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About Cloverdale courier. (Cloverdale, Tillamook County, Or.) 190?-19?? | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 1916)
ngenious j f* e A Story of the Days of • Witchcraft. : By F. A. MITCHEL T h ere w as once a young m an nam ed C onrad w ho m arried a girl nam ed Jo an . T hey w ere v assals on the e sta te of a baron w ho ow ned a n d ruled over a g re a t te rrito ry . T h e m an a n d the w om an w ere both poor, an d th e ir neighbors w ondered how they w ould get on. N evertheless they prospered, a n d th e ir p ro sp erity w as all on account of Joan, who w as very shrew d. One th in g puzzled those w ho knew her. She did e v e ry th in g in a w ay so qu eer th a t som e o f th em thought h er dem ented. And y et h er a c ts resu lted to her bene fit. One person, a n d one person alone, cam e to u n d e rsta n d h er—her husband. C onrad w as a stu p id m an, an d it is likely th is w as th e reason w hy he cam e to be an ex cellen t a u x ilia ry to his wife. H av in g no ideas of Ills own, he w as readily recip ien t of hers. F or ten y e a rs she kept in stillin g h er w ay of doing th in g s in to him, so th a t a t last not only could she tr u s t him to follow hei%lead. but a t tim es to tak e th e ini tia tiv e on h er m ethods. T h ere w as m uch w a rfa re in a sm all w ay in those days, n tta e k s being m ade by one su zerain upon nnother. In one of th ese in cu rsio n s upon th e dom ain of B aron E lginbrod, w here C onrad and his w ife lived. C ount H astings, th e In eu rslonist. took C onrad aw ay w ith him . h av in g learn ed th a t he and his w ife had accu m u lated m oney, an d held his p riso n er for ransom . C onrad w as th ro w n in to prison and told th a t he should sta y th ere till he p aid th e ransom , lie rem ained a cap tiv e som e tim e, then sen t w ord to his c a p to r to say th a t if he w ould give him a m essenger he w ould send him to his w ife w ith an o rd er to pay the ransom . T lie co u n t a t once fu rn ish e d the m es senger, and C onrad w ro te th e follow ing i.'ie'ssage to Jo a n : M y D e a r W if e —I w is h y o u to p a y th e ra n s o m d e m a n d e d by C o u n t H a stin g s for m y re l e a s e . I will w a i t f o r y o u to d o so f o r o n e w e e k . O n e w e e k f r o m to n i g h t If I a m n o t l i b e r a t e d I w ill h a n g m y s e l f in t h e c h i m n e y o f t h e ro o m w h e r e X a m c o n fined. T o u r lo v in g h u s b a n d . CONRAD. T h is le tte r w as su b m itte d to th e count, w ho read it w ith sa tisfa c tio n , "fo r,” said he, " if th e w om an is inclined to dicker as to th e am o u n t she shall pay, the th re a t o f her h u sb an d to hang him self will influence h er to pay an y sum 1 ask .” And he doubled th e am ount d e m anded fo r th e ransom . W hen th e m essenger delivered the n o te to Jo an a n d she read h er bus b a n d ’s th re a t to hang him self she fell over In a fa in t. T he m essenger did w h a t he could to revive h er an d e n deav o red to re a ssu re her by pointing out th e im possibility of th e prisoner h an g in g h im self in the chim ney, since, in th e first place, he had no rope, and, in th e second place, even if he had th e re w as n o th in g in th e chim ney to w hich he could a tta c h a rope. T h is seem ed to co m fo rt Joan, and, g ath erin g h er s tre n g th , she w rote her h u sb an d a n o te s ta tin g th a t she would be u n ab le to ra ise th e m oney require*! fo r th e ransom in so short a time, hut sh e w ould do so a s soon as possible. She ad d ed a note begging him not to h an g him self, th u s d ep riv in g her and th e ch ild ren of his care a n d th e p leas ure of h a v in g him w ith them.’ T he m essenger w e n t back to the count w ith J o a n ’s letter, an d it w as read w ith satisfac tio n , fo r it w as evi d ent th a t she w as so terrified a t her h u sb an d ’s th re a t, n o tw ith sta n d in g th e fact th a t it w ould be im possible to <nrr.v it out, th a t she w ould do all in her pow er to Faise th e m oney fo r the ransom . So th e m essage w as d eliv er ed to C onrad, w ho road it. evidently pleased a t the prospect of g e ttin g his liberty. A w eek passed, and th e n ig h t cam e on w hich C onrad had th re a te n e d to com m it suicide unless his w ife had by th a t tim e paid th e ransom au d set him free. H is ja ile r, w hen he b rought in th e p riso n e r’s su p p er an d se t it dow n on th e table, said jo k in g ly : "W ell, C onrad, a re you going to hang y ourself to n ig h t? " ‘ Wh.v should 1? My w ife has said th a t sh e m ight not be able to ra ise the money fo r my ran so m so soon, b u t I am su re sh e w ill do so in tim e. I am a w a re th a t she m u st sell ev ery th in g w e have, including o u r hom e, to raise so larg e an am ount, a n d I d o n 't ex pect th a t sh e wiil be a b le to tu rn it all into ready m oney in less th a n au o th er week, a t least. ’ "W hy. then, did you n am e a period insufficient fo r h er to ra ise th e ran som ?’’ "B ecau se I did not w ish h er to lose any tim e .” "W ell. I’m glad you have no reason to han g yourself. F o r if you did 1 should have to sit up an d w atch you tonight, and I p re fer to he asleep in my bed." So th e ja ile r left his p risoner to eat his supper, an d w hen he re tu rn e d Con rad w as sn o rin g loudly on his cot. T he keeper w ent a w a y satisfied tu a t th ere w as no d a n g e r of to e p riso n er c h e a t ing th e count out of his ran so m by kill ing him self, and he. too. betook him self to his bed and w as soon snoring as loudly as C onrad. W hen the next m orning the jailer took C o n rad ’s b re a k fa st to him. ex p e ttin g to see his p risoner sittin g , ns usual, a t th e tab le w aitin g for it. he w as asto n ish ed not to see him a t all. M oreover, th e re w as a stra n g e stillness in the room, th e silence of absence of an y living thing. T he m an, th in k in g th a t, a f te r all, his p riso n er m ight have ca rried out his th re a t, w ent to the chim ney, fe a rin g th a t he m ight see his body d an g lin g there. T h ere w as n o th ing in th e lo w er p art, an d . looking up, he saw only u sm all p atch of blue sky. W ith fe a r and trem b lin g th e jailer sen t w ord to th e count th a t his prison e r had vanished. In o rd e r to shield him self, he declared t h a t lie had heard stra n g e sounds o v erh ead d u rin g the night. H e believed th a t his prisoner had c a rrie d ou t his th re a t to han g him self a n d th a t w itches had carried off th e body. T h a t w as an ag e w hen people, instead of looking for n a tu ra l causes, inferred ev e ry th in g to s u p e rn a tu ra l in te rfe r ence. T h e co u n t so fa r leaned to the Jailer's opinion th a t he di.l not look fa r fo r a m ean s of th e p riso n er's escape. lie exam ined th e only o u tlet, th e chim ney, an d satisfied h im self t h a t C onrad could not have clim bed th e flue. In those d ay s chim neys w ere very large, and for one to w ork h im self u p a flue by his knees on one sid e a n d his back on the o th e r w as im possible. C onrad m ust have h u n g him self, a n d th e re w as no ac co u n tin g fo r th e d isap p ea ran c e of th e body except th a t th e w itches had ca rried It off. T he Jaile r's suggestion saved him from p u n ish m en t, a n d the co u n t was obliged to forego th e ransom . H e w as becom ing reconciled to his d isap p o in t m en t w h en one day a neightior or Con- ra d ’s cam e across th e b o rd er und re po rted th e suicide living a t hom e in co m fo rt w ith his w ife a n d children. T he count w as asto n ish ed . Indeed, he w ould not believe th e re p o rt until be b ad sen t a spy in to th e en em y ’s co u n try to learn th e tru th . W hen th e spy re tu rn e d a u d said th a t he h ad seen C ourad sittin g befo re his door, th e co u n t w as convinced th a t he w as th ere . B ut th e spy, believ in g th a t w itch es had assisted C onrad to get aw ay , supposed h im self to he u n d e r th e influence o f h is im agination. C onrad w as s ittin g m o tionless a t th e tim e, a n d th e sp y got th e idea into ids h ead th a t he w as a corpse. H e rep o rted th a t he h ad w atch ed th e figure te n long m in u tes, in all of w h ich tim e it m ade no m otion. T he count, d isg ru n tle d a t h av in g lost his ransom a n d n o t sa tlsiie d w ith his sp y ’s report, se n t nn o th er, who snw C onrad ch o p p in g wood. T h is disposed of the th eo ry th a t w itch es h ad c a rrie d back th e corpse of a suicide, a n d th e count d e te rm in e d to m ake a ra id into the dom ains of C ount E lg in b ro d w ith a view to a g ain c a rry in g off th e w e alth y C onrad. Now, C o n rad ’s hom e w as n e a r th e border, a n d all th e co u n t h ad to do w as to send u force acro ss, kid n ap C on rad au d c a rry him a w a y before a n y of tlie b a ro n ’s forces could be b ro