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A Ghos By James I have often thought of the old time darkey, of his natural inclination to believe in hoodoo. mysteries, witch craft, conjuring, as he called ghost stories and some of them had a good smack of mythology. I remember one old darkey of my father's Old Andy, who was called Old Knower, mean ing a wise man. I remember on rainy days in the winter time, he used to get a crowd of the younger negroes and white children and he would sit for hours and tell us Uncle Remus's sto ries about Ber B'ar, Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit and Tar Baby, invariably put ting in some blood curdling ghost sto ries. He used to tell us of Old Geana a great mysterious hairy man, that by his pitiable plaintive noise, lead peo ple away fSom their homes into the forest, then catch them and carry them away to his den and he kept our mind so full of these stories that it was no wonder that we believed in seeing ghosts. He used to tell a leg endary story of the origin of the ne gro. He said the negro, the Indian and the -white man were all together in the Garden of Eden, and when Adam and Eve -displeased God and he was going to turn them out of the garden, he called up the negro and the Indian and told them he was go ing to turn them out into the world in the morning and he would give each one something by which he could make his living. He had some wea pons, tools and books that he would divide among them and with these they should make their living. The white man had already stolen the apples, he being a smart rascal, he gof up before day and stole the books and left the Indian, and he got up and found the white man and the a books gone, so he took the weapons and left. And when the poor old ne gro waked up there was nothing left ( for him but the work tool. So the ] white man was making his living out I of the books and he was educated; i the Indian made his living by hunt-e ing with his weapons and defending ~ himself against the white man; and C the poor old negro had nothing to de- 13 fenjd himself, and he had to learn how~ g to'make his living with his tools by f working. And the white man had b taken him from his home and brought him over here and was making him t: work for him while he rode about and iJ read his books and overseed the ne- e gro and made him work. f In those days nearly every land- s lord kept s-me dogs for hunting the ~ game that abounded in the forest. 0 My father was a great hunter and a had at this time three hounds, Kate, b Ring and Gano. Kate was very fierce 0 and many times has she given the dar- t] kies warning when the patrolers were 0 about and we never felt uneasy A when old Kate was about and all of a them were good for 'possum and coon.t One day two boys come home with i us from school and we made up a crowd to go 'possum hunting. There t were five white boys, one white man t and one negro man in the crowd. My father was to go, but he backed out t after supper, so we went on without him. We didn't go far before weB caught two and the dogs- struck aB third trail. After a while, they treed in a little cluster of small trees, and when we got to them, we didn't try to shine his eyes, for the trees were small andy no trouble to cut. We had of cut two and started to cut another. at Hush ! What was that ? Almost right he at us one of the most unearthly pi squalls I ever heard, and before you p~ had time to think, two or three more th squalls; then silence for a while. We tb all huddled together and began to gi talk in a low voice about what it was. th Some thought it was a panther, some pI thought it was old Geana, the hairy bE man, the negro man said we were 0 elose to a graveyard and it was a spir- in it. Well, sir, I will speak for myself. re I was trembling from head to foot, at but the thing stopped squalling and Al we started to cut down another tree dc when one of the trees we had already O0 cut down began to shake and such se a blood curdling scream. My hair fr fairly stood on end and my older brother tried to set the dogs on the ghost, but old Kate tucked her tail B< and the dogs crouched right down un der our feet. That thing seemed to th be right at us. Well, sir, every fellow lit out for yo himself through the woods in the bu dark. We did not go far before we got ce* separated. I was the smallest boy in an the crowd and I began to get behind, th~ that thing getting closer to me and squalling all the time. At last I got tangled in a bush and fell and it fo eaugh me. Well, it came my time to pet t story Mitchell. squall. I was so 'scared and hollered so loud that I could not hear. Old Geana passed me and went on after the other boys. We were running from home, and when the thing pass ed me, I changed my course and soon came out into the big road about 3-4 of a mile from home through the woods and about a mile and a half around the road, so I took the road around. I had not gone far before I heard the crowd coming behind me. I had gotten in the lead and old Geana had given up the chase and we did I not hear anything more of him that night. We got home, awoke father and told him all that had happened and a great deal more. Each fellow had seen it and each drew a different picture in his own imagination. 