|
The Fiery Cloud The clop, clop,
clippety clop of hoofs was heard in the darkness as a man rode along a
farm road in the hills of western Newberry County in western, South
Carolina. Watch dogs barked as the traveller and his mule passed wayside
farms. Sometimes the dogs came rushing out to the road to snap viciously
the mule, which responded by kicking, swerving skittishly, and breaking
into a run. Aroused by the clamor of his watch dog, the doctor hoped that no patient needed his services at this late hour. But hearing footsteps on the porch, then a knock on the door,the doctor arose and opened the door. There ,in the dim light, stood a sturdy black man. The doctor recognized him immediately as a trusted servant on a nearby plantation, a good man and an old friend. The visitor explained that Ole Massa had sent him to call the doctor. A child was seriously ill in the family of a worker on the plantation. Dr. Robison was very tired. But he knew his Christian duty. Putting on his hat and coat, he took up his heavy medical kit, which contained instruments and drugs. The black servant courteously took the kit and carried it out to the doctor's buggy, while Dr. Robison hurried to the nearby barn for his favorite horse. The horse was quickly hitched to the buggy. The black servant mounted his mule, and the two men rode away. The doctor reflected that the night was so pleasant that his coat was scarcely needed . The day had been very hot, and even now there was only a barely perceptible chill in the air. A traveller who had recently returned from the North had reported a colder winter than usual in the northern states. But, here, in the hill country of upper South Carolina, a few days of cold weather had alternate with short periods of weather almost like that of summer. This was indeed strange weather in the January of 1816. It was rumored that a ship had recently put into Charleston with news of a terrible volcanic eruption in the East Indies. Clouds of smoke and ashes had risen many miles into the air. Ashes had fallen upon the sea in vast quantities and had formed floating islands so thick that men could walk upon them. Sunsets more colorful and brilliant than any ever seen earlier had followed the volcanic explosion and the ash fall. Sailors aboard ships at sea had continued to see such brilliant sunsets all the way during their voyage back to America. Now such brilliant sunsets were beginning to be seen in South Carolina. Sometimes the sunlight was yellow, and there was a ghostly quality about the moonlight at night. On this particular night,the atmosphere was especially ghostly. Several times the horse and the mule started in fright. But usually what scared them were herds of cattle loose in the dark woods along the road. Sometimes momentary panic was caused by possums,or other small creatures,as they scampered across the road and vanished through the high,rail fences that kept the cattle out of the cultivated fields. But sometimes the animals became frightened for no perceptible reason. The old servant said that both the horse and the mule mule were seeing “hants.” At last the cabin where the patient lived was reached. The two men hitched their animals,then strode in the moonlight to the house. The servant said that he would wait outside, on the porch. He wanted to hear the doctor’s report and take it to Ole Massa. Dr. Robison went inside,where he was warmly greeted by the anxious family. He examined the patient, left some medicine, took up his kit, and prepared to depart. As the doctor opened the door and went out upon the porch, the black servant, his friend, stood beside the door as if paralyzed, his back against the wall of the house. In response to the doctor's questions, he tried to speak. His lips moved, but no words came. On his face was a look of horror as he stared across an adjacent field. Frantically he gestured and pointed at something dreadful that the doctor did not see. Turning in the direction indicated, Dr. Robison saw something that resemble a fiery cloud coming across a moonlit field. The cloud was only a few feet above the ground; it was turning over and over as it approached and the interior seemed to be solid,with the rough semblance of a bulldog. Within seconds, as the doctor stared horror-stricken, the cloud rolled onto the porch. Then,with a gasp,the black man suddenly put his hands to his throat and fell heavily,his features convulsed with terror. The fiery cloud dissipated and vanished. Groggily,Dr. Robison bent over his prostrate friend and tried to revive him. But there was no heartbeat. The man was dead. During the following week the news of this bizarre event spread throughout Newberry County. People told this story again and again, often amplifying and changing it. A rash of other ghost stories also appeared. From the Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains to the sea many stories of “ hants” and spooks became popular. Some of these were very old, and others were of recent origin. Some of the best of these tales were of the Ghost of Goshen, a “sperrit” that generally assumed the appearance of an enormous and ferocious dog. This fearsome apparition was said to be often seen near Ebenezer Church, in northern Newberry County . From that point it sometimes ranged as far as the hamlet of Goshen, in adjacent Union County. There were some people who thought that the Ghost of Goshen was the dog-like nucleus of the fiery cloud seen by Dr. Robison. Dr. Robison was not superstitious. He knew that the black servant, his old friend, had probably died of heart failure caused by terror. But the memory of that frightful event and the cumulative effect of the many ghost stories that he heard probably made a deep impression on him. Several days passed unevenfully. Then again there was a knock on the doctor’s door one night. Someone was quite ill in the tiny village of Saluda Old town, a few miles to the South. Although he was very tired, the young doctor harnessed his favorite horse, climbed into his buggy and set out. The night was quiet and beautiful. Only occasionally could be heard the blare of distant horns and the yelping of dogs as some boys hunted possums or raccoons in the dark swamps along Saluda River. These gave the night an elfin atmosphere. But suddenly the horse started violently. He turned his head and looked out across a field; then he started running at his utmost speed. Dr. Robison clung
to the reins with one hand and with the other hand he clutched the buggy.
