The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-04-25
EDITOR STEAD TITANIC
VICTIM; SPIRITUALIST

portland Evening telegram Will.
lam T. Stead, the famous English edit
or and author, was one of the victims
of the Titanic. For many years he
has been one of the world leaders of
the spiritualistic movement. and has
written many magazine articles and
books regarding this alleged science.
He was editor of the English Review
of Reviews and in the Christmas and
New Years numbers of his magazine
for 1912 he published series of arti-
cles giving the results of investiga-
tions of dreams and alleged ghost stor-
les that he had CLEANED by trips
throughout the British Isles. During
these tours of investigation he visited
the homes of many of the peasant poor
and recorded their stories as told him.
One of the tales picked up in Scotland
brings most vividly to mind Mr..
Ste,d's tragic death. The story.
taken from the book that contains all
of the tales published in the magazines
named above. the volume being Real
Ghost Stories, +" follows:
THE father of son who had sailed
with the Strathmore. an emigrant ship
outward bound from the Clyde, saw
one night a ship laundering amid the
waves, and saw that his son, with
some others had escaped safely to a
desert island near which the wreck
had taken place. He was so much i'm
pressed by this vision that he wrote to
the owner of the Strathmore, telling
him what he had seen. His informa-
tion was secuted, but after while the
Strathmore was overdue and the owner
got uneasy. Day followed day, and
still no tidings of the missing ship.
Then, like Pharaoh's butler, the owner
remembered his sins one day and
hunted up the letter describing the
vision. 1t supplied at least a theory
to account for the vessels disappear
ance All outward bound ships were
requested to look out for any survivors
on the island indicated in the vision.
These orders being obeyed the surviv-
ors of the Strathmore were found ex-
aetly where the father had seen them. y
In his chapter entitled Fremont
tons and Second Sight" Mr.. Stead
related the following anecdote which
was told him by Rev. Stewart, l.. ID.
D., f. S.. of Neither Lochaber:
ut was IN the winter of 1853 that
my brother-in-law. Kenneth Morrison,
came on visit to us here. MIR. Nor
ris0n was at that time chief officer of
the steamship City of Manchester, of
the lnman line, one of the ocean grey
hounds of her day. sailing between
Liverpool and Philadelphia.
'ln my service here, at the time of
Mr.. Morison's visit, was a native of
Lochaber, Angus MacMaster by name,
an active. intelligent mar, of about 30
years of age, most useful sman, a
capital shot, an expert angler, and
one of the best violinists in the West
Highlands. No great wonder there
fore, that Morrison took a liking for
Angus, and that the ehd of it was that
Morrison invited Angus to join him on
board the City of Manchester, where,
it was arranged, he should act as one
of the steerage stewards, and at the
same time as Mr.. Morrison's valet.
To this Angus very willingly agreed,
and so it was arranged that when Mr..
Morrison's leave of absence expired he
and Angus joined the City of Man
chester at Liverpool.
Within a twelvemonth afterwards
Mr.. Morrison wrote to say that he was
about to be promoted to the command
of the new lnman steamship, City OF
Glasgow-at at that time, of her class
and kind, the finest ship ahoat-anC
that, having got few weeks holidi Y
he was coming down to visit his
friends in Lochaber, bringing Angus
MacMaster along with him, for he haC
proven so good and faithful servant
that he was resolved not to part with
| him.
Sooner than was expected, anC
when his leave had only extended tC
some 20 days, Captain Morrison was
summoned to Liverpool to take charge
of his ship, which had already booked
her full complement of passengers anG
taken in most of her cargo, and only
required some little putting to rights,
which had better be done under hen
commanders supervision before she
sailed OH her maiden trip to Philadel-
! phia.
" i must be off the day after to-
morrow, said Morrison, as he handed
! the letter to me across the table.
Please send for Angus. he continued,
i wish him to come at once, that we
may be ready to start by Wednesday
morning.
This was at the breakfast table on
a Monday morning, and that same
evening Angus, summoned by special
messenger, from the glen in which he
was staying with his friends, arrived
at the manse, but in so grave and
cheerless a mood that | noticed it at
once, and wondered what could be the
matter with him.
i Taking him into a private room, |
said: Angus, Captain Morrison leaves
the day after tomorrow, you had bet
ter get his things packed at once, and,
by the way, what lucky fellow you
are If you did so well on the City of
Manchester, you will in a year or two
make quite fortune on The City of
Glasgow. To my astonishment, Angus
replied: i am not going in the City
of Glasgow at least. not on this voy-
age and | wish you could persuade
Captain MorrisoI-the best and kind
est master ever a man had to go
either.
A" Not going? What in the world do
you mean, August was my very nat
ural exclamation of surprise.
" Well, sir, said Angus, you must
not be angry with me if tell you that
on the last three nights my father,
who has been dead nine years, as you
know, has appeared to me and warned
me not to go on this voyage, for twill
prove disastrous.
Whether in dream or walking vision
of the day, cannot say but | saw
him, sir, as distinctly as | now see
you; clothed exactly as remember
him in life; and he stood by my bed
side, and with upIifted hand and warn
ing finger, and with a most solemn and
earnest expression of countenance, he
said: Angus, my beloved son, do not
go on this voyage. 1t will not be g
prosperous one.
''On three nights running my father
has appeared to me in this form, and
with the same words of warning; and
although much against my will have
made up my mind in the face of such
warning. thrice repeated, it would be
wrong in me to go on this voyage. 1t
I i