this hill I got so nervous I could not hold myself in any longer. I determined to get by this valley with all my speed and there was no boy of my age in the place who could outrun me. My fear added lightness to my feet. I started to run; as I ran my speed increased; I was going down a steep hill and in terror of ghosts behind me. By the time I got to the culvert I was going at a furious pace. I stepped in- to the hole the water had cut and down I went flat on my stomach and face on the culvert. Fortunately I did not break my leg. The papers and letters were scattered all over the road and it was so dark I could not see them. I got up without the least feeling of fear. I felt about until I found all the papers and letters. When I gathered all up I walked on as calm and unafraid as if it were noonday. I never was much afraid of ghosts after that. The ghosts were inside me and got knocked out.
Strange Lights Seen on Earl/2 and in the Sky
While I never saw a ghost I saw strange sights that neighbours thought were caused by ghosts, or spirits. I saw a light in. the field one night. I was afraid to go near enough to see what it was. I think it was a piece of wood—shining wood—we called it. It gives off a glowing light at night, but unless one knows the wood one cannot find it by day, as the glow is only visible in the dark. The most strange and startling light I ever saw by night was a fire-like band, about six inches wide, that started at the eastern horizon and extend- ed across the centre of the dome of the sky to the western horizon. It made a sound like a rushing wind or the rending of a great sheet. It seemed to cleave the sky in two. The whole band was visible at one time, as is a rainbow. It was not like the fiery trail a meteor makes. Many who saw it were seriously impressed and many afraid. They thought it was a sign of the near approach of the end of the world, or of a great war, or some calamity. It was shortly before the American Civil War. I ofen saw meteors or shooting stars but they were only as sparks compared with this. The Indians believed the Northern Lights were the “spirits having a dance. Sometimes we saw lights called “Ig- nis Fatuus”; they are meteoric lights that flit about in marsh places. Many believed them to be the spirits of the dead, hovering about. I
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