and. we th ree g i r l s s l e p t i n thes tither, If we lay on our bel l ics cund poked up our heads, we could see t h e ghost l i g h t when it was out on t h e rocks c lose t o t h e top of H t , Parne l l , .. of the time, but it was ou t t h e first t h ree n ights 1 bias down here, it made me afraid.

The big corner room, r i g h t up here, had

It stayed i n t h e rocks most It's funny lmw

I wouldn't s t i c k my nose outs ide t h e door a f t e r dark when it was * out on t h e rocks but we l i k e d t o watch it when we were i n bed,

1% was winter and cold., The f i r e on t h a t big hear th i n t h e livingroom never went ou t and. i t was good and ~ m r m i n there .

When a l l t he chores and the d ishes were done, we always had t h r e e hours t o be

2i'lrst b / e had school,

i n t h e r e before we had t o go t o bed,

t h a t ' s school bookso We s tudied f o r il while, h n t 14ollie did. t ooo She never weht t o school but she WQS l e a rn ing t o read and Frrite 2nd spel l .

I had brought two books along and they had some books,

Uncle Sam gave out t h e s p e l l i n g , 5Je stood. i n a l i n e and trapped. It was fb having Jynt Mollie t rapping us

After school we could do what we l i k e d - mostly we played games, One evening

Abbie and 1 wanted some apples to: bake Uncle Sam IWS f i x i n g a. piece of harness, i n socks, on t h e hearth, 1 wasn't used. t o such a big house and I was scared i n that big, E g , long ha l l , it being open c l e a r t o the g a r r e t , no door even a t t h e top t o keep a p i r f h on t h e g a r r e t , You'd never lcnow vhat riiight pop down on you out of t h e d.ark up there .

ikmt Mollie was k n i t t i n g hee ls and t o e s The boys had the checker board,

14U.I; we wanted apples and had t o k;o t he whole l ength of t h e h a l l t o get t o t h e c e l l a r door. stairs and about put out t h e l i g h t . it steady, We had gone only a s t e p o r two when o w fee t f roze t o the f loor , , h a l l r i g h t a t t h e c e l l a r door t h e r e ims il l i t t l e l i g h t , Q black hand, 6 i d n h scream. broke the s p e l l t h a t he ld us , believe us nbhow.

Abbie had the f a t lamp and I had a big t i n p n . A d r a f t came,down t h e

It made queer shadows on the wall, and Q mouse scu r r i ed across t h e floor. Adbbie cupped her hand around t h e flame t o keep

Away back i n t h e It moved, and above i t WSBS

We It lookec'l. as if it was hung from t h e c e i l i n g and. dangled around. 'de could not move, until. I dropped the pan, The c l a t t e r i t made

k c k i n the room,we could hardly talk and they wouLdhtt The boys went f o r apples and we baked some f o r them,

I'Did you ever f i n d out what it was that you saw back a t t h e cellar door?" I asked

Wne nice thing when we went t o be6 Awlt i fo l l i e alwws went t o @ed, too , We a l l went u p s t a i r s together. he cane t o bedot '

Uncle Sam f ixed the f i r e and we mostly s l e p t before

Page 3

IfIs t h a t a l l t h a t happened?!! I vantgd t o know,

'!Oh, no, t h a t ' s no t a l l . YOU know i n those days most people believed i n signs and tokens, and i n s p i r i t s and ghos ts and. w i t chc ra f t too,"

In t h e morning Uncle Sam and. imnt 14ol l is go t up while w e were s t i l l sleeping, t h a t my tie g i r l s had t o go down by ourselves, 1fMs.t;en9tt she said, %oniebod3;'s crying!ll crying, s l e p t cross t h e h a l l , Abbie ca l l ed , ItTom, Bennie!!! They did not answer, They %ad gone downstairs, Everything was q u i e t a f t e r t h a t . and we got out of bed and dressed, no t t a l k i n g above a whisper, t h a t we were down i n the l i v i n g room anci s o was I, her shoes,