u g h t to protect him. B u t it h ap p en ed th a t Joan had been looking o u t of th e w in dow w hen tlie second spy sa w h er h u s band chopping wood a n d w a tc h ed th e m an slipping aw ay , a s ho supposed, unnoticed. Jo a n su sp ected w h a t th is m eant an d s tra ig h tw a y took p re c a u tions She sen t one O ldershow , n neighbor, to C o u n t H a stin g s ’ dom ain to win tlie confidence o f tlie co u n t an d agree for n co n sid eratio n to en tice C on rad aw ay from his hom e so th a t lie could be read ily ca p tu red . T ills m an succeeded in his object. A t th e sam e tim e he w as in stru c te d liy Jo a n to re port th a t J o a n w as a w itch. T his confirm ed C ount H a stin g s ' be lief in th e ja ile r's su ggestion th a t w itches had been in s tru m e n ta l In C on rad 's d isap p ea ran c e, h u t he a ttrib u te d the rem oval to one w itch , C o n rad 's wife. N evertheless, lie w as so av e rse to being b ea te n even by a w itch th a t he accep ted O lderehow ’g offer and, having p aid him a ro u n d sum , s e n t a dozen m en Avith him to k id n ap C onrad. T he expedition ap p ro ach ed C o n rad ’s house in th e ev en in g gloam ing, m id w h a t w as th e ir h o rro r to see tlie m an th ey w ere a f te r h an g in g by th e neck to a tree n e a r his house. T h ey a t onco took to flight a n d n ev er sto pped ru n nin g till they h ad reached th e ir s t a r t ing point, h av in g left O ldershow be hind them . T hey re p o rted w h a t th e y had seen to tlie count, a n d O ldershow , re tu rn in g , en tered C o n rad 's house a n d poured a h eap of gold lie h ad received fo r his w ork in J o a n 's lap. T h is ended C ount H a stin g s ’ effo rts to regain possession of C onrad, for he w as convinced of ids being m an ag ed by a w itch, th a t tvitch being Jo a n . B u t be s e n t n m essen g er to B aron E l ginbrod to say th a t th e baro n h ad a w itch in his dom inions, a n d if he did not g e t rid of h er sh e w ould in fec t tlie w hole co u n try . Upon th is th e baron s e n t fo r Jo a n a n d ask e d h er w h a t tru th th e re w as In th e co u u t’s ch arg e. “ P lease, y o u r w o rsh ip ,” replied Jo a n , “ w hen C ount H a stin g s raid ed y o u r do m ain he ca rrie d off my h u sb an d an d held him fo r ransom . W hen th e p ris o n er w ro te m e th a t if l did n o t pay th e ran so m by a c e rta in d a te lie w ould ban g him self in th e ch im n ey I knew th a t th e re w as a ch im n ey in th e room w hore lie w as confined and th a t ho m ean t th a t I should on a ce rta in n ig h t send som e one o r go m yself, p e t on tiie roor a n d le t a rope dow n by w hich h e could clim b. I se n t one O ldershow . w ho succeeded in do in g th a t, a n d my h u sb an d escaped. “S u sp ectin g th a t th e co u n t would try ag ain to m ak e m y h u sb an d his p riso n er. I se n t O ldershow to win bis con fidence an d pilot a p arty to m ake th e cap tu re. I m ade a stuffed figure o f my h u sb an d an d h u n g it to a tre e n e a r th e house. W hen they cam e to ta k e him they w ere frig h ten ed and ran nw ny. In ste a d o f th e co u n t g e ttin g a ran so m , I got th e m oney lie paid m y m esseu g cr to load his m en into a trap ." T h e b aro n w as so w ell p leased w ith Jo a n 's sto ry t h a t be g a v e h er a tr a c t of land n e a r his castle, w h e re sh e a u d her fntnily w ould he in less d a n g e r from C o u n t H a stin g s ' incursions. PROFESSIONAL CARDS Tillamook Abstract Company T h u s . C o a b iis . I’ o s s i u i i n t . C O M F L jm e SKY O K A H S T K A C f B O O K S or TILLA M O O K COUNTY, OKBUCW*. TILLA M O O K C IT Y . OREGON. T. H. COYNE, ATTORNEY AT LAW C onveyancing, E tc. Opp. C o o rt H ouse. T illam ook, Ore. Tillamook Undertaking Co. R. N. IIF N K E L , P ro p rie to r. N ig h t an d Day calls p ro m p tly atte n d e d . | N ext Door to Jo n es-K n u d ao n F u rn itu re Store. T IL L A M O O K , - - O R EG O N A. C. EVERSON TILLAMOOK. ORE. Money to Loan Real Estate Agency See me for realty deals. Under New Management The Todd Hotel Tillamook, Ore. L. S. HUSHBECK, Proprietor. Dining Room run on Family Style Meals 25c. Rooms 50 and 75 Cents, Special Rates by the Week. O those who wish to a better KO- DAK this season, we have made arrange ments whereby we can take in a few good old s t y l e machines in trade on new ones, ’Q , get Tvobaß Cfeamng anb (Jtepamng. C. I. C L O U G H , RELUBLE DRUGGISTS Tillamook, - Oregon.