The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-10-11
SPIRIT FINGERS AT THE KEY.
An Operator Bothered by Communities
tiOns from the ether World

4
Eight or nine years ago well-known
telegrapher, considered one Of the best in
the prof ssion, left this city for a better po-
sition at Omaha. He was round-faced.
good-natured young fellow, and a great
favOrite with all who knew him, very neat
in his personal appearance being always
dressed IN the latest and best that fashion
dictated. He was without bad habits, and
correct and business-like in all his dealings.
The other day Journal reporter was
stopped by the extended hand Of a dilapi-
dated specimen of humanity, who, with
strange quaver in his voice, asked If the re-
porter did not recognize him. Without
waiting for the reply IN the negative which
he saw IN the unresponsive glance Of the re-
| porter, he introduced himself as the dapper
little telegrapher of other days. Suspect
ing this as a preface to demand for cash
contribution, the newspaper man was put
ting his hand into his pocket, when the
| seedy man interposed gesture Of dissent.
I'm not asking for a cent the boys have
staked me, and have a railroad ticket that
takes me to the old home in Western New
| York. just stopped over few hours to
see two or three of the people who knew me
| in 1881 and 1882. leave tonight"
The reporter could not restrain an i'm
pulse to ask what had brought about so
great change in the appearance of his
| whilom acquaintance "Well," he replied,
with some hesitation, lit wasn't spirits, at
least not ardent spirits. for never INDUCED
TO any extent in liquor. 1t was spirits of a
| very different kind / don't know that
they ever meant me any harm, but they
have about ruined me as a telegrapher.
| There's one now. Don't you hear the
s)under! p. G.'-'P. G.'-'P. G., that's my
call I'll just answer them-'25'-that
means busy Perhaps they'll let me alone
until l tell my story.
| oh fr,k
| ism, never cared anything about it, and all
at once six years ago, without any asking
or desire on my part, found myself to be
| possessed of the strangest and most dis
| tressing mediumistic powers. l had
! friend OF about my own age; we had
learned telegraphy together in Cleveland
| and had always been very intimate. Abont
the time l went to Omaha he went to
Cheyenne. We kept up correspondence
| by letter and wire, but after while he got
| in the habit of taking an occasional
spree. He was a delicate, sensitive
fellow. and on SOLDERING up wonld
De the most melancholy chap
imaginable. His sprees became more and
more frequent his fits of depression
| deeper. One day, following a prolonged
debauch. he disappeared from Cheyenne.
One Of the boys, knowing our intimacy,
telegraphed me TO know if no had come to
Omaha. It was exactly 1920 o'clock at
night as | was taking the message off the
| wires when | heard the sounder on an old
| and disconnected instrument, one that the
| boys about the office had played with,
| humping away, p. G.'-'P. G.'-'P. g., /
| answered '18 mechanically on my own in
strument-'What's the matterg and the
| sounder thumped out the information that
| he (my friend had passed over only a min
ute or two before, and that would find out
| all about it, three or four days later, in the
San Francisco papers. 1t was all strange to
| me. incomprehensible. At first / thought
| that Billy was playing some sort of a trick
| on me, but there was the old disconnected
instruments, and no chance of any BOGUS
pocus OF that kind. On the fifth day there
| after got hold of Frisco paper in which
| was The notice of the death of an unknown
man, supposed to be abont "a years old. at
| third-rate hotel, and the coroner's verdict,
death from excessive use of alcoholic
| drinks and exposure AS l was reading
this, the sounder started up again. You
got the papers, it ratified away. The
coroner was right. Great roundup for a
young man, wasn't itP
| 81 didn't like the carelessness of this re-
mark, +" continued the reporter, land said as
much. when the old sounder took it up and
continued with even greater recklessness.
Billy had always been, even at his worst,
considerable Of the feelings of Others. He
| had the instincts OF gentleman, but ap-
parently after he passed over he became
lost to all decency and all regard for the
/; | feelings and welfare of him VINO had been
his best friend while here in the flesh.
He kept up such racket in the Omaha
office that he interfered with my business,
| and there was no shutting him off
After a time he began to bring in other
, operators who had passed over, and then
you'd better believe l had a time of it.
a Some of these were disreputable fellows,
and most of them were of a class that nc
self-reSpecting operator on earth would care
to associate with. l tried to keep straight,
quit drink entirely, but they brought bad
atmosphere about me. and my ac-
quaintances began to cut me. Ny work at
the office became mixed in spite of all that
! could do, for the spirits soon got tired OF
Z the old sounder and came over to the live
line.
"The consequence was that l was dis
charged. didn't feel very sorry about i
at first. had saved up a hundred dollar
or Sd and made up my mind to keep away
: from the click of the instrument entirely
d for month or so and give the spirits
. chance to fasten on some other poo
Q operator. l lodged them for about week
and was beginning to feel like my old sci
) again, when one night was wakened from
0 a sweet sleep by signals on my head board
$ p. G'-'P. G. l answered '25 THAT i
Q 'busy1, and turning over tried to go to slee]
again. No use: Billy and the other spirit
;, found me, and they kept up their deviltrs
Z until near daylight.
s From that time until this I've never been
able to get away from them half hour
They have put spirit watch on me, and
they seem to take turns following me about
so that cannot give them the slip. They
/. interfere with my work, SO that | no longer
feel safe in any XII d of biography. and I'm
going home to the old folks to work on the
Q farm and to get rid of the spirits. if it il
possible to do 50"
The reporter suggested that he could turn
his mediumship to account, that it had q
q money value, and would be considered a
: novelty. He shook his head despondently
:. You don't understand me. l don't want
to make money with them, want to make
= my living without them. [ am ready at
= any moment to turn over these spirits &c
A anybody who wants them, and can take
: them off my hands"
' When your blood is impoverished the
Tai