One morning Abbie woke me up,

Could it be one of t h e boys? find t h e r e was. We heard sobbing and

Then it would s t o p and s t a r t up again, They

Our t a l k i n g had waked up Sus ie Abbie was wishirg

Susie was dressed too, all but

i There was a tapping on our door , A funny noise came i n my e a r s and my h a i r was

creeping up. It kept on tapping, Abbie screamed, Wother!If Tom opened the door, "Do you g i r l s know i t is snoicing?" Abbie s a i d , 'You old dog, you scared us!t1 did I sca re you?ti piggy-back. He had scared us 'most t o death, but saved our l ives being with us through t h e hall!

!)How "Sneaking up the steps so w e couldnlt hear you, Here, take Sus ie

I w i l l ca r ry her shoes.'!

k-id it; was snowing, The windowsills were p i l ed up with snow, and s t i l l it snowed

That morning w e had school. So when it q u i t snowing we could shovel paths and ge t ready f o r s l edb in l , my sled,

By noon i t stopped and cleared. My Pappy came with A good otrong ho~ie made s l e d ; they were all t h a t we had i n those days.

That evcning a f t e r t h e moon got up a l o t of s ledders came up from budon, They walked t o Cape Horn, down through the snow, Nhen they had a goo2 t r a c k made t h a t way, they all p i l ed on t h e sleds and by t h e time they passed t h i s house they were goin! l ike greased l i g h t n i n l , was s.tuiidinl by t he h e w t h warmin' t h e i r hands, One of them said, Wr. Baker, does this house have a l h a n t f i n It?t1 tlNoL as T lmow. llWcll, we uere ska t ing on the dam rtnd could see r i g h t up t o your g a r r e t windows and t h e r e was a l i g h t up the re , t h e r e .

Then t h e g i r l s sat on t h e sleds and t h e boys pulled them

Once some g i r l s missed their r i d e t o come i n here and g e t warm, They

'dhat makes you think that?'!

H t midnight it was t he re -- f o r three n igh t s it was

Uncle S m sciuinted ?own over the axe handle he was makin'. Then he said, "That ~ J Q S t h e moon looking a t herself i n t h a t window glass," t a lked all arouna hos tnis house has a ghost i n i t . l t

IINo," she Said, ItItIs

AbMe and I s a i d nary a tiord but we knew t he re was a ghost l i g h t i n t h e garret.

The next morning a t b reakfas t Tom said, ''1 guess I had a n igh t horse l a s t n ight , "

Abbie laughed, t l Y ~ u mean a nightnlare, Tom,!!

t%M..l, t h a t Is t h e difference anyhow? ' 1

Benny wanted t o linol~, What co lo r -was it?"

' Sam said, 'Did you r i d e it?!'

R u n t k iol l ie si;ridj "Tell US about it,

NOW t h i s i s Tom's s t o r y -- \.;hat d id it do?"

I

Page 4 When 1 was going t o bed 1 put t h e biind. up high, I

After T was in bed, 1 watched her f o r a while -- she was thought t h e r e was a cat i n t h e room, I coulc?n*t see it,

. ..

wanted t o look a t the moon, full and bright. Then I but I f e l t it pu l l ing a t

t h e covers t ry ing t o crawl up on t h e bed. bed, e i ther , ducked nly head under t he covers, nothing there , on ly t h e moon sh in ing across the bed b r igh t as day,

And it got up; I f e l t it yalking on t h e Then it wasn% it cat or 8 horse So I: r a i s e d up on my elbow Lo h o c k it o f f .

1% was a black hand, a black hand a3 big as a ham, bel ieve it o r not, I I3y t h e t i m e I was atJake and looked, t h e r e was

I'Thatk t h e way you dream a f t e r you ea t a whole shoofly pie ," said Aunt Mollie,

Who a t e a whole shoofly pie?"

