Ken Springer
The Beartown Incident of 1931 – The Conclusion
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” ~ William Shakespeare
Shortly after the arrival of the Smoots to Droop Mountain, items began to go missing from homes and outbuildings in the area. At first, it was a shovel here and an axe there. Then, families returning home from Sunday church services found their unlocked doors left wide open and items like guns, jewelry and money missing.
Upon returning home from visiting relatives in Hillsboro, Celeste’s father discovered a family heirloom was missing: an engraved double-barrel shot- gun his grandfather had brought over from Ireland in 1867.
Word of the thefts spread quickly, getting the attention of Sheriff Jed Rose. Local families, even those affected by the thefts, were reluctant to point fingers at anyone in their peaceful community. Jed addressed the adults at the Beartown church about the situation.
While the children played outside the church – it seemed pointless to scare the youngsters – Jed told the assembled that he had called the Sheriff of Adams County, Ohio, where the Smoots were from. He went on to say that Ralph Smoot had been in and out of prison in Ohio for rape, marital battery and burglary.
Neighbors of Ralph Smoot also believed he had caused the death of his six-year-old son by forcing him to stay outside overnight during sub-zero weather because he had told his father to stop hurting his mother. Mrs. Smoot was too terrified of her husband to testify in court, and as they had no body or witnesses, charges were dropped.
Jed assured the congregation that his officers had been briefed on Ralph Smoot and that they would be investigating every case of theft beginning that very day. Celeste’s father, Reggie, offered to accompany Jed to visit the Smoots.
When they arrived at Smoot’s ramshackle house, Ralph’s wife opened the door a few inches, peering out at the two men, but saying nothing. She never once made eye contact, keeping her head down so they wouldn’t notice all the scars and burn marks on her face, but they did.
When asked where her husband was, she pointed to a partially collapsed barn and quickly closed the door. As the two men approached the barn, Jed said, “What kind of hell on earth must that poor woman live with?”
When they were several yards from the barn door, out came a large, unkempt and barrel-chested man who immediately shut the door behind him, blocking the door with his body. Attempting to get the upper hand, the brute said, “What the hell do you want?” before the sheriff could state the reason for his visit.
“Are you Ralph Smoot?” demanded the sheriff.
After eyeing both Jed and Reggie for a few moments, as if debating whether he could take them both on, “That’s me. What do you want? I ain’t done nothing,” Smoots replied.
Jed said, “That’s yet to be determined, fellow. What’s in the barn?
“You gotta have a search warrant,” snarled Smoot.
“Actually, we don’t,” said Jed, continuing, “I believe I can smell the mash you’re cooking; are you making moonshine, Smoot? The Prohibition law says we can check your premises without a warrant to see if you are bootlegging, so step out of the way, Mr. Smoot, we’re going in.”
Ralph Smoot was clearly enraged, but he stepped aside, glaring at the two men as they passed him. Jed and Reggie began searching the stalls and haymow. It didn’t take long before they found many of the tools and other items reported stolen.
After a thorough search of the barn, Jed and Reggie began searching the house, a dank and squalid place. Mrs. Smoot sat in a corner with her head down, never saying one word the entire time they were in the house. It didn’t take long to find Reggie’s shotgun, hidden in the back of a closet. When they left the house, they had several gold-plated pocket watches and a Colt 45 revolver, all reported as stolen.
Jed arrested and handcuffed Smoot and pushed him toward the cruiser. As the thief passed Reggie, Smoot stopped, turned his head toward him and sneered, “I’ve seen that young gal of yours, she sure is purty, you better keep an eye on her. Ain’t she the one that talks to trees? Maybe she’s a little tetched in the head.”
At that, Reggie planted a fist squarely in his face, but Smoot only laughed as blood flowed from his nose. Smoot looked at the sheriff and said tauntingly, “Why, sheriff, I believe this man has attacked me, I mean, it ain’t no crime to tell a man he’s got a good looking daughter, is it?”
Reggie thought, “That damn gossip Joe Tryndale must have told him about Celeste.”
Instead of letting Smoot get to him, Jed looked him straight in the eye and calmly asked the brutish man, “What happened to your little boy? Where did you hide his body, you worthless piece of sh**?
The sadistic monster just chuckled, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ralph Smoot was found guilty and sentenced to six months in the lockup in Marlinton. Meanwhile, the folks on Droop Mountain, being the kind of people they are, took food to Mrs. Smoot during this period. They invited her to attend church in Beartown, but she was so traumatized by her husband, even while he was locked up, that she couldn’t manage to say a word.
Celeste continued to visit her grandfather, but always stopped at the big oak tree to talk with Jeremy on her way. She realized from her experiences with other lost souls, not realizing they had died, that she was becoming fond of Jeremy and wished to help him move on. Celeste never fooled herself into believing that she could have a romantic relationship with someone in spirit, yet she thoroughly enjoyed her conversations with this intelligent and thoughtful young man.
Shortly after Ralph Smoot was released from jail, the Scotts’ family dog, a beautiful collie, was found hanging from a tree when they returned from church one Sunday. Celeste and her siblings grieved for weeks over the brutal death of their beloved dog. Only her mother could convince her father not to kill Smoot, saying, “He’ll get his in due time, and when he does die, he will rot in hell.”
