The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-04
Injured People Removed
and Are Never Heard
of More
HAS BEEN SEEN
SEVERAL TIMES
While Answering Call "Ghost Wagon
Passes Hicks and When He Ar
rives Patient Has Vanished.
Johns Talks

This Is the pertinent question that is be-
ing asked throughout the city at the pres
ent time. 1t all started at the undertake
ing shops with the drivers of the automo-
bile ambulances They have seen it and
the horror of 1t all is imprinted on their
countenanees as they graphically describe
this mysterious purveyof of the injured
and the dead.
What is meant by "ghost wagon?' This
may, well be asked but it cannot Sbe easily
answered, as no accurate description is at
hand. 1t has been seen, of that there is
not doubt, but the witnesses were blind
ed with excitement or something, and are
not able to tell anything about it except
to talk and talk about the peregrinations
OF the ghost wagon"
According to the most accurate accounts
1t seems that of late whenever there is an
accident or an affray of any kind in Bir-
mingham and someone Is injured a
strange, mysterious ambulance will silen.-
ly roll up from nowhere In particular and
attendants masked and dressed in sombre
garments will with deftness pick up the
dead or wounded person and in a moment
the mysterious vehicle has disappeared.
Nothing is ever heard of the wounded or
dead person, and no one in Birmingham
seems. to know anything definite about this
strange apparitlon. the "ghost wagon"
Johns Confirms Rumor
Wallace Johns of the Johns Undertake
ing company is the authority for the state
ment that the tales of the weird doings
of this ambulance is all fact and not
the idle August dreams of a hop smok-
ing chauffeur.
why, my men have seen it, said Mr..
Johns excitedly last night Just as it was
leaving with negro that had been cut
in North Birmingham. No one will ever
see this man again. According to John
Chamblee. one of my drivers this ghost
wagon, as we call it, Is very large affair
and goes at tremendous speed. 1t can
be heard coming at a great distance be-
cause of the low rumbling noise it makes.
1t is gray as the mist on cold morning
and the attendantsin 1t never speak. but
just pick up a body and rush off, and
the ghost wagon is gone at 70 mile
an hour clip. Where it goes I don't
know.
1--WE have had several calls lately for
persons injured, and when we arrived we
found the mysterious ambulance had
taken them tway. We have requested the
authorities to investigate
All the attendants in Johns yesterday
could talk of nothing else but the "ghost
wagon and what they would do if they
ever caught up to it.
Thinking 1t might be joke reporter
thought best to investigate. At Shaw &
Sons greater excitement was found. At
is o'clock last night Manager Hicks of
the establishment returned from an am
bulanoe trip on cliff road greatly per-
turbed over the experience he had en-
countered.
'It was hurry CALI said Mr.. Hicks,
"and Clyde Vaughn, the chauffeur, was
driving the old Mercedes at merry clip
and our horn was blowing. But despite
the noise we made l heard a low, terrify-
ing rumble constantly creeping nearer
to us and suddenly a gray streak passed
us, and l saw a gaunt visage peering
at us in the darkness. 1t was the ghost
wagon passing us, and it nearly scared
Clyde Vaughn into driving into tele-
graph pole He hasn't recovered yet, and
I am not any too boastful of my cour-
age.
when we arrived where people had
called up we found an old negro who
told us that a great wagon had come
and taken a man away. There was no
one else around and We turned back
to come to town. but thought that we
would bring the negro to police head
quarters and have him explain more
fully about the thing he had seen, but
when we looked he had disappeared.
Honest, look at my hand"
Hicks Greatly Perturbed
And it was seen that Mr.. Hicks
hand was shaking as il with ague and
his face was all perspiration.
At Lige Logs and at Warner &
Smiley's all the attendants reported
beats" by the ghost wagon and are all
on the verge of nervous prostration
over the mysterious stranger that
speeds so silently and removes pa
tients to where they never come back
The police have heard about the
ghost wagon and all the detectives
and plain clothes men are working on
the case. A special squad of motor
cycle scouts have also been instructed
by Chief Bodeker to catch this ghoul-
like ambulance. Motorcycle Scout Ivey
has seen it.
"A fellow at Johns told me about it
Saturday night" said Officer Ivey,
and | thought he was joking But
about IL o'clock Saturday night heard
negro got cut in West End and
started down there when I heard the
most awful noise back of me. 1t was
just like the roaring of a lion and
suddenly swish-swish and something
big passed me as If was standing still
MY motor at the time was making 55
miles an hour by the speedometer. [
saw only something that looked like
eyes peering at me for second and
got so nervous nearly fell off my ma
chine.
when 1 got to where the wounded
negro was supposed to be the scene
was all quiet and no one was about,
but there was some blood on the
ground. The negroes in the adjacent
houses professed ignorance of the cut
ting scrape but said that a big ambu
lance bad come there. They were all
scared to DEATH.
Chief Bodeker would say nothing
about the ghost wagon with the excep-
ton that he had ordered all the avail
able police he had to investigate the
matter.
Coroner G.. L. Spain when notified OF
the reported mysterious ambulance
stated that he had cognizance that
some agency outside the regular un-
dertakers was removing bodies and that
he had been conducting a private in
vestigation for the past week or two
In the meanwhile all the authorities
wish to give the greatest publicity TO
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