The Dalles daily chronicle. (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, February 24, 1891, Page 4, Image 4

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at myself story about nmftfag that
happened to n when I was a little girl,
and of all the harm that came of my old
nurse's telling me about the old woman
wrapped in a blanket who would come
to carry me away if ever I was naughty
and disobedient.
And then auntie, sitting with Bobbie
m her lap, told us her story:
When I was a little girl lite Hattie
papa and I were living alone here. When
I say alone 1 mean that my poor mamma
had died, and we were the only ones of
tne family left on the farm.
But we had a servant, who took care
at the house and old Maria, who took
care of me and mended my clothes, and
then there was the man who worked the
farm, as papa's business, in the village
Kept mm away from nome all day. - '
Now, Maria was very good and kind
to me, and loved me very dearly, even
though I was a wild little thing, always
running away ana getting lost, and giv
ing her a deal of trouble, I dare say. ,
I suppose it was because I was bo hard
to manage and so very naughty that she
first told me the story of the old woman
in the blanket.
One night, after I had got into bed.
and she had tucked me away and was
going out with the light she stopped to
say: ... ... .
'Tin afraid if you ain't any better to
morrow than you've been today, Miss
Jane, and if you don't stop runnin' into
the woods, the old wpman in the blanket
will come after you." (I had been very,
very bad that day, and I suppose poor
Maria was at her wits' end to make me
behave.) - -
"What old woman in a blanket?" I in
quired, sitting up in bed.
"Never mind," Maria went on myste
riously, "I tell you there's an old woman
in a blanket who comes after all naughty
girls, 'specially them that runs away
into the woods when they's told not to."
Then Maria went away with the can
dle and I lay alone in the dark with my
mind full of the old woman in the blan
ket I was very good for a little while, and
I suppose Maria thought she had done a
fine thing in making np the story, as it
seemed to have so good an effect upon
my conduct Indeed I thought a great
deal about the old woman in the blan
ket Flaying about in the fields in the day
time, I would sometimes forget all about
her, but whenever I was quiet, and es
peciall at night, I fell to imagining all
sorts of dreadful things, about how she
looked and what she would say and
where she would take me. ' ;
Maria soon found that whenever I was
unruly and disobedient all she had to do
was to remind me of the terrible old
woman in the blanket, so I3y and by I
began to feel quite sure that at some
time or other I would certainly be pun
ished by her, and sometimes I was dread
fully frightened at night and used to
cover my head up with the bedclothes,
just as Bobbie did a while ago.
Now, you must know, for I think I've
told you, I was always expressly forbid
den to go into the woods. - "
1 didn't see very much of papa, as he
was away all day, but I remember he
often said to me: ,
"Jennie, you may play about the fields
and over in the meadows as much as you
like, but you must not go into the woods
alone." . J
"ftra see, there were snakes there, and
besides, the woods were very dense (it
was almost a forest), and there were so
many paths that even a grown person
might easily get lost there. How it was
that I ever forgot my old woman in the
blanket so entirely I dont remember, but
anyway, one day I ran after a poor little
rabbit that was lame and that couldn't
go very fast, and as I wasn't thinking of
anything but the little limping creature,
whose home I was so anxious to see, 1
suddenly found myself in the midst of
the forbidden woods.
I must have been running for a long
time, for I found myself in a place that
I had not known before, and I had made
so many turns along the paths that 1
looked around bewildered, because I
couldn't tell in what direction home lay.
"Oh, dear me!" I cried to myself, very
much frightened. "I didn't mean to b?
disobedient I didn't mean to come into
the woods at alL"
Indeed, I had not meant to corner J
was Beldom naughty deliberately, and
most of the mischief I got into was the
result of thoughtlessness and . careless
ness. . ,
But anyway here I was in the woods,
and I must get out of them. I looked
and looked, and finally started out brave
ly to the left, as the way looked a little
familiar. But though I walked on and
on, and sometimes ran a little, it all
grew more and more strange about me,
and I finally stopped in dismay. -
"I must be going the wrong way," I
almost cried aloud, "and oh!" (I held my
breath in terror) "what is that?"
A long, low rumble, and then the trees
began to moan and - shake their heavy
branches, as if they, too, were trembling
in fear.