In the fall of 1931, Celeste was taking some medicine to her grandfather, who was suffering from Bright’s Disease. As she was walking past Beartown, a figure stepped out from behind a large hemlock tree. She froze when she saw it was Ralph Smoot.
She gathered her courage and tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her by the arm and pushed her up against the tree. His face was inches from hers, and when he spoke, she noticed that the few teeth he had were black as coal, and his breath was vile.
Smoot gave a maniacal smile and tried to kiss her. Celeste scratched at his face with all her might, and rivulets of blood ran down his cheeks. He grabbed her and pinned her to the ground, saying, “For a crazy b**ch that talks to trees, you sure are feisty. That’s all the better for what I’m going to do to you, missy.”
As he tried to remove her clothing, she felt around with her free hand and grabbed a rock, smashing it into his forehead. He rolled off of her in pain; she took advantage of the moment and jumped and ran down into the Bear-town gorge.
It took him a few moments to stand up and get his bearings before running after her. She knew the terrain by heart and tried to dodge him by running through the most rugged part of the rock formations.
Looking back over her shoulder, Celeste saw her pursuer attempting to navigate the massive rocks and crevasses, but was cursing loudly and appeared to be going back up to the ridge.
For a few minutes, she felt safe and free of Smoot, so she stopped to get her breath. Suddenly, a large boulder came crashing down, nearly hitting her, and she heard the monster shout from directly above her, “Give it up b**ch, I’m going to kill you.”
She started looking for a place to hide when she remembered a narrow cave her brother would hide in when they played hide and seek. She knew that when she stepped out from the rock wall, Smoot would see her. She took a deep breath and lunged out, hearing another boulder crashing down right onto where she was standing.
Within a minute, she was standing at the cave’s entrance; it seemed much smaller than she remembered, but she forced her svelte body into the crack by turning sideways. She penetrated the darkness until she came to a turn that led into a more capacious room, where she stayed put, listening for her tormentor.
Celeste realized her family wouldn’t come looking for her since she always spent the night when visiting her grandfather.
For some time, it was quiet, then Celeste heard Smoot just outside the opening, screaming all manner of obscenities. At one point, she heard him grunting; she knew he was trying to get into the cave, but he was just too big. Smoot began throwing rocks back into the recesses of the cave, but soon gave up, and all went silent.
Once it was dark, Celeste very cautiously made her way out of the cave. She stood there for some time just listening before making her way in the moonlight through and out of the gorge. She knew that if she went back toward home, Smoot might be waiting for her, so she went in the direction of her grandfather, who would protect her.
As she passed the large oak tree, she saw the spirit of Jeremy, who nearly glowed in the moonlight. She told him what had happened, to which he listened intently. For the first time, she saw an expression of concern that turned to rage on his handsome face.
Afraid that Smoot might get her before Celeste convinced Jeremy to go to the realm of the afterlife, she begged him to acknowledge his death and to promise her he would go to his family on the other side.
Jeremy thought for a while and told Celeste that, over the years, he had fallen in love with her, but that he would comply with her wishes. The final words he said to Celeste before she departed for her grandfather’s house were, “I will do as you wish, but there is something I must do first. Please, Celeste, go to your grandfather, now!”
Her final words to Jeremy were, “I will never forget you, Jeremy, and someday I will be with you again.”
She didn’t want to upset her ailing grandfather, so when she arrived at his house, she said nothing of what had happened earlier. The next morning at the crack of dawn, she began the walk back to her home, albeit very cautiously.
As Celeste approached Jeremy’s tree, she felt a dramatic change in the normal light that surrounded the big oak; it seemed darker as if a black mist enveloped the tree.
She slowed her walk to determine what had caused this usually welcome environment to feel foreboding suddenly. The considerable girth of the tree blocked her view of the side where Jeremy could always be found.
Now, Celeste was more cautious than ever. Her heart was pounding as she walked around to the other side, and what she saw made her gasp. Hanging from a large limb, a good 20 feet off the ground, was the body of Ralph Smoot.
From the corner of her eye, she saw something shiny on the ground. She walked over to the base of the tree and picked up Jeremy’s precious locket. She knew instinctively that the locket was meant for her, and she also knew what Jeremy meant when he told her the previous evening, after promising her he would go to the light, “There is something I must do first.”
Suddenly, the dark mist cleared, and the morning sun shone brightly – Celeste started for home. The evil that had insinuated itself on the good folks of Droop Mountain was now gone for all time.
Celeste wore Jeremy’s locket on a chain around her neck for the rest of her life. There’s no accounting for the power of love.
Author’s Note: Like Gettysburg, the 1863 Battle of Droop Mountain has spawned many ghost stories. The tales continue, and though mine is fiction, it is based on several stories I have heard since I moved to Pocahontas County 15 years ago. I wrote this story in the spirit of Halloween and to remind us of the many young men killed during the Civil War.
Happy Halloween,
Ken Springer
ken1949bongo@gmail.com
