The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-01-24

GHosTLY TRAcK-wALKERs.
Trans Stopped by Phantom sentinels, w o
Vanished in the Darkness When Pursued by
pIucky Engineers.
Philadelphia Record

PIucky Engineers.
Philadelphia Record.
The enginemen on the Reading railroad
reported strange things from the Schuyl-
kill valley, about Ford Kennedy station
and Rogers Fort Witches. ghosts, ana
COLLINS are SAID to haunt he country t
night, stopping trains by waving spirit red
lights across the track, frightning the train
hands with their ghouiish cries, and even
at times squatting like imps of darkness on
the rear platform When the nights are
dark and stormy the frightened shrek
of The engine, as it darts through the dark
ness like great fire eyed cyciops, often
arouses spirit from the very centre OF
the track Engineer David Lowe, who
left Philadelphia with his train yesterday
afternoon, tells most wonderful story oil
" Pat he recently SAW at Rogers Ford
His sturdy engine was making thirty miles
an hour, as the train swept away from
Pot stown THROUGH the binding snow
storm. The wind chased the flying cx
press like madG catching up clouds OF
snow flakes and sweeping them in hun
dred Fantastic shapes through the mid
night air like shroude1 spirits. to which
the shrlll scream OF the tempest seemed to
supply q supernatural voice.
DARK AS NOUN eAtN OF COAL.
The night, +" said the osioeer, twas as
dark rs q mountain of coal, aud [ and my
fitemao. William Miller, had to keep .
sharp lookout ahead. I bad heard OF
ghosts on the railroad tracks but had
never seen any. In fact | don't believe
10 ghosts or spirits or anything OF that
kidd; and | don't say that what we saw
was ghost I know it wasa't ghost, but
it was very queer. and [ Tell you it made
Iue feel mighty funny. The snow was
whrliog up 10 front OF US, aud il was i'm
possible TO see the track very far ahead
All at once we saw red Egdt, a good
ways off in The darkness. 1t didu't seem
to be right Oh the track. but a little to
one side We slowed down. and ran
ahead cautiously. Wuen we bad gotten
within few yards of the light it was
swung across the rails. and something like
" oman dressed in white stepped on the
track. We thought there had been an &C
cident. and stopped the train. Before we
could get ont of the cab however, the
figure. light and all, disappeared. Where,
we could never tell It just seemed to
vanish Were we frightened? Well, you
see, the storm, and the ghost-like things
| made by the drifting snow. the dark night
and this mysterious apparition were calcu-
lated to make feel very uneasy. Il
was about the stransest thing I ever saw
in my life, and man in locomotive cat
| sees some verv queer sights"
The Port Kennedy ghost which has fol-
some time been exciting tue curiosity o.
SINE OF the train men and the terror O
Others, is believed 10 by more than one OF
| the ragged old engineers. 1t is said to bt
THE SPIRIT OF A TRAMP
who was run over by train in that local
ity over ten years ago. Plenty of Read
ing employees will swear TO having seer
this phantom. Some of them have shot a
| it. some even have knocked it on its ghost
IL head with a cord wood stick, but thu
bu'le,s went through the scepter withou
irjuriug it, ard the club saly seemed tt
beat the air. Engineer Charles WEIGH re-
parta having seen this ghost on Christmas
ngot, and others have encountered il
since.
The engineer has since been on the
lookout for it again, and on last Saturday
1t appeared on the track just below Port
Kennedy station. For a moment he
thought it was real man of flesh and
blood In o second his hand was on the
throttle bar aud the brakes were put down,
but not in time to prevent the train from
running over the mysterious track walker
The fireman thought that they had killed
'wayfarer Although there was no
shock. Although the engineer was sure
it was the ghost, which could not be
harmed even if dozen trains should run
over it, the conductor and some If the
hands went back to find the body. There
was nothing there; and, although every
body laughed at the engineer when he
told them it was the ghost, they all agreed
that the affair was awfullv strange.
Among the other persons who have
come in contact with this reformed spirit
Of the dead tramp is brakeman George
Nelson no tells thrilling story of his
encounter with it en- New Years eve. He
emptied both chambers of his double
barreled gun directly st his face, but it
only laughed and ioated away on the wings
of the bowling wind. These aAd other
strange stories are current gossip OF thu
Thirteenth and ChalowbjlI streets station
and the night men who pass by the POI {
Kennedy station or through Royer,s Ford
keep sharp lookout for the ghosts Of the
rail.