"Well, I lmev the re wtis one on the p i e shelf but when I went t o g e t it, it .wasn't there. 3: f igured it had gone down somebody's red lane ,"

"Not mine", s a i d Tom,

We'J.3. bake some more t h i s rnorning,'t ilnd we did, We girls helped, We cut up pumplrin, peeled apples, beat up eggs and washed d i shes no end,

In those days they baked a whole oven full of s t u f f a t one and t he same time, idhen t h e boys came i n f o r dinner they help&

I didn't want t o be first and 1 didn1-t want t o be last.

I thought it looked like a cooling

There had t o be enough t o do a week, t o carry i t a11 t o the c e l l a r , i f I should see anything. I managed t o be someplace i n t h e middle, and everything ~ a s covered wi th a white c lo th , board ,

I hoped it w-mldnl t l e t t h e basket of doughnuts f a l l

The p i e shol f was full from end to end,

t

We had apple dumplings f o r dinner -- a11 we could eat , with n i c e creamy milk poured over -them and brown sugar t o boot.

After t h e dishea were put away Sibbie and 1 wanted t o go sledding, Sus ie was t ak ing her nap, Loudon tonight you have t o s t a y i n . %he cellar f o r meat and vegetables fo r supper. to f i x the table fo r supper," s a i d Aunt Mollie,

t lA l l r igh t , you g i r l s can go slecldin', f o r i f t h a t gang comes fran I don ' t want you crippled. F i r s t we'll go t o

After t h a t you can s led till time

In day l igh t we didn't have t o take a f a t lamp t o go t o t he cellar, There was I always got a funny noise i n my ears when we

She h a l f turned; h e r face looked queer-like, and her h a d t r embld

I never knew how

.

window l igh$ enough $0 see around, went, t o the cell.,ar, s-topped shor t . on my arm. Then I saw the black hand! t h e r e was a door, we got back t o the kitchen. go t o f i n d Sam, boys; I don ' t want them t o cone," i n the orchard working on some fence posts.

h r l when we were half way down t h e c e l l a r s t e p s A u n t Ivlollie

The ce l la r being divided i n t o two p a r t s ,

IWaryYt1 she said, Itxou Don't l e t on t o t he

Rigkit t h e r e it was, waving f o r us t o go back. h n t bloll ie sat on a cha i r .

Tell him I want he should come r igh t away. 1 f a i r l y flew t o t h e stable, Uncle Sam l ~ a s oub

They went t o t h e cellar .together, Rbbie and I kept our f i n g e r s crossed. writ 1;lolli.e looked a l l right when they cane with

hihen I was put t in ' on my coat

irJe could hear them talking low-like, t h i n g s for supper, I heard. her say, "1 am glad we biked a lot of pies and stuff this morning, has to go hungry,"

IYou g i r l s can go s l edd in ' now. Mobody

That evening afte.,r supper s h e gave Uncle Sam a key t o open t h e door a t t h e f o o t of t h e garret steps. ' l iTherels a p i l e of extra blankets i n t h a t room. anybody t o sleep cold i n my house,lt

1 don ' t want

Abbie s a i d , Why 60 you keep those doors locked a l l the time?"

Page 5

d ishes nowo 111 don ' t want anybody snooping a r o k d i n my guest rooms,

A u n t Idollie promised t o cone up i n t h e h a l l i n t h e morning when we were reaQ tlKnock on t h e f l o o r with t h e hee l of your shoe and I'll be up

YOU girls get t o t h e

t o come downstairs, there i n a j i f fy , I l she had sa id ,

It wasn't A u n t Mollie t h a t came up next morninlo Uncle Sam said, !A11 r i g h t girls?Il h s t e a d of going down t h e stnirs, he walked i n t o the room a t t h e foot of t h e g a r r e t a teps ; t h e door m s wide open, down i n t o a ches t and WQS rubbing h i s forehead as i f he was kind of puzaledj then he put; t he l i d down and we a l l went downstairs,

I J : ~ s-tood the re w a i t i n ' , He was looking

A t t he breakfas t t a b l e A u n t 1i'olli.e s a i d , 'Isam, what's t h e matter? YOU seem, kind of worried.ll