But he took time to look across the adjacent
field. Dr. Robison started to whip the horse. But the horse needed no whipping. He was as terrified as his master. The doctor had to cling to the buggy to prevent being thrown out as the light vehicle went around curves on two wheels and dirt flew from beneath the horse's hoofs. Soon the village of Saluda Old Town lay ahead. As he reached the first houses, the doctor ventured to glance back over his shoulder. The fiery cloud had disappeared. Several more days passed. Then again there came a knock on the door one night. Reluctantly,the doctor decided to be very brave and answer the call. The wife of a good friend was ill. After harnessing his faithful horse, Dr. Robison drove quietly along a road bordered by high rail fences. Occasionally an owl hooted in the nearby forest. The night was lovely,and it was good to be alive. The doctor reached his friend's house and attended the patient. Then, taking up his medical kit, he prepared to leave. The host accompanied him to the door. The host saw his good friend open the door and step outside. Then a great fiery cloud suddenly rolled onto the porch. The doctor gasped and fell heavily, dropping his medical kit. After a momentary hesitation, the host rushed outside and knelt beside his friend. But Dr. Robison was dead. There was a big funeral at Moon’s Meeting House,the nearby Methodist Church. Hundreds of the late doctor's friends and patients were there. Many black people who had known and loved the young doctor were in the congregation. The doctor's mother, Mrs. Sarah Robison Moon and his venerated step—father, Dr. Meredith William Moon, were the chief morners. Generations passed and this frightful story became one of the legends of Newberry. But it cannot be verified now. However,recent events render this story more credible. Luminous accumulations of gas have often been seen in various areas of western Newberry at night. Only a few years ago,the late Mr. Fred Werts, a descendant of Dr. Meredith William Moon, was travelling one night on a road near the abandoned site of Moon's Meeting House. He was astonished to see a luminous cloud, about the size of an automobile, come out of the forest at tree—top level. Slowly revolving and propelled by a gentle breeze, it drifted slowly westward above the highway for several miles before it gradually dissipated and vanished. This was certainly an accumulation of swamp gas, largely methane, such as is common in many parts of the World. The sudden appearance of one of these fiery clouds is quite enough to cause terror that might trigger a massive heart attack. Sometimes modern science has to spoil a good story in order to make it credible. Moon’s Meeting House has vanished now; the congregation merged with Shady Grove and Kadesh to form Trinity Methodist Church, a few miles away. But in the
deserted old cemetery, beneath the great trees, a marble slab marks the
grave of the unfortunate Dr. Robison. It bears an
inscription, SACRED TO The MEMORY OFGEO. W . ROBISON DEPARTED THIS LIFE JAN. 17, 1816 IN THE 24th YEAR OF HIS AGE
|
|
|
This is a FREE website.
If you were directed here through a link for which you paid $ for, you can access much more FREE data via our Newberry County index page at http://genealogytrails.com/scar/newberry/index.htm
Also make sure to visit our main Genealogy Trails History Group website at http://genealogytrails.com for much more nationwide historical/genealogical data and access to our other state/county websites.