The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-12-22
sPaITUALIsm ouTDoyE.
Remarkable Developments-The Travels Of n
Girit In

remarkable DevelOpments-The Travels Of a
Girl In a Trance.
From the Indianapolis Herald, Dec. IA
The people living in the vicinity of Whiteiand.
johnson county, have recently been very much
excited over Q matter which to say the least, is
very strange. Several weeks since Miss Van Ars-
dale, young woman about seventeen years old,
living at the house of afamiy near Whiteland in the
capacity of servant, was taken sick with some
thing like Mysteries. She had been confined TO her
bed . little over . week when to all appe arances
she died. The body, however, did not entirely
lose its warmth and very slight pulse remained.
that she was dead, and were making preparations
to bury her, when the physician interfered, forbid
ding any such step. After remaining in this state
twelve hours. consciousness returned and the girl
pronounced herself much better. She then went
on to describe her sensations and experiences
during the trance, averring that she had visited
heaven and hell and had conversed with the
known on earth. She spoke Of seeing persons in
both places who had recently died In heaven, o
young man named Quinn, who, although at one
time professor OF religion, had in the last year
or two of his life led q bad life: in hell the two
men, Hatchell and Patterson, who were lynched
ct Franklin on the night of October 81 for the
murder Of Lyons, at Greenwood. Miss Van
Arsdale sent for number of persons In
to them news Of lost If friends, but told Old
Of sins committed by them, supposed TO
be unknown by any ono. Among others was
man who had participated in the execution Of the
there that night (Which he acknowledged, and had
in the sight OF God committed murder. Previous
to this the names Of the band had been kept
profound secret, and this man had not even been
things. relating mainly to individuals beth in this
world and the other, many of which would have
been almost impossible for her to have invented.
But the strangest part Of the story 10 yet to
come. A few hours after the expiration OF the
nrst trance she predicted that she would have
another, and told to Q minute the time at which
it would commence and at which it would
end. Everything turned out as she had said;
at the exact time she fell into the same
state. In an ordinary trance, or cataleptic
state, respiration Is not suspended, but in this
case breathing could not be observed. She
was to all appearance dead; but the pulse
beat family and the body was not cold. All
sensation was gone. Tho physician made uumer-
GUS experiments, pricking the body, open.
ing veins and so forth, to discover IL there
could be any deception. In the end he was per.
fectly convinced that there was none. At the ex-
pration Of the time set BY herself she came 70,
and in few hours was well enough to leave her
bed and 90 about the house. The story of her ex.
perience, in the second trance. similar to the
FIRST one, and was confined almost wholly to indi-
viduals. She seemed unable to describe the
places shc had been in, but gave histories of
events and persons with remarkable minuteness.
She also said that abe would never have recur.
renee Of the trance unless she should commit
some dagraHt sin; her authority for this predic.
ton was that the Lord himself had told her 20.
This 10 certainly strange thing. The girl il
uneducated and has lived about a. servant ever
since she was able to work. She has always borne
good character for truthfuness, and Is member
of church. The physician in attendance Ia posi-
tive to her condition during the whole time and
had 1t not been for him she would have been buried
alive. eA
Instances OF persons lying in frances and pro.
Tossing to have visited the other world are not un.
common, but generally no particulars have ever
been related. The case of Mr.. Tenant, minis.
ter, Of New Jersey, who was seemingly dead for
several days, ia in all the circumstances of the
most mysterious on record, aside from his state
ment that he had been in heaven. An investiga-
ton Of this case in johnson county would certainly
repay any curious minded person.