I l I was j u s t t h i n k i n l , n he sa id , Itweld b e t t e r sled i n some logs while t h e s l edd in% good, make a g r e a t f i r e and e a t a p icn ic dinner i n t h e middle of winter, w i l l cut or saw down t r e e s , l o p o f f t h e limbs and haul t h e logs i n , "

tossed t h e i r heaus and went a ' f u i n l , throtrin' snow back over t h e sled,, helped. the men i n some ways, Tom s t a r t e d a f i r e r i g h t i n t h e middle of i t , t o sat t h e woods on f i re , and mince pie , the hot f i r e as they dared, hauled sorne logs t o the house, as leep on t h e way. go along i n , her up with somethingell a good f i r e , Only it was just kind of a p i c t u r e of it, above the mantle it was, on t h e white wile Frhan Sara stood up, he saw it too, d i d n ' t say anything and n e i t h e r d id I, l.?unny how it was kind of a s e c r e t between US, About t h e ti.me we were reac;;T t o s i t down t o s u p p r , we heard t h e j i n g l e of s l e i g h bells, "Hope supper a i n h overltj t h a t was Uncle Ben. days, r e l a t i o n s more than welcome. Sam t o t h e c e l l a r f o r more s tu f f , more p l a t e s on the board,

You and t h e g i r l s go along, Pack a good p icn ic dinner and we'l l The boys and I

We a l l p i l ed on the big two-horse s l ed , The horses, glad t o t ake a run, Aunt Mollie

if:e kept p i l i n g onbrush until we l i k e hmt Iv'11ie heated t h e cof fee on some coals and t h e rolls

Abbie and I cleaned a big place c l e a r of snow and

They unhitched the horses and t h e men pulled t h e sled as c lose t b -

On t h e l a s t load, we all piled on, Ijle s a t on t h e sled and a t e t h e best dinner ever, They

Sus ie went sound Uncle Sam ca r r i ed her i n t o the house, He motioned for m e t o

ljhen he l a i d her on t h e co t , he s a i d , "Take o f f her shoes and cover , He went out but M ~ S r i g h t back with some firewood t o s ta r t

When he was down on one knee poking out coa ls , 1 saw t h e black hand, '

He took the turkey wing and. brushed it o f f , He

It was Uncle Ben, hmt Annie, Jerry and Alice, He was C ~ ~ F I U ~ S Cull of fun. Company was always welcome i n those

h n t I.follie put more sausage on t o fry and sent Abbie and 1 found a cha i r for everybody and pub

There was sausage, beans 2.nd potatoes, besides corn cakes and honey, pumplcin p ie , w-d l o t s of fun with good appe t i tk s ;

There was no question about our sledding t h a t evening, Me were even excused Of course, J e r r y an6 Alice had t o h m e a s led r i d e on OUT h i l l , from t h e dishes,

rtBut,tl sa id h x t Nol l ie , 'Ithe moon a i n ' t up y e t , How can you see t o s led?"

Then Bennie sang out , [)Oh, Mom, t he snow's white, t h e stars me w h t , and t h a t i s lots or^ 1 i g h t , l t three times. t h r e e men t h e r e were.

And t h e r e WS, isi'e walked t o Cape Horn and Bledded down Tho l a s t time we s m some horses a t t h e yard ga te , t h ree horses and

The men were standing i n t h e snow,

Uncle Sam and Ben came ou t , The s t r ange r s wanted a room and beds and they wtntcd t h e horses s tab led an6 fed. Uncle Ben took the horses and Uncle Sam l e d b e way i n t o t h e house,

We g i r l s put OUT sleds away and went i n too. The men were s l i t t ing in f ron t

1 for one was a l l eyes and ears f o r of t h e f i r e , cot and. pretended t o be studying o w books, w h a t WQS boing s a i d and done,

They swore about t h e country and t h e cold, Me girls l i n e d up on t h e

They had t h e i r backs t o us , One fellow looked t o be about as old as Uncle Sam, He wore a red shirt, t h e o the r fellows were much younger-like, big grown up boys.

found a b o t t l e and poured what was i n i t i n t o t h e c ide r ; then they a l l drank a l o t of it, making f ine l i h t l e shavings with a piece of glasso

I thought he was t h e boss, He had done all the t a l k i n g and

The boss, 3'11 c a l l him t h a t anyhow,

I-Ie was working on t h a t axe handle,

Uncle Sam came with a bucket of c ide r ,

Rot Uncle Sam. He d i d n ' t drinli any,

'lour name i s Baker,'I he said, f r i endw- l ike ,

IWe don ' t have no names. lrle l e f t them where we a11 come from.l!

