The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-02-28
GIDEON WELLES SPIRIT
WRATH OF LINCOLN's NAVYsECRE-
 IARY AS 4 PROPHET.

hdypc lL WdS d COlHClueICet dH dCCl- dent of fortuity; maybe 1t was mani festation of spiritualism; maybe it was a theosophical demonstration.
 No matter what 1t was it is very hard to believe in the face of the evil dence that it didn't happen.
 William Burrows lives and runs grocery store at 2,o12 Olive street. He appears to be about 65 years of age and well balanced, and better preserved than the average man of his age. Per sons who know him say he could not be induced to state that which he does not believe to be true.
 His clerk is George c. Darling, for merly of Chicago. MT. Burrows and his family and MT. Darling live upstairs OCT the grocery store, MT. Darling is a spiritualist. MT. Burrows has dipped into spiritualism and into theosophy, and believe there are good and truth in both, widely separted though they be, or seem to be, to the casual in- quirer
 Neither of these men believed in the efficacy of the latest paraphernalia supposed to attract the powers of the other world. But when one of the womenfolks brought the thing home they gave it a trial. It is a good deal like the old planchette board There is a needle, which makes the circuit of the alphabet, the numerals, and corn CTS were Yes" and "No" are emblaz- oned. Any young person who takes an interest in such things can tell how to spell the things name, but the proof irascible if you shove conundrums at him, so let's call it The Board.
 When The Board was introduced into the Burrows circle it was in an eccen- tric mood. The needle, or indicator, swung around as though insane, and for a long time pointed to nothing, and refused to point at all. Finally, after several intellectual trials and everybody had his or her hands properly placed on the board the needle swung to the second letter of the alphabet and stuck.
 ''Do you B?" said MT. Burrows.
 The needle swung back to "Yes.''
 "Go ahead, then" said MT. Burrows.
 The needle swung to A. Then it in cated T twice; then l., then P, then s, then H, then I, then F. There it stopped.
 MT. Darling was keeping tab. DO you mean Battle-ship?' said he.
 The needle pointed to Yes"
 Everybody laughed, because nobody believed thoroughly in The Board, and, possibly they all suspected each other.
 Go ahead,'' said MT. Darling.
 The needle spelled the word Maine" |"
 Any battle ship of that name?" said MT. Darling, to MT. Burrows.
 ''Yes," said Mir. Burrows, "She up near Brooklyn"
 This was last November when the Maine was near Brooklyn. Board.
 The needle spelled out; twill be de- 4stroyed; many lives lost" then gave the signature. Gideon Welles."
 MT. Burrows got interested. ''Are you the Gideon Welles who was Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy?", said he.
 aYes," replied the needle,
 ''Will- the ship be lost in battle?"
 "No.'
 .'Wil she be destroyed by span- iards?"
 -"Yes,"
 Tn Spanish waters?"
 "Yes."
 t'Will war follow?"
 sYes."
 Are you willing that this communi- cation appear over your name?''
 "Yes.''
 ..will Spain have allies?"
 .Yes''s
 Here the connection of the dialogoue is broken. MT. Burrows. Mir. Darling and two ladies who were present agree that the needle said England would be for the United States and Russia for Spain. MT. Burrows withdrew from the conference at this point because. he said, it was nonsense to suppose that Russia would be against and Eng land for the United States.
 This broke up the conference, but first the needle said all this was to take place within two weeks.
 Mr. Darling wrote down the prophecy and fled it away. At the end of three weeks he destroyed it. The spirit of Gideon Welles had evidently made a mistake, else The Board was fraud. The fraud theory was supported by the fact that several other pronostications made that night proved fallacious.
 But when the Maine was destroyed Mir. Burrows and MT. Darling recalled the. prophecy of the supposed shade of Gideon Welles The spirit-seer had missed the date by several weeks, but they argued that might be theis mis- take so yesterday they told Globe Democrat reporter about it all. They expressed neither belief nor dis belief in the instrument they used and did not attempt to explain it. Neither did they seek to conceal the failure of the apparatus to tell the truth in other instances.
 .''I am willing to make affidavit to the statement you have" said MT. Burrows after the substance of the foregoing was read to him.
 "So am T. said MT. Darling, land SC are the other persons present. but they are women, and we had rather not have their names mentioned.
 So there you are. Any one who knows Grocer Burrows will tell you that he would not knowingly tell an untruth, and MT. Darling's reputation for veracity seems to be good.
 Maybe Gideon Welles' spirit made a mistake as to the time," said MT. Bur- he told us of the impending destruction of the Maine. Let us wait and see ii rows" but I am firmly convinced that s1e I.{r. he