They are Ghosts
Galena Daily Gazette
16 October 1890
“Three or four track-walkers on the stretch of track in the vicinity of Menominee station, between Galena and East Dubuque, are in a state of intense perturbation over the doings of strange visitors who have disturbed their silent watches every night in the last two weeks. Three of the badly scared men were in Galena today. Their names are Jake Frazen, James Hughes and Will Hughes, and their stories are collaborative of each other. Each walks two miles of track to and fro each night, and the beats of the three men join. Each has seen the dreadful apparitions on different occasions, sometimes all three being visited the same night.
The story of Frazen answers for all of them. He says that one night about two weeks ago he was startled by the sudden apparition of a spectral figure, robed in white, on the track a few feet in front of him. The figure moved toward him until he spoke, when it flashed a light, seemingly coming from a dark lantern, in his face, and then disappeared in the bushes, making a decidedly unghostly noise in running away. This was repeated several times on the same and succeeding nights. The watchman armed himself with a stout club and a more formidable weapon as well, which however, he never used, as the spectre attempted no harm, always disappearing as soon as spoken to.
Within a few nights the disturbing spirits have changed their base. They now appear on the tops of the overhanging bluffs and hurl stones down on the track as the watchman approaches. He catches glimpses of their white figures once in a while and threatens to draw a bead on the first one he takes unawares.
While the watchmen seem convinced that the intruders are not of flesh and blood, one who lacks their faith in the existence of ghouls and goblins suggests that their disturbers are probably some fellows who want to scare them off, with a view to getting on to their jobs.”
Sportive Specters
They Play All Sorts of Mean Tricks
Galena Daily Gazette
18 October 1890
“The poor track-walker whose experiences in the last two weeks have caused him to affect the pompadour style of arranging his hair, has come to the conclusion that for ways that are dark and tricks that are mean the American ghost knocks the stockings off its old- country archetypes. He says that while he would prefer other company on his beat, he wouldn’t object so much to the companionship of his ghostship, or their ghostships, more properly speaking, if they would only behave themselves as gentlemen should and not be worrying the life out of a poor, harmless man like himself with a wife and family to support. He says he will give half his month’s salary to the man who will bring him the carcass of one ghost, dead or alive.
It seems that the spirits, whose particular mission from shoel is to make life miserable for the aforesaid watchman and his fellows, are getting bolder as they go along. Whereas they at first contented themselves with executing a war-dance to the edification of the track-walker, and later amused themselves by tossing boulders from the bluffs at the heads of their victims, it is related that now they have gone so far as to signal approaching trains. Last night the engineer of a southbound train discovered a signal flourished furiously athwart the track and brought this engine to a dead stop, to find that the signal had disappeared. There was no obstruction on the track nor anyone in sight until the watchman was encountered half a mile farther on.
The fact that the spirits hover near the spot where the three Luxembergers were killed a few weeks ago makes it easy for the credulous to believe that the ghosts of the three unfortunates are creating a disturbance.”
Newspaper Article Courtesy Tim Doser