St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-02-13
A NUDE GHOST.
Blood Was Streaming From a
Wound in His Head.

hlOou w dS dreaming from q
Wound in His Head.
/ was somewhat amused upon reading
in yonr last weeks paper the accpunt
of the Yone ghost. The story brought
to my mind very, yividly the recolIec.
tons of trip over the Pan Handle rail-
way from Chicago 10 Cincinnati in the.
fall of 1862 writes a correspondent of
the Upton, Ind. Advocate. We left
KOkouIO at 2 O'Clock a. IN. the night
waS.lntensely dark. with a mist of rain!
falling travel was not heavy, vet the
coaches were completely filled with
passengers who were trying to- sleep,
butscould not, for travel over that road,
WHICH was dubbed the "JerkwaUer,"
was not Il matter of luxury compared
with the New York Central.
We were moving at a usual rate of
Speed-abOut twenty-five miles an hour
and had passed a little station called
Windfall, in Upton county,, and had
fairly got into the sswampy country
few miles to the south, near the Ground
Prairie" when suddenly a signal of
danger was givenby the engineer, and
the train was brought to Standstill
with such force as to throw most of the
passengers from their seats and resting
places. The cause of the sudden stop
was announced by the brakeman that
man had been run over. The train was
backed slowly to the place of the sup
posed accideni, and the conductor and
brakeman. with lanterns, proceeded to
look for the manned body.
They had not proceeded many rods
when their ears met most lanentable
grooming and moaning, as from one in
the tbrOes of death. They were be-
wildered-could not exactly locate these
nit o-in ial, Il
with the quivering ShriekS eff a Screech
owl near by, and re-echoed and an
swered by its mate, rendered the occa-
sion one not to be soon forgotten. While
thus searching they were confronted at
an unpleasantly near distance by man
in nude condition with gaping
wound In his head. The apparition was
so near that in the glimmeling light of
their lanterns they could discern that it
was the image of man entirely desti-
tute of clothing and the blood strea ming
from wound in his head.
With laugh of derisiOn the appari-
ton disappeared to the west. Bewil-
dered and frightened, the conductor
shouted for help, the brakeman tainted
was carried to the coach in an uncO1l-
scious condition, not recovering until
after arriving at his home IN Cincinnati.
The engineer. an old and trusted man
in the service, made a statement of the
fact; that he was moving the train with
usual caution. when he observed, only
few feet in front of his engine, a man
on the rail, and before he could cheek
the ponderous machine, the entire train
had crashed over the body.
$50 CERTAIN" said he, THAT such wa
the case that l became violently sick
and unnerved, and was compelled to
have the assistance of fireman, who
had had years of experience, until we
reached Richmond, where an enginee +
was supplied for the balance of the
rum" Said he, I'VE have noticed in
this vicinity what seemed TO be all ap-
partition, and always dreaded the night
peculiar fear" He continued. 'These
apparitions always disappear to the
west or southwest, in the direction of
what is known as the 'Old Logan Dead
ening.' few miles distant, Ill which
forest was cOmmitted,a few years since, ,
the most diabolcai and cold-blooded
murder on record"
Many of your readers we'll remember
the circumstances of this murder and off
the location. The Logan deadeiling-a
strip of woods deadened at an early,
period in the settlement of Tiptons
County, which, after many years, had7
grown up with underbIush to an extent
that wild game was quite plentiful in
this almost impenetrabIe forests To-
Gated midway between Windfall ands
Upton, varyinga little to the south.
In the fall of 1888, October, Eshleman, I
middle-aged bathelor, who was known
to have some money which he always
carried upon his person, was induced
by two men by the name of Wilkie and
Elllston to accompany them on hunt
in this forest. During the day they
hunted,each going in different direc-
tions, with an understanding to meet at
certain point in the afternoon. They
met at the camping place, which was
not far from a swamp, which, during
the season, had become overgrown with
tall grass.
The facts disclosed that Wilkie and
ElliSton had been together during the
day and had every arrangement per-
fected for the murder of the unwary
and unsuspecting Eshleman. After
preparing supper and having comfort
ably spent the evening around the
campfire relating stories of adventure,
they retired, each with his blanket. for
the weather was noT cold. Eshleman