Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1884 — “Brands From the Burning.” [ARTICLE]

“Brands From the Burning.”

A First Cla« Supernatural Sensation in Jasper County. Eight in lies noffch east from Rensselaer, near the center of Barkley township, live Perry Burni and family; as tenants of a house and farm belonging to Mrs. Wesley Henkle, lately widow of Elisha Davisson, a man whose melancholly and mysterious suicide about two years ago, is still fresh in the minds of many of our readers. The house is small, old, and in itself uninteresting, but has tduring the last two weeks, beeh the scene of a succession of occurernces which have made it, for the time being, the most interesting spot in Jasper county. The occurrences in question, are nothing less than a succession of alleged supernatural manifestations of a sensational but hot varied character. The manifestations take the form of fires, which breakout in all sorts of unexpected places about--the. premises; always in the day time and usually between 9 and 10 o’clock in the morning. The hay roof has burned from the stable twice. The ticks and coverings of two beds burned, at separate times. A dress hanging against the wall took fire and was destroyed. The contents of a trunk burned while it was closed* and a bag of beans sitting in an unused garret took fire and was partly burned. These instances will serve as examples of all the fires. Up to Saturday last 27 fires in all, are stated to have broken out some where about the premises. Opinions differ widely as to the cause and nature of the phenomena. |The majority believing, as a matter of course, that there is a human and mischievous cause for the fires;, while many others, including.many persons of sound intelligence, hold that they are of supernatural origin; but be they natural or supernatural, all parties are agreed in believing that there is a very large amount of pure cussedness, at the bbttom of of it all. t , A report that a bunch ; of dried com husks, inclosing a half burned match, had been found secreted in a knot hole, in the siding of the house, would, if confirmed, seem tq afford great reason to believe that some member of the family is responsible the for fires.