IIOh, t h a t ' s a l l r i g h t bj me,'' s a i d Uncle Sam, good-natured-like, "just as ycxl have itoft g e t t i n ' sleepy.

They were tak ing i n a l l the hea t they could and t h e young fellows were

Sam go t up t o g e t more wood. After he was ou t t h e boss said, W11 pour you You

I'll g e t you up ea r ly and w e ' l l give this place t h e once another s n o r t o f t h i s s t u f f , then you go t o bed, fellows s leep t h i s off, over befora these groundhogs g e t out of t h e i r holes ,"

I guess t h i s i s t h e place.

That speech of h i s made me b o i l i n ' mad, but I held my peace and pretended t h e more t o stuciy i!~y book.

Uncle Sam came i n with t h e wood und Uncle Ben was w i t h him. "Gosh,lt he said, " tha t i s a good h i l l f o r s l edd in ' If 1 was a boy I wouldnlt mind i t . 1 1

The two young men went upstairs and t h e boss took another mug of c ider . he idas bound Lo f i n i s h i t , After a time he sa id , ITYOU a l l d i d n ' t s ee no niggers around here?" f i t t e d t h c axe on t h e handle; then he sa id , V o , we i i idn' t s ee nary a one f o r over Q year nail:, It

Seemed I guessed t h a t ' s uhy he was s t a y i n ' up a f t e r they l e f t ,

Uncle Sam

rtklhat makes yo11 ask t h a t ? t t

tt7.r b d e l l ,

''But you know they don% grow up here."

s a i d t h e boss, W m lookin' f o r some," 7

The boss looked kind of t i c k l e d a t t h a t . 'tYes,*r he said, ''but they all m off and come up here,"

"Did some run away from you?"

Wot from meYtt s a i d the boss; "they rcn away from another party. They c a n ' t be fa r from here; welre c lose up t o them now,"

I ' v e been asltint,

Uncle Sam go t i n t e r e s t e d and f r iendly- l ike , V i d you say t h e r e ' s two of them?"

tlfrlore than that," sa id t h e boss, l tTherets t h r e e -- one s t r app in ' big g o r i l l a - l i k e f e l l o t ~ , il young b-k, anti h i s wench -- u young g a l o atray last year unc! 1 g o t f i v e liuntked for bringing him back, him, h e ' s gonna g e t a-new home,"

That big fellow, he r a n This time when I g e t

IIHobr*s t ha t? f t Uncle Sam tranteu. t o know, The boss toolr anothes pink of c ider ; then he sa id , t r I t m t a k i n g him f a r enough away from where he was an two thoumnd f o r hirn &any d.cy.

can g e t Tile o t h e r tvo,they'11 bring a thousand each, o r more,

pll kmve to pay my helpers about five hundred. we ge'c them without cripplinl them.

/ they are -- well, I could g ive him il nice p resen t /

That 's what I promised them if h d I could give t h e f e l low t h a t t e l l s us where'

IIA present would be n ice , " s a i d Vncle Sam, %u.t I canst tell you where they Uncle Sam was working hard on t h e

The boss was looking rr,S.ghty €unny a t him. are -- l i k e l y they are in Ohio by t h i s time,It axe hcndle, Then Uncle Ben chipped in , Win% you a f r a id , t u c k l i d t h a t b ig gorilla-like fellow you was t a l k i n ' xibout, or do you have il gun?"

"Yes, I have a p i s t o l , but I don ' t want t o shoot him.

