HORNED MESSENGERS
ATTEMPT TO ROB OLD WOMAN
BY FRIGHT
An old peasant woman in the Amur territory lias had a narrow escape from some “embodied spirits” from the other world. She lived near the town of Alexeievsk with her only son. a very industrious man and devoted to his mother. 'The old lady was known in the district around for her devout life.
The son died and left to his mother his savings of 709 roubles. The mother, as is told in an Amur paper, took 090 roubles to the Treasury at Alexeievsk and deposited it there, keeping 100 roubles at home. On that night she was awakened by knocking at her door and a voice saying: “Open. Granny Anisia. We bring news of your son from the other world.’’
Shaking with fear, the old woman crossed herself and opened the door. Three figures entered, each wrapped in a long cloth and each with big ox horns standing from the head. But they spoke good Russian. One of them said: “Your son is in the other world, where ho has he-fu made a watercarrier. He has to carry a thousand buckets a- day; if he does not there are devils who beat him with hot iron. We have redeemed him from lii.s task-masters, but lie has to pay them money. Your son has sent tis to this world for the inheritance that he left.” The old woman stammered out that she had only 100 roubles of it with her, and had put the other 000 in the Treasury at Alexeievsk. They took the hundred and told her to be sure and have the rest ready for them the next night. In the morning she hastened to tho town and asked to withdraw her money. The treasurer enquired why she needed it <:n the next day after putting it in. She explained that messengers with horns had come from her son from the other world to ask for the money. When the treasurer heard her story he sent a police detachcmeni to wait that night near the house. Sure enough, the horned messengers appeared. They were seized and unmasked. Ons proved to be the village elder, the next was his deputy, and the third was the village scribe.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GIST19130716.2.14
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Gisborne Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3985, 16 July 1913, Page 3
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377HORNED MESSENGERS Gisborne Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3985, 16 July 1913, Page 3
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