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The headless horseman of highway 44 in Canton
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In 1781, on a fall morning in Hartford, a solitary French paymaster mounted his horse to begin his journey to Saratoga New York. His saddle bags were filled to the brim with gold and silver. It was payment for a unit of French soldiers under the command of Benedict Arnold and Horatio Gates. After a long day in the saddle the paymaster arrived in the small town of Canton Connecticut.
He stopped to find a bed and meal at The Hosford Tavern. He sat down for dinner and kept his money laden bag under a watchful eye . While eating and drinking he made small talk with a few of the locals and innkeeper. The hour grew late and he eventually climbed the stairs to sleep. He never arrived in Saratoga and that was the last time the paymaster was seen alive.
The French authorities began an investigation as to what had happened to the rider and their soldier’s pay. They eventually traced his last whereabouts to The Hosford Tavern. The innkeeper told the men that he had awoken the paymaster for breakfast and he had ridden away safely. This explanation later sounded particularly suspicious when a group of local young boys found the skeletal remains of a horse and a finely crafted saddle in a pond they were fishing in. Specially designed horse shoes were still attached to the hooves of the dead animal.
The Canton townsfolk began seeing a strange sight on the Albany Turnpike at night. It was a headless rider in a European style cape galloping a phantom horse down the road. In the late nineteenth century a fire razed The Hosford Tavern to the ground. While cleaning up the wreckage from the fire a crew discovered a headless human skeleton buried in the basement. The skull was found buried several feet away. It appeared that the paymaster had finally been found.
To this day, late at night, motorists have seen a headless rider mounted on a horse with glowing eyes. Drivers have often driven into ditches to avoid hitting the spectral rider. Their headlights shine through the horse as if it is invisible. The paymaster seems to be damned to deliver the money for eternity. If you dare to drive the old stretch of Highway 44 in Canton, keep your eyes open for the rider. You never know what you will encounter driving that road in the dark of the night.
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