Plash I Plash! A great drop fell upon
my bare head. Suddenly there was a
dreadful crash. In a moment every
thing grew dark, and then the thunder
and the lightning and the furious rain
all seemed to come together, and I was
alone, all alone, lost in the woods, and
night was coming on! Then I cried out
as loud as I could in my terror. '
"Oh, what a bad, naughty girl I have
been!" I sobbed. And then I thought of
the old woman in the blanket, and my
tears dried in very fear, and ' I looked
about trembling. I had made it up in my
' mind just what she would look like. " She
would be shriveled up and very old and
all bent over,' and the' great blanket
would cover her up from her head to her
feet, and oh! this would be such a dread
ful place to meet her! I almost believed
that I could see her coming along through
the trees. I threw myself on the ground
and covered my face with' my apron,
and oh! what was that? ,
I felt a touch on my shoulder. I was
almost dead with fright, when I heard a
gruff but kindly voice say:
"Wall, Bakes alive! If it ain't a little
gal! Look up, sissy! What ails ye!"
.My heart gave a great bound of joy, and
I
- i ; : : - '
looking np I saw a big, bearded face
J J m. . v
uoncung over me. i ne man naa a dog
with him and a gun.. I couldn't speak.
Another great crack of thunder came.
I could only cling to him and cry.
"Lost, I B'pose?" he asked, taking me
np in his strong arms.
f "Y-es, y-es, sir!" I finally stammered.
"Umph!" exclaimed my deliverer.
"Wall, I reckon I'd better take ye to the
cabin and dry ye off, and then well see
where ye belong."
' The dog bounded ahead, and the big,
kind faced man carried me easily on one
arm, and, shouldering his gun, made
great, bold strides through the woods.
. He must, have known them well, for a
black night was coming on and the rain
was blinding. We had gone only a lit
tle way when a bright and ruddy light
appeared. Here we were at the "cabin."
The door opened into a cheerful
kitchen,' and at the threshold stood a
young girl holding a lantern.
"Here ye are, pop!" she cried in wel
come. "Look out, Jack!" to the dog,
who, covered with mud, made a leap at
her. '
"Why, pop! what on earth have you
got there?"
"Gal," was the only reply of the big
man. .
. "Gal! Lost? Oh, the poor little thing!"
cried the girl, and then I was put in a
chair by the kitchen fire, and my wet
shoes and stockings were pulled off and
so was' my dripping gown, and I was
wrapped in a big. warm shawl and
given a cup of hot milk to drink.
They were very kind and gentle tome,
rough people though they-were, and
neither papa nor I ever forgot their good
ness to a poor little stranger.
! When I could speak without shivering
I told them my name and where I lived.
. "I shouldn't have come into . the
woods," I ended. "I've been told not to,
but I was running after the rabbit to see
where he lived, and I ran on and on and
forgot"
"Why, pop, exclaimed the girl, "it's
Mr. Harvey's little girl." -.
"Oh, yes," said the man, "I know
squire Harvey."
"Please, sir," I asked, "are you the
hunter?"
"Aye, I s'pose so," answered the man.
"leastways, I hunt most of the time."
"Then," I said, beginning to cry again,
"then I'm far from home,-way at the
other side of the woods." I had heard
of the hunter's cabin. "Oh," I went on,
"what will they say at home? They will
be so frightened! What shall I do?"
The man went to the window and
looked out j . ' ,; '
"The storm is ragin'," he said, and in
deed we could hear it
"I tell ye, little gal, you'll have to
wait till mornin'. No one could ever git
through them woods to-night."
I felt dreadfully, careless as I was. 1
knew how they would suffer at home,
and yet there was no help for it
I cried and sobbed, and after a while
the girl carried me up tho little rickety
pair of stairs to her own tiny room.
There were only two rooms up stairs
the girl's where I was taken, and- her
father's. It was a poor little room., bat
quite clean, and the bed was very, very
narrow. ' ;
"There," said the kind hearted girl,
tucking up my little body under the
warm quilt "I reckon Til have to sleep
on the floor; I've got some bedclothes
down stairs put away, so Til git 'em
out - Now, m just leave you the candle,
and m be up in an hour or two."