X f i g u r e there's enough o€ us can handle t h e big fellow,

A dead nigger is nogood and a crippled ono i s n ' t worth much. that account, ropes t o t r u s s him up; then we can get the other two without much ~uss,~' drank t h c l a s t bit of c ider , s.t;wnbJ,e up t h e steps, He ha6 l e f t h i s coa t k ina of stuntiing up in a corner. Sam put his hand i n t o Q pocket and pulled out a p i s t o l , t o hide this thing,"

I don ' t l e t TY boys oarry a 'gun on We have Then,.he

He wobbled out of t h e room and we could hear him Uncle

ItGad,11 he said, W d l i k e

The boys came i n excited. They'd. seen t h e l i g h t on t h e g a r r e t , , IrOn t h e hi.11 up back o f t he barn we could see right in t he g a r r e t window and. t h e r e it was!1t Nobody said a wordo

Somethin' avful heavy fell on t h e f l o o r somewhere u p s t a i r s , Sam rushed into the ha l l , everybody af ter him. i n kind o f a gurgle. a whining, sobbing lcind of crying. s t a i r s from t h e g a r r e t , Uncle Sam s t a r t e d up the s teps . Aunt Nellie grabbed him; .. she held on, Wo, no, Sam, you can ' t go,

There was one ~1wf'u.l blood-freeaid scream t h a t ended Someone was crying like Abbie and 1 heard t h a t o ther morning,

Then it was only the cold wind sighing down the.

W s dark up the re , Youlll g e t killed!1t

Uncle J3en s a i d , l'Let*s a l l go i n t o %he room and s i t down f o r a bit, till we

1?hcn they cane back, Tom said, U 1 s s i l e n t us th ink what t o ~ 1 0 , ~ ~ out i n t o t h a t dark h a l l t o l i s t e n , t h e grave up thereoft

Some of us was c r y i n ' . After a time Sam and Ben and Tom went

Uncle Sam arpped, IIThere's no gun up there, I guess we can hold our own In anything else ," out i n t h e h a l l , We could hear t h e men t a l k i n g and walking around on t h e g a r r e t and a f t e r a long spe l l they came down lookin ' mighty queer,

So Shm, Ben, Tom and Jerry went up t he stairs. FTe stood shivering Aunt idollie was crying again; - l i u n t M e was t ry ing t o pacify her ,

Someone said, What I s up there? I t

ttYoutd be surprised,I1 sa id Tom.

lrlrlha.t is it;, Jerry?1t Alice wantec! t o know, Jerry shook h i s head.

Unclc Sam led t h e way back i n t o the living room and we all. sat down somewhere and waited, week we have bceiz hear in ' s t r c n g e no i sbs , doors wouldn't s t a y shut, a l i g h t was seen by Abbie und Xwy and! some o t h e r people. haunted, s l aves were h id ing on the g a r r e t , them a good chance t o c o l l e c t what thegneed so they could be on t h e i r way a f t e r t h e moon comes up ton ight ,

3'inall.y Uncle Sam explained. t o Uncle Ben and Aunt Annfe, )'For t h e l a s t

The talk got around t h a t t h i s house is

This rnorning we all went to t h e woods t o g ive But only yesterday Molly and 1 made out what it was, C.le figured some

h i d they are on t h e i r m y o f t

Vll bet they ' r e niaking t racks r i g h t novYt1 said Tom, 'fThctt is if they d i d n ' t brecik their l e g s droppin ' o f f t h e roof l i k e they dib,ll

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frBut OW d i d thoy ge-t out on t h e roof?" a l l ol us wanted t o lmow, WeJJ, they pushed the, trapdoor 'to t h e s i d e ancl cI.imbed out onto the roof,ll someone said, That was easy t o see,

ItBu.t; what IJQS a3.1 t he noise and scr e m i n

%Jell, t he slaves m c l t h e s lave hunters ha2 sl big f igh t on the garret ,

and cryin * ? 4

The slave hunters got theniselves k i l l & and t h e s l aves a r e travelin1.11