6ne boy said it had very large eyes, most as large as saucers. I declared it was like a giant and had long hair all over its body. I just pictured the old darkey's hairy man I had heard him tell about. The old,darkey said I was right, for "dat was jist like Dle Geana, and he bet dat wus whut hit wuz.'' The longer time we had, the worse the story got. It broke up 'possum hunting in those woods. No telling where the story would have ,nded, it almost broke up the school, For the children were afraid to go. Not long after this Mr. James Bonds and my father made up a big oon hunt. Mr. Bonds lived near the ;own of Newberry. He had four dogs td my father three. On the evening )eforehand he came and brought his logs to spend the night. Soon after ;upper the crowd got together and Lsked me if I was not going. But I tad ndt gotten over my other hunt Lnd would not go. They carried along wo negro men to do the choppng. ['hey huhted nearly all night and aught several 'possums but no coons. Jr. Bonds and his crowd spent the iight and took 'breakfast next morn aig. The crowd was so large that all ould not eat at one time, so I had to rait and that made me mad. I went ut and sat down on the piazza steps ~ ext to the kitchen where the waiting t irl had to pass in and out with break ast as she ~earried it in from the itchen. All of Bonds' dogs were lying in he piazza and ours were just outside 1 the yard. As the negro girl pass d out to the kitchen she guyed me er having to wait. I jumped off the teps and reached under the piazza' yr a stick to throw at the girl. One v E Bonds' dogs jumped out of the pi- t: aza, with a yelp, right down on my t ack knocking me down.. Everyone 0 F Bonds' dogs piled out on me and h 1ey strung me in a minute. All of h uir dogs pitched into Bonds' dogs. c xid there on me they had a free for d [1 dog fight. I hollered, for I thought d iey were going to eat me up. My t] other screamed and I tell you I stop- hi ad the eating for a while. They got sa te dogs -off or got me from under tem, nearly as badly scared as when h te ghost caught me a few weeks be- p ire. They had torn my clothes a lit e and had bitten one of my ears a :tle. I was like Joe Stetson at the tc ig Muster when he got whipped, and ti hollered. e sI Art Societies in Merger. . i New York, April 7.-The merger the Society of American Artists ti id the National Academy of Design ving been definitely decided upon, eparations are now progressing to rfect the joint organization. On e evening of Wednesday, April 11, e Society of American Artists will te ve a farewell dinner, -to celebrate a e merger. Now, that the merger is m actically insured, active steps will sE taken to raise a fund of about $3, I 0,000 for a united exhibition build-12 g, to house the dozen art societiess presented in the Fine Arts Feder- s ion. It is estimated by James W. ai exander, that site, buildling and en- m wment will each require about $1, 0,000. An attempt will be made to ei eure a location in one of the parks T em the city. R Not To Be Thought Of. to >ston Commercial Bulletin. - et Housewife (to tramp)-If you saw at wood, I'll give you ten cents. Tramp-My dear woman. I assuret u I would be happy to favor you, ul t you see if I did that job for tenA its I'd be prosecuted under the new ti-trust law for charging you less pr mn I charge your neighbors. t pr A. man cannot exist long without th >d. That is probably why so many ex AUTOMOBILE LAW. Owners Have to Secure Certificates From Clerk of Court. Spartanburg Herald. Spartanburg automobilists and owners of these rapid transit car riages, says the Herald, and the same law is applicable elsewhere in the state, will be interested in the auto mobile act, passed by the recent leg is lature. This act, by the way, is in force and those who do not comply with its terms are liable to the penal tv. The following sections of the bill are of particular interest:' "Every owner of an automobileor motor ve hicle, whether the same be propelled by steam, gasoline, electricity or oth er source of energy, shall, before op erating said vehicle upon any of the streets or highways of this state, file in the office of the clerk of court of the county where such owner or oper ator resides, a statement containing his name and address, with a brief description of the character of such vehicle, including the name of the maker and the number of the motor vehicle, and shall pay to the clerk as a registration fee of the sum of one dollar. The said clerk of court shall thereupon issue such person a certifi cate, properly numbered, stating that such owner or operator has registered in accordance with this section, and shall cause the name of such owner, with his address and the number of his certificate, and a description of motor vehicle, to be placed in alpha betical order in a book kept for that purpose. Machines Must Be Labeled. Section 2. "It shall be' unlawful or any person to operate a motor ve aiele in this state without first hav ng placed upon the back of such ve iiele in a conspicuous place, the iame of the county in which his cer ;ificate is filed, and also the name cf uch vehicle, which name and number hall be plainly placed or printed hereon, the number in Arabic num rals, black on white ground of not ess than three inches in height, and *ah stroke to be of width not less han one-half inch.'' The Penalty. The punishment for violating this aw is a fine of not less than twenty or more than one hundred dollars, r imprisonment at hard labor for a rm of not more than thirty days. STATE PARTICIPATION. irginia's Call To Sister Stat Meeting With Hearty Response. Chief Commissioner Dunn, of New ~ork, -the head of the board which ill have charge of New York's par eipation in the Jamestown Exposi on, very aptly struck the key note B the Jamestown celebration when' e said that "Virginia 's invitation to r sister states was nothing but the ll of the mother inviting her chil en to celebrate the parent 's birth y.'' That it has been so considered, a e ready response which