Then she went away, and left me alone
in the strange little room. I looked
about me as I lay. It all seemed bo odd
and my head felt so queer, and now and
then a cold shiver would run up and
down my bouy. . ' '
I couldn't sleep; my eyes were wide
open.
There was an old rag carpet on the
floor, and over in the corner a funny old
fashioned chest of drawers and a poor
little table ' on .' which the candle stood,
and one worn out chair.
Bang! bang! went the shutters! Oh.
how the wind howled,' and then would
come the sudden, fearful crashes of
thunder that seemed directly above my
bed! ; : ' ; ; V.
I trembled bo that my teeth chattered.
I should have been very warm, for the
coverings on the bed were thick and
plenty, but still I felt very,: very cold
and shivered dreadfully. It was .: silent
except for the noise of the raging storm
without ,..-- ;..' . .,;
I was frightened up there, all alone, in
that strange place.
The candle flickered and made ugly
shadows on the wall, and, oh! I wished
that the girl would come up stairs. I
thought of papa and Maria, and longed
for the day to come that they might
know I was safe and sound.
-. And .presently I knew, nothing, for a
few moments, it seemed to me.
Bang! bang! went the shutters again.
I sat up, wide awake, with a dreadful
terror in my heart
" In the moment that I had slept I had
dreamed of the old woman in the blanket.
I was not cold now; I seemed to be
burning up, and I tried to call out 1
wanted some one to come to me.; I was
so afraid, what with the storm and my
dream and the strange, lonely place.
My voice seemed very faint and weak,
so I crawled from the bed, and it was
hard to move. The candle was still
flickering on the 'table, and cast 'but a
dim light into the little passageway. " .
I reached the stairs, but all seemed si
lent below. Nothing was to be heard
but the rumbling of the thunder and
nothing was to be seen, but what was
that?
There, there in the corner!
Something white, bent over, and, yes,
a blanket, a great yellow blanket, cover
ing it tip!
I had left the door ajar and a faint
ray from the candlelight rested upon
the old woman! The old woman in the
blanket! I only remember screaming
out loud,'', as Bobbie screamed a little
while ago. v "; :-; ..;
One bright morning I opened my eyes,
and was surprised to find myself in my
own bed, and in my own pretty room at
home. -
I felt too tired to speak, and just
closed my eyes and tried to remember
what had happened.
Presently I heard voices.1 ' ' , "'' ' . .v
"Poor little' dear!',' Maria was saying.
"Tin bo glad the fever has gone. Master
has been so worried. This morning he
went to the village for . the first time
since Miss Jane was brought home with
the fever." ' ' .".,':.': ; -
"Oh, yes," replied another voice, a
voice I had heard in my dream, and in
deed it was the voice of the hunter's
daughter. "She's all right now, I
reckon." ...1 :.,,
"Tell me," said Maria. ..'Tell me
again, just how it came aa.w
"Well, you see," answered the girl, "I
had put her in bed safely, and then I
went down and got pop's tea. It was
stormin' dreadful. After a while I
fetched outthe pillows and blanket that
I was agoin' to make ;my bed of on the
floor, and took 'em up stairs, and stood
them in the passageway, : and ' then I
went down again to finish a bit of mend
ing, while pop read the paper. All on a
sudden we heard a dreadful scream, and
when we ran up the stairs we found the
poor little gal laying in the passageway
moanin' and tearin' in the fever. : Then,
next morning, pop came over and told
you, and the little thing was fetched
home." ';
"And very good and kind you have
been, my dear, and we are very grate
ful," said Maria.
Then it all came back to me, my
dream, my waking and stealing out to
the head of the stairway, and my vision
of the terrible old woman in the blanket
standing in the corner.
I astonished them and frightened them
both very much by suddenly sitting bolt
upright in bed. ' '
"What did you say?" I eagerly asked
the girl. "What did you say about put
ting the bedclothes up in the passage
way?" "Bless the child!" cried Maria. ' "She's
in the fever yet, and doesn't know what
she's a-talking about" '
"Yea, I do," I declared. "I saw some
thing in the corner, something white,
with a blanket ' over it, and and ' I
thought it was the old woman."