T m m , d id you say

"Yes, 1 said l t i l led, K i t h riiy worcl. It% lyinl up on t h e garret beside t h e For no good reason as I know of', I

That i s one reason I 'took you

men -t;kiatlre lying there daader than mackerel, looked in t h a t o l d chest where seine o f ny th ings are, and the sword wasn't i n t h e r e where I keep it,

That was early t h i s morning,

, , women t o t h e woods toclay.Il

llNow, soniebody go and look i f t h e blacks go t away o r i f one of them is lying i n t h e snow w i t h a broken leg or buck maybe. I t

looked s ick and t i r e d . Uncle Ben and some of the boys work

The s l aves had dropped i n t o a p i l e of snow and t h e i r t racks showed plain up through the f i e l d and on t o t h e road.,

That seemed t o ,be t h e end of the s to ry , That% when 1 noticed that t h e sun had moved away from t h e hole in t h e roof and I: WQS cold, Itare you colci'l '1

"ITS. Glass,*' I said,

tlNo, P m r e a l snug and cozy wrapped i n t h i s shawl,tt

W e l l , t h a t was a pe r fec t ly grand story; only I wonder what i n t h e wokld d id $he Bker people do then? I t

111 can t e l l you some or" it. There is something e l s e I want t o t e l l you too, after I: .think a bit .1r

Vl1 brew us a cup of tea and g e t me a sweater while you th ink a l i t t le , l t

After 1 put a l i g h t blanket over he r knees unci a chair cushion under her feet and fixed the shawl around her shoulders be t te r , and we each h d ~f cup of hot tea, t h a t I s e t t l e d myself for t h e r e s t of t h e s t o r y ,

tWhat d id t h o Bakers do t h a t n ight a f t e r they knew t h e s l aves had l e f t ? "

"That is w l u t 1 was t r y i d t o th ink about," she said.

Uncle Sam said, "1 d o n ' t know what ko Uo, L i t t l e Bernie said, 111 move w e L1Iw go tG bed,II Everybody Jaughed, Uncle Ren s a i d , "1 second the We laughed s o m ?$ore. on t h e g a r r e t some place over our heads. room, and me, and I s l e p t € h e , know vhat, Uncle Sara and Uncle i3en did,

I thought 1 wouldn't s l ecp a w i n k with those dead bodies lyin* mnt & l l i e and liunt mmie s l e p t i n our

They s l e p t i n one bed ;*nd took Susie in with them and Alice s l e p t with dbbie I guess t h e three boys a11 s l e p t i n one bed and 1 don' t

The next morning we were a11 t o go t o Uncle Beds house; t h a t i s , all but Uncle S m , Uncle Ben and iiut; h*ioIlie. Susie g o t a l l bundled up. tlmmed i n t h e room arid that was spread over the straw, Annie and Bernie had t o s i t back w i t h us too, do t h e driving, run theinselves i n t o ti svect.

-U t h e rest of us were t o go, even l i t t l e Triere VCIS straw on the big sled and a heavy blanket was

We a l l s a t on t h a t , Aunt Torn and Jerry were on t h e s e a t t o

Uncle Sam cautioned the boys about driving, "Liontt l e t t h e horses Let, the?;: go, but no t t o o fast," \..hat a r i d e t h a t was!

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. hot^ could 1 ever f o r g e t it, It was cold', but n o t t oo cold, The sun was ou t I never had been t o Uncle Ben's place, b i g h t arid WE~MA,

me, Aunt iinnie was nice, j u s t like i i u n t 1:4ollie, girls a11 stayed. i n t h e house but i h n t m n i e vent with the boys t o t h e s table t o he lp with t h e chores,, After t h a t we had dinner, d i shes

Everything was new t o 11s soon as we got t he re , we

The feeding and milking 'had t o be done r i g h t away. Aunt Annie and Susie took a nap while we g i r l s washed t h e

The next morning a f t e r the chores were done w e s t a r t e d on t h e l o n g ' r i d e back

