The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-09-30
SPIRITS GUIDE HIS TUG
LAKH CAPTAIN SAYS THAT THEY
HELP TO NAVIGATE HIS
BOAT
EXPECTS TO FIND THE cH1coRA
Declares That the Spirit of John
Ericsson, a Fireman, VIII Locate
the Wreck of the Lost
Vessel.

| down the Chicago river day after day
rides man who carries with him as pas
sengers the spirits of his dead friends, and
OF other departed mariners whose mortal
bodies he never knew, says the Chicago
tribune. The tug Is the o. B. Green.
me man, her captain, Louis Groh. AS
| ne stands during the long hours with
one hand on the straight steel lever that
guides tug and tow he converses with
| these old and new friends as freely
as with the members of the crew, and
from them he obtains both informal ton
and advice about the river and the lake
For more than quarter of century he
| mas been master Of tug boats on the
| river, and during that time has acted
| often on the advice of his spirit friends
| advice SO good that there are few men on
this river or about the lakes with clear
er records as careful navigators
He is a short, thicl-set man, with
steel-gray eyes and pleasant face,
Drowned and weather beaten by many
years of exposure Standing at the
lever in the pilot house of his tug recently
he told Of many strange experiences with
the spirits.
ITO begin with I am spiritualist from
the ground up" he said. And why
wouldn't I be? have seen many spirits
as plain as now see you and so have
my wife and my boy. Why, right here In
this pilot house I have seen them. It Is
many years since my uncle died. One
night some one woke me up, telling me
the tug was wanted. 1 saw a shadowy
form in the door and ran to see who 1t
was, and there was one to be seen. A
few minutes later a call came from the
office that was to go out after q tow. A
little later, while I was at home, my
uncle appeared to me and told me 1t was
he who called me. He has often done it
since, coming In a rev. minutes before
the tug Is to be needed.
EXPECTS TO FIND CHICoRA.
Maybe you'll believe all this when
locate the Chicora for you. Yes, sir, now
you look startled, and we'll you may. But
I'll find 1t yet. I was visited one day by
John Ericsson. Didn't know him at first,
for 1 hadn't seen him since he was killed,
in 1885, Knew him in a minute, though.
I'm a-goin to find the Chicora for
YOU he said.
How'll 1 know?' I asked
g Well, I'm coming back to see you
again and locate 1t on paper. But If you
pass over the spot before that I'll strike
you with a chill and throw you to the
floor of the pilot house, so you'll know
1t s the place.
I'VE talked bit longer. and then he
said Capt. Johnny Ferguson wanted to
talk to me- so he went away That was
at a trumpet seanee and 1 expect to go
to another soon ard hear from him
again"
AS all the river men know, John Eric
son was fireman in the tug T. T. Morford
when the boiler of that vessel exploded
in 1896. At that time the captain of the
dropped still living. in the river. The en-
gineer Charles Dick, was blown to the
deck Of the steamer Ionia and killed. The
fireman, Ericsson, was killed and blown
into the river, andsJohn Ferguson, stand
Ing as Capt. Groh stood at the steering
gear of the o. B. Green, was killed by a
fragment of the burst boiler which fell on
the tugs pilot house.
The steamer Chicora left Milwa ukee in
January, 1895, for ST Joseph, sirce when
nothing has been heard or seen Of it save
battered fragments of its upper works.
Ed Shines was in command of Il, and had
about twenty -four men under him.
THAT isn't the first we have seen of
Ericsson since he died. either said Capt
Groh though the other time 1t was my
niece that saw him and not L. We eouldn' t
find his body until he came to her and
told her he was In airline slip and would
come to the top if a steamers wheel
churned UP the water I backed the Che
mung into the slip. and. sure enough, It's
wheel brought Eriesons body to the top.
HARD TO HEAR SPIRITS.
eff John Ericsson doesn't find the Chi
| cora, for me there are others who will.
Ed Shines is trying to talk to me. I am
little hard of hearing and most of tho
spirits talk in whispers, so l have to
hear through mediums sometimes. Ed
nd Si Of ia orc fI1, rolI N
a North side medium, and they keep ask
ing for me, and I intend to go up soon
and learn the whole story of the Chico
ra's last voyage. I know 1t Is not be-
tween here and st. Joe, for 1 have cross
ed three times since I saw John, and he
has not stricken me with a chill.
From John Ferguson / have heard 1T
tie, though he often calls upon me 10
pass greeting. How do all these men
| appear? Why, just as they did In life.
Often I'd scarcely know they were spirits
| if I did not know they had died. Just the
other day 1 was coming up the river, and
as passed the Goodrich wharf there was
| old Capt Gilman standing there as nat
ural as life, directing affairs. Dave
Cochran was there, too Now Gilman
has been dead since last winter, and
Dave has been superintendent in his
place. yet there was the old man as real
| as ever When I see g man with my
eyes and hear him with my ears. why
should I doubt he Is there? I stood here
in the pilot house door and watched GIL
man until he passed through Rush street
bridge.
TABLE RAISES IN AIR
at isn't only here on the tug see these
| things, but at my home as well. My
| wife my niece, nay boy, and all see them
| and hear them. Sometimes when we are
| sitting at a table or are near 1t Il Win
| suddenly lift two or three feet In the air
/ and move around. Often this happens
/ during a conversation, and then we know
| the spirits want to say something. We
| ask them what it Is and they write 1t In
/ letters of fire right in the air so that we
| ALL even the boy. can read 1t. Last WIN
! ter my aunt died near Detroit One night
as we were talking about it a spirit call
! ed our attention and told US that my
/ aunt had left US some. money sewed In
| the bottom of an old rocking chair 1
| went to Detroit and found the chair, but
/ some one else had cut it open and got
| the bag of god.
These spirits at home are our guiding
| spirits Every one has one If he would
| recognize ii. They are with us daily
/ and are always willing to do anything
for US. Why, my wife puts them to fire.
| quent use When she nlislays anything
| and cannot find It, she asks the spirits.
They write in words of FIRE just where it
| Is, and, sure enough there we find It,
We put them to daily use thus in count
| less ways.
1 .sOften my wife feels worried about me
| and wants to know just where am and
/ what I am doing She calls upon her
/ guiding spirit and asks the question.
1 The spirit goes out and sees me and
comes back and tells her all in the twin
iii e IN