Then the girl -told me how she had
put a white case on the bolster she had
got out for her bed, and how she had
taken a couple of blankets and come up
stairs with them. But seeing that I had
fallen into a light sleep and hearing me
moan, she had been afraid of waking
me then, and so had placed the things in
the corner, intending to come up by
and by. ' .-'.;
' After a while, when the girl had gone,
I called:
"Maria!" . ...
"Yes, any deary," she answered, com
ing quickly to my side.
"Maria," I asked, solemnly, "is there
any old woman in a blanket?"
"No, no, ray deary," cried Maria, very
sorry for her thoughtlessness. "I only
said it to make you mind, and it was
very wicked of me." .
' ' - .
Bobbie had fallen asleep, but the rest
of ns were listening eagerly to Aunt
Jane. New York World.
Credulity.
Usually, in bewitching a person, it
was thought necessary to possess some
thing closely connected with the victim,
as a lock of his hair, a nail paring or
even a small quantity of his saliva.
The belief engendered by the shamans
often had very serious consequences to
innocent persons. If a shaman told a
patient that he was afflicted by a disease
which a certain. man of -woman had
charmed into him," the consequences to
the supposed offender were often seri
ous enough, and such beliefs led to many
deaths. .
This is particularly the case in Africa,
where the same belief occurs, and thou
sands are yearly sacrificed, because they
are supposed to have afflicted others
with disease spirits, or to be the authors
of misfortunes of one sort or another. ' ;
The power too "hoodoo," that is, be
witch, is believed in by a very large
number of the negroes of this, country
In fact, such, belief a are common to the
ignorant everywhere, be they red, white
or black.
We should not be too ready to despise
the Indian who holds them, since faith
in charms, fortune telling and trirm'ar
nonsense survives today among civilized
people! who ought .to know better, and
many are . they who thrive by the prac
tice of such arts. . Credulity does not die
with sorcery and. .barbarism, bnt lives
On, and will continue to live until men
grow much wiser than - they have yet
grown.T-H.-t W. Henshaw sin . Youth's
Companion. ''-
Cheaper King Are Bought.
A jeweler tells me that the fashion of
buying ; expensive diamond "rings by
young men just engaged is gradually
dying out. c. -"Understand-, me," he said,
"the girls still get their, engagement
ringaand,.tbey are pretty, too;, but they
don't average over . $70 or $80 in price.
Time was when' .the haughty bride to-be
would have turned up her dainty nose
at any ring that cost less than $200, but
now, although there is .just as much ro
mance and. just the same passion for dia
monds in her compositionj'the New York
girl rightly reasons that she is Irving in
a practical '.age,' and that a cheaper ring
'tod ' a - inore , expensively furnished ; flat
will give, -her . the" most satisfaction. I
know a man .with an income of - $10,000
and. the satisfaction of being engaged to
a millionaire's daughter. How much do
you think her engagement ring cost him?
Just $160, and the bride went into ecsta
sies over it" New York Star.
Not Very Objectionable.
Little Boy" Mamma, I had the night
mare las' night, awfuL ;
Mamma That's because you had so
much cake and preserves.
Little Boy (hastily) Nightmares dont
really hurt, you know; you only think
they is goin' to, same as playin' ghost I
like nightmares. They - is real , fun.
New York Weekly. . , : ' .;
- .
Vn instance is on record of a pigeon
flying twenty-three miles in eleven min
utes, and another flew from - Rouen to
Ghent, 150 miles, in an hour and a half.
J7 M. HUNTINGTON & jCO .
flbstraeters, 1 -Real
Estate and
, Insurance Agents.
'',.''.'''''
Abstracts of, and Information Concern
ingXLand Titles on Short Notice.
Land for Sale and Houses to Rent
Parties Looking for Homes in
COUNTRY OR CITY,
OR IN SEARCH OF
Bugiqe Location,
' Should Call on or Write to us. "
' Agents for a Full Line of x
Leaiins Fire Insurance Companies,
And Will Write Insurance for -
-A3STST IVCOXJIsrT,
on all
DESIEABLE RISKS.
Correspondence Solicited. All Letters
. Promptly Answered. Call on or
Address,
J. M. HUNTINGTON & CO.
Opera House Block, . The Dalles, Or.
