SUPERSTITION.

Grey River Argus, Volume VIII, Issue 554, 5 August 1869, Page 4

SUPERSTITION.

The benighted countries of the old world are not to be suffered to enjoy a monopoly of ghosts. The Burrangong Argus assures us they have established one of their own in that neighborhood. It says : — " In these enlightened times it seems almost an absurdity to talk about ghosts making their appearance, but the following statement of what has befallen three respectable men residing near Young is authentic, and may be relied upon by our readers as being no hoax. The three men referred | to are splitting posts and rails for fencing, at a place about four miles from Young, near the Three-mile and the old Duffer Rush. The first time they saw anything unusual was on one moonlight night, about three weeks ago, when they were much startled by seeing in the bush, near their hut, a white object about the size of a cat, but of no particular form. This extraordinary-looking object suddenly before their eyes sprang up into a white spectre about eight feet high. They called out to it, but could get no reply, struck it with a stick, but it sounded hollow. It also chased two of them one way, and one another. On another occasion, they retired to bed at the usual hour, on a calm, still night, went to sleep, slept for some time, and upon one waking up during the night, he was much surprised to find that the whole of the roof of the hut had been removed. On looking out they saw the spectre, but no one else was about, and they are all quite sure that neither on this nor the former occasion was it either a man or a woman. Its suddenly rising before their eyes from a mere nothing to a height of eight feet quite dumbfounded them. Another night they were much surprised at seeing a strange, unearthly-looking animal somewhat resembling a dog, with a long chain attached to it. This animal came right in front of the hut, and commenced grinning at them, but made no noise, either by barking or otherwise, save the occasional rattling of his chain. As the animal would not go away, one of the men (who was a good shot) loaded a gun, and fired the contents direct at the brute, but the shot took no effect upon ; it. The dog, or whatever it was, remained for some considerable time. On another night the dog seemed to have returned, for they heard the rattling of a chain and a noise like what a dog would make when licking a plate. Upon looking outside, they saw that a plate which had been left there

was in motion, but they could not see what caused it to be so, although they could, wh ile looking, distinctly hear the same noise described above. They watched it for some time, the plate being kept in motion, and the noise being . distinctly heard as if the plate was being licked by some animal. On Sunday last these men game into Young, and upon one of them returning in the evening he found that the door of the hut had been pulled down, and its contents brought outside and left there, Two out of the three men are well known to us, and we feel confident that what we have stated may be relied upon as truth, A shepherd told these men that some time ago two men wjio were splitting there quarrelled, and one killed the other with an axe, and afterwards fell a tree on him, and that it was nothing extraordinary for the murdered man's yhost to make its appearance,