The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1861-05-01
WHOLE NO. 237.
whitewater Correspondence.

w H[rEWATER, WIS.,, Apfli Z2d, 1901.
Dear Col While wars and rumors of
wars arc plenty let me step aside from the
all engrossing topic and give you brief &C.
count of some minor occurrences here.
In this letter propose spirits not what
you can get at the grocery or the counter,
but such as come in sitting rooms and par.
lOrs, in family circles, and other circles,
whore two or three are gathered together
&c. -.
] give you the faithful report of an i'm.
partial eye and car witness:
Some weeks since two young men, Viii.
liam and Henry Fay came to this town pro-
Tossing to be spirit mediums. Some thirty.
five or forty p rsons met in a large upper
room in the evening and the Fay boys were
introduced. There was nothing peculiarly
striking in the appearance of these young
men neither was there anything suspicious
about the apparatus exhibited by them. -
There were lying OH "a small plain table
large, plain, much bruised tin horn or trum
pet, the style of those used by firemen, a
small tamborinc, an old guitar (borowed)
with but strings, small tea bell and three
pieces Of small, well-worn Manila rope,
such as is used for heavy clothes lines or
bed cords; in all about 40 feet.
The company was seated, and filled over
half Of the room and after short speech
from one of the boys, a comnLtte Of two
(of which was one) was chosen to tie one
Of them firmly with the ropes and secure
the other while thc lights were out, and to
report to the meeting The windows were
darkened and the doors fastened, one Of
ths boys was Gerry firmly tied with the whole
tied together at the wrists, and his feet and
legs tied together, but he was tied hand and
foot and thea tied firmly to the chair; every
knot was double hard ksot and drawn
very tight, and all the last knots and ends
of the ropes were purposely tied as far as
possible from his hands to the farther parts
Of the chair. The floor was then marked
where chair feet set, and where the medi-
um's feet set, and lastly, where the last end
Of one Of the ropes laid on the floor was
marked, so that if he should move We coull
detect it. The table with the musical in
struments was set within an arms length of
the mediums thus tied and both table and
medium were placed at one sile Of the
room with no one nearer than from 8 to 9
feet from them; the other medium and the
committee were then placed OH three chairs
at one side Of the room, all were requested
te join hands, ever" person in the room ex-
cept the one that was tied in the chair.
The light was then blown out; and in
stantly as if in the very breath that blew
out the light those instruments started
rattling and dashing from the table. The
t;,, hnrv~ hoox 81 ~ NJ, q,
table and tumble on the floor The tam.
BORNE was taken up and apparently knock
ed about and tumbl-d and rolled on the
floor the little tca-bell was taken up and
shaken and rung violently. and carried over
the vacant space in the room and rung and
shaken, and at last fell upon the floor and
rolled under my chair. But the most re-
markablc feats were performed with the
guitar. That was taken from the table and
carried about over all the vacant space in
the room and over the heads of those in
the front seats, and was played upon all the
time, as if some hani was picking and
thumbing the strings Sometimes it would
so slowly about the room as if quietly sail
ing or gently floating back and forth, often
going up and touching the high ceiling, and
sometimes coming down and just grazing
the floor and then rising, floating and play
ing again-then again, at other times, it
would dart about the room over our heads
so rapidly that We could hear it fairly whiz
in the air, and several on the front seats
cried OFT in real fear and ducked down their
heads to avoid being hit. All of this be-
inG in the dark we could only hear, though
one or two persons said they saw the guitar
pass and repass before them, between them
and crack in the door. After sailing
about and playing in this manner some FIVE
minutes the guitar came down quietly on
the floor and when the light was produced
it was found some six feet from the medium
near the feet of those on the front SEATS
The a.bell was found under my chair, the
tamborine in one place and the horn in
another. On looking for the medium we
found him still tied and in the ch air. and on
examining the ropes and knots and marks
on the tlor We found everything precisely
as it was when the light was blown out
He had not stirred hand or toot nor had he
moved mere than enough to breathe.
What agency or force foatcd the instru
ments and playel on them SO instantly and
so vigorously no one in the room but the
>piritualists, dared to even guess; and We
were completely amazed and astonish d.
The tied IN ,dium didn't do it he never moved.
The other one we held fast; the doors were
fast, and all in the room were ioinedshands:
and besides this the Instruments moved in
simultaneously.
All were requested to be seated again and
join hands, the lights were extinguished and
complete silence reigned. Soon the medium
spoke and said the spirits were going to un
tie him, and called for singing. The whole
company Joined in singing some familiar
hymn, slowly and softly, and during the
singing we could hear the ropes snap and
crack and hear them being pulled violently
around the chair rounds and hear the ends
whip the floor and in less than two minutes,
and in one quarter Of the time it took two
Of us to tie him--hc spoke and called for
light. We looked and there he sat entirely
at case, not a rope near him. His wrists
showed plainly the marks Of the ropes,
which had been SO tightly tied as to nearly
stop the circulation, otherwise there was no
marks upon him. The ropes lay scattered
about the floor and thrown upon the laps
Of those on the front seats. | believe l
would starve before could get loose if tied
as he was, and so stated to the audience. He
said spirit hands united him for he felt
thcm-I did not see any. 1t was very
dark.
The other medium then pulled off his
coat and took the chair, and we held the
other one between us and put out the light.
All were requested to sing, and while sing.
ing, we could hear the ropes rafting and
the young men said the spirits were tying
him up very tightly. He soon called for
light and we were again surprised to find
him completely tied and bound and wound
up in the whole Of the rope; his hands
were tied and then crossed on his breast,
high up in front and tied about his neck,
so that he was nearly stransled. We took
minutes he was united and tha rones
thrown about the room. After one or two
mara y,,sh don, or - t;or, tnn,tho, NTH