They hud ca r r i ed t h e corpses ou t t o In

home. Uncle Sam's t h e r e was a l o t of people the re , a work shop and laid them ou t on boards, Some neighbor women were t h e r e too , %he afternoon llwit Plollie s a id , ttComc, 3: want t o show you sornething," We a21 folloved he r i n t o the back room, o f f a cover, t h e r e m s t he t i n i e s t , l i t t l e s t baby anybody ever saw. l ike! a doll. on it ant1 Aunt Mollie took u p t h e long dress t o show us the n i c e f l a n n e l p e t t i c o a t and l i t t l e kn i t ted boots it had on. Mollie said, IVe found i n on t h e garret wrapped i n Q blanket, l e f t it t h e r e O t 1 ttJ3ut how could she?" we wznted t o know. l e f t it. t o leave itoft f o r t h e baby or f o r -tho mother,

Aunt iinnie and Alice c m e along and of course J e r r y , too. When we got t o

There \?ras something on the bed, When she took It looked

It was beau t i fu l , but it was dead, They had put a fancy lacy dress ~

Me wanted t o know where it cane from. A u n t The slave woman

"It was dead when she

I don ' t know i f they were crying She couldn't t ake it along, I guess t h a t is why she c r i e d when she had

Some of t h e women Irere crying,

Some man was making a n i c e l i t t l e box fo r t h e baby, In 8 couple o f days t h e box was mad.e and t h e women lined i t and f ixed it l ike a bed, pillow and everything. Then they l a i d the baby i n it and covered it up with a k n i t t e d wool blanket. thought t h e r e would no t be EL preacher fo r it, so one evening a l o t of neighbor woxiien ctme over andl they all went into t h e room where the baby was and sang some hymns and read i n t h e E b l c and sorx of' them prayed f o r t he mother. Some men dug tl. l i t t l e grave i n t h e y a r d e No baby ever had a n i c e r funeral,,

They

The next day So t h e r e was a preacher a f te r a l l ,

All this time t h e slave hunters was lyin' on t h e i r boards i n the work shop. The propor rncn from Chambersburg were t r y i n ' t o find out who they were and where they came from, so t h e i r relations could. CoIrit? and t ake them away, had t o s e l l the horses t o buy some boards t o make boxes t o put them i n t o bury them. One funny th ing about t h e fellow I c a l l e d t h e boss; he had h i s head c u t off with the sworc?. some people came t o look a t t h e corpses and h i s head wasn',t t he re ,

*

In t h e end they

They j u s t kind o f f ixed it i n t o h i s s h i r t c o l l a r , but one day

Some fo lks said t h a t likely a cioctor go t i t fo r a l e a r n i n ' piece, Some s a i d it was the golr;! i n his t e e t h -- somebociy took t h e head t o g e t t h a t . thought the r a t s had ca r r i ed it uwuy, They hunted everywhere, Uncle Samc s a i d he didn't want anybody's head l y i n ' around. him without h i s heab.

Others

9ut they couldn't f i n d it, SO they busied

'Where d i d they bury them," I wanted t o know, "LJell, 1: c a n ' t t e l l you f o r sure where it i s but i t ' s up i n the r:iountain a .r~cys. mountain by a big rock,I' Mrs. Glass s a i d ,

Not on Parnell, on t h i s o the r

Wid no one ever i n q u i r e f o r them?It

"No, t h e war was coming on. Everybody was tallring about t h a t and t h e slave hunters were forgotten. it is -- not t o t h i s day,

Even t h e place where they ' r e buried, Nobody knows where

"1 used to hear thm say that sometimes when t h e moon i s fill t h e boss would Others said. they could hear him on

And the57 could hear t h e baby crying, leastal.!ays, they thought t h a t ' s be walkin' around there l ook in ' f o r tiis head., t h e g a r r e t , what it wus.It

Then T said, "Thank you, I k l r s , Glass, for a wonderful afternoon, 1'11 hw.v and g e t supper, After that ill1 wall: t o the s t i l t i on with you and see you off on the t r a i n ' 1

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