The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-26 00:00:00

BIRTHS IN THE WEEK.

Males
Females

... 728
... 754

Total .*.
... 1,482
*ln this number are included 19 by Scarlatina, 35
by Typhus Fever, 16 by Diarrhoea, and 1 by Cholera.

EXPOSURE OF THE RAPPING IMPOSTORS
IN THE UNITED STATES.

The extent to which fanaticism and delusions of
every possible kind succeed in America is perfectly
astonishing. Nothing appears too gross for the
credulity of the free and enlightened republi-
cans. The Rochester rappers or knockers mentioned
in the following account were supposed to have
communications with the invisible world, and though
the imposture has been finally exposed the American
public, like the Bourbons, appear never to gain experi-
ence in such matters, and they will be as readily taken
in by the next hoax which is offered to their credulity.
The following statement is from a female who is a con-
nexion of the Fox rappers, and assisted as a medium.
She is known to be very trustworthy end respectable, and
her deposition settles the whole question. Tho clique
of humbuggers is exposed, and the folly of the followers
of Greely is as well established as those of the believers
in Joanna Southeott :
DEPOSITION OF IRS. NORMAN CULVER, TAKEN AT
ARCADIA, N.Y., APRIL 17, 1851.

I am, by marriage, a connexion of the Fox girls;
,heir brother married my husband's sister. The girls
have been a great deal at my house, and for about two
years I was a very sincere believer in the rappings; but
some things which I saw when I was visiting the girls
at Rochester made me suspect that they were deceiving.
I resolved to satisfy myself in some way;' and some time
afterwards I made a proposition to Catherine to assist
her in producing the manifestations. I had a cousin
visiting me from Michigan, who was going to consult the
spirits, and I told Catherine that if they intended to go to
Detroit it would be a great thing for them to convince
him. I also told' her that if I could do anything to
help her, I would do it cheerfully; that I should pro-
bably be able to answer all the questions he would ask,
and I would do it if she would show me how to make
the raps. She said that, as Margaretta was absent, she
wanted somebody to help her, and that if I would be-
come a medium she would explain it all to me. She
said that when my cousin consulted the spirits, I must
sit next to her, and touch her arm when the right letter
was called. I did so, and was able to answer nearly all
the questions correctly. After I had helped her in this
way is few times, she revealed to me the secret. The
raps are produced with the toes. All the toes are used.
Atter nearly a week's practice, with Catherine showing
me how, I could produce them perfectly myself. At
first it was very hard work to do it. Catherine told me
to warm my feet, or put them in warm water, and it
would then be easier work to rap; she said that she
had sometimes to warm her feet three or four times in
the course of an evening. I found that heating my feet
did enable me to rap a great deal easier. I have some-
times produced a hundred and fifty raps in succession.
I can rap with all my toes on both feet; it is most dif-
ficult to rap with the great toe. Catherine told me how
to manage to answer the questions. She said it was
generally easy enough to answer right if the one who
asked the questions called the alphabet. She said the
reason why they asked people to write down several
names on paper, and then point to them till the spirit
rapped at the right one, was to give them a chance to
watch the countenance and motions of the person, and
that in that way they could nearly always guess right.
She also explained how they held down and moved
tables. (Mrs. Culver gave us some illustrations of the
tricks.) She told me that all I shopld have to do to
make the raps heard on the table would be to put my
foot against the bottom of the table when I rapped, and
that when I wished to make the raps sound distant on
the wall, I must make them louder, and direct my own
oyes earnestly to the spot where I wished them to be
heard. She said if I could put my foot against the bot-
tom of the door, the raps would be heard OR the top of
the door. Catherine told me that when the committee
held their ankles in Rochester, the Dutch servant girl
rapped with her knuckles, under the floor, from the cel-
lar. The girl was instructed to rap whenever she heard
their voices calling the spirits. Catherine also showed
me how they made the sounds of s awing and planing
boards. (The whole trick was explained to us.) When
I was at Rochester last January, Margaretta told me
that when people insisted on seeing her feet and toes,
she could produce a few raps with her knee and ankle.
Elizabeth Fish (Mrs. Fish's daughter), who now lives
with her father, was the first one who produced these
raps. She accidentally discovered the way to make them
by playing with her toes against the foot-board while in
bed. Catherine told me that the reason why Elizabeth
went away west to live with her father, was because she
was too conscientious to become a medium. The whole
secret was revealed to me, with the understanding
that I should practise the medium when the girls
were away. Catherine said that whenever I prate
tised I bad better have my little girl at the table with
12:1200;
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ys
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of any trick. After I had obtained the whole
secret, I plainly
to told Catherine that my only object was
never d out how these tricks were done, and that I should
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tell of it, and eexstoese them; and if I did, she would swear
had to sleep with
it was a lie,
wase so nervous and excited that I
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Mies. NORMAN C
one should detect thew, anadu.
of all the tricks they played
aloud,
end there.
said that once Margaretta spoke tub Lev hole
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party believed it was a spirit.
We hereby certify that Mrs. Culver' is one of the most
reputable and intelligent ladies blahs, town of Arcadia.
We were present when sue made the disclosures con-
tained in the above paper; we had heard the same from
her before, and we cheerfully bear testimony that there