JAMES WHITE,
Has Opened a
Xatxrxolx Counter,
i i . .- . i
In Connection With his Fruit Stand
' and Will Serve
Hot Coffee, Ham Sandwich, Pigs' Feet,
and Fresh" Oysters. .
Convenient to the Passenger
Depot.
On Second St., near corner of Madison.
Also a
Branch Bakery, California
Orange Cider, and the'
Best Apple Cider.
If you want a good lunch, give me aeall.
. . Open all Night
C. N. THORNBURY, T.A.HUDSON.
Late Rec. U. 8. Land Office. Notary Public.
.TBQQPBY&iUDSOtl,
ROOMS 8 and 9 LAND OFFICE BUILDING,
PoatofHce Box 33S,
THE DALLES, OR
Filings, Contests,
And all other Business in the U.S. Land Office
Promptly Attended to.
We have ordered Blanks for Filings,
Entries and the purchase of Railroad
Lands under the recent Forfeiture Act,
which we will have, and advise the pub
lic at the earliest date when such entries
can be made. , Look for advertisement
in this paper. ,
Thornburv & Hudson.
Health is Wealth !
Dr. E. C. Wbbt'b Nekvb. anb Brain Treat
ment, a guaranteed Hpecinc for Hysteria; DIzzl
nesH, ConvulsionK, Fits, Nervous Neuralgia,
Headache, Nervous Prostration caused by the use
of alcohol or tobacco, Wakefulness, Mental De
pression, Softening of the Brain, resulting in in
sanity and leading to misery, decay and death.
Premature Old Age, Barrenness, Loss of Power
in either, sex, Involuntary Losses and Spermatorrhoea-caused
by over exertion of the brain, self
abuse or over indulgence. Each box contains
one month's treatment.. (1.00 a box, or six boxes
for 5.00, sent by mail prepaid on receipt of price.
WK GUARANTEE SIX BOXES
To.cure any case. With each order received by
us for six boxes, accompanied by (5.00, we will
send the purchaser our written guarantee to re
fund the money if the treatment does not effect
a cure. Guarantees issued only by
' BUKELET Sl HOUGHTON,
Prescription Druggists,
175 Second St. .' The Dalles, Or.
$500 Reward!
We -will pay the above reward for anv case of
Liver Complaint, Dyspepsia, Sick Headache, In
digestion, Constipation or Costivenesa we cannot
cure with West's Vegetable Liver Pills, when the
directions are strictly complied with. They are
purely vegetable, and never fail to give satisfac
tion. Sugar Coated. - Large boxes containing SO
Pills, 25 cents. Beware of counterfeits and imi
tations. The genuine manufactured only by
THE JOHN C. WFST COMPANY, "CHICAGO,
ILLINOIS. -,.
. BLAKEIKT HOUGHTON, '
Prescription Dmgirists, ' '
175 Second St. , . Ikt Dalles, Or.
5B - u, IIUU4
tub Dalies Giuonicie
iTl
is here and has come to stay. It hopes;
to win its way to public favor by ener
gy, industry and merit; and to this AdJ
vtn juu
if satisfied with its
support.
The
four pages of six columns each, will be
issued every evening, except Sundav!
and will be delivered in the city, or sentJ
by mail for the moderate sum of fifty
cents a month. '
Its Objects
will be to advertise the resources of the
city, and adjacent country, to assist in
developing our industries in extending
and opening up new channels for our
trade, in securing
helping THE DALLES to take her prop
er position as the
of
Leading City
i -Hi tit:, -'- 97: :: :,t:
The paper, both daily and weekly, will
be independent in politics, and in its!
criticism of political matters, as in its!
handling of local affairs; it will be
JUST, FAIR AND IMPARTIAL
We will endeavor to give all the loJ
cal news, and we ask that your criticis:
of our obj ect and course, be formed fro
the contents of the
rash assertions of
For the benefit
shall print the first
copies for free distribution, and shal
print from time to
so that the paper will reach every citi
zen of Wasco and adj acent counties.
THE WEEKLY,
sent to any address
It will contain from four to six eigh
column pages, and we shall endeavo:
to make it. the equal of the best. Asp
your Postmaster for a copy, or address
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