the states b~ ve made to - Virginia's invitation ifficiently proves. t The great Empire state has thea mor of making the largest appro-i 'ation up to the present time, viz., f 50,00.00 | a North Carolina was the first state|h appropriate, but there was a condi- I on connected with the legislativeh actment, viz., that the United States ould appropriate a certain sum be-f re North Carolina's bill should go to force. The first unconditional appropria mn came from New Jersey; $25,000 as the sum designated. Recently vernor Stokes, of that state, ae mpanied by his entire commission, r sited the exposition grounds, inspec- a d the surrounding territory, became s< ~quainted with the plans of the g anagers and returning to New Jer- ti y, proclaimed that it would be his deavor to see that his state largely t reased her appropriation, so that e would make an exhibit commen- I rate with the historical importance f, d commercial position of the com- ti mrwealth. The commissioners from many oth states have visited the exposition t< d secured sites for their buildings- al e first commission came from ode Island and the conferences be- b< een Rhode Island and the James- p wn people were very interesting and t many new thoughts with the man- s ers of the celebration. ~hode Island, which is a very rich te in proportion to its size and pop- I ~tion, has a history of which any t aerican comonwealth might well be md, and the state's commissionerss ided that an historical display in ir state building would be the most per form of participation, andt y havie prepared plans for such an Iiibition. Enneticnt ma.e an appropriation E at the last session of its legislature, Z1110 (iVe B1r1 R(Iberlt-. t(PL:ether with llis ('o illssi lle ' 111114 a 111t11ber of Pr,1111m1inent state 4)ficials recently vis ited the eXpo 'sit .1j11rounds. They expressedl great surprise at the pro gress of the work and at the perfec tion of the plans. Commissioners from Illinois, Penn sylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Georgia. North Carolina and Missouri have already selected sites for their state buildings. Ohio has just passed an apropriation of $75.0oo. and -will select its site in the very near future. as will South Car olina. which has made an appropria tion of $30,000. Besides these states. Maine, Wis consin. Florida and Delaware will be represented. The exposition company nade n10 effort to secure state partici pation until the federal government Officially endorsed the celebration therefore. owing to lack of time and the fact that most (if the other states have had no legislative sessions since the 4th of last March. the invitations to participate have not reached all the commonwealths. Among those states which have been invited and have considered par ticipation are Iowa and Kentucky. In Iowa a bill is now pending which in all probability will be passed, and Kentucky, through some misunder standing, failed to reach the exposi tion bill, but a popular subscription is now being raised there for the pur pose of participation. All of the states whose legislatures meet this year and those which do not meet until- next year will be invited and it is hardly possible that anyone will refuse Virginia's invitation. The entire amount appropriated up to this time by the various states reaches well over .$SOO,000, and this sum is likely to be increased largely until the final amount expended by the states will approximate if not ex ceed one million and a half dollars. Why Dead River? Century. Tle western branch of the Kenne bee has been given the name Dead river because in 1775 it was full of drowned soldiers. So one may read. But there is not a syllable of truth} in it. And the next picture conjured aip by the name. a doleful Styx, tur bid and miasmatic, is equally false. Ibe plain fact is that the river flows for a long distance through meadows, mnd unless the water is high it scarce y seems to move at all. That is why t has been called dead. Nothing 'omy belongs to the name. A delee able and captivating stream is Dead! iver. The echo of our own voices is usu lly our only reward when we ask tuestions at the railroad ticket win Lows. NOTICE. Notice is hereby given that on Lpril 30, 1906, the undersigned will .pply to the National Bank of New-' erry, Newberry, S. C., for the issue f a new certificate for 16 shares of be capital stock of said Bank in lieu nd stead of certificate No. 724 for 6 shares of said capital stock hereto oe issued to I. C. Thomas on Janu-, ry 22, 1906. the original certificate; aving been lost or destroyed in the nited States mail.q ational Loan and Exchange Bank of Columbia, Columbia, S. C. tea Estate and Insurance. Do you have Real Estate to sell or mt which you do not care to have dvertised to the general public? If >, place it in our hands and we will ive it our personal study and atten .on. We have standing buyers for cer iin kinds of land. Do you want to buy Real Estate? E you mean business come to see us yr we have some property for sale 2at might greatly surprise you as )4 -el as interest you. If you don't mean business come see us anyway and we will tell you F [ we know about the-weather. We undertake to sell no property efore we have inspected it and ap roved the price. Loans negotiated on approvedj eurity. Rents and accounts collected. We are agents for the Aetna Life. isurance Company. It will pay you 4 see what this old reliable and con- 4 rvative company has to offer before+ aoing your Insurance.' More and more men are beginning 1 understandwhttistemn+ eans.ovrwathssaeet4 Offce verthe Commercial Bank. 4 rE K. 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