Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1870-07-21
THE DAVENPORT BROTHERS.
Their Exposure I'm Milwaukee.
TFrom the Milwaukee News.l

From The Milwaukee News.1
A correspondent of The Berlin Courant
devotes long article to the Davenport
brothers, and from it we take the follow
ing extract:
Facts have come to my knowledge
through German of intelligence who.
communicated them from the forty third
number of ''Die Gartenlauber" for 1870,
published at Leipsc, which by the way
is one of the most reliable periodicals of
Germany.
Through this we gather from an article
on the Davenport brothers that when
they went from America to Europe that
they were well received in England and
were very successful. They protested to
do these things as mediums, aided by the
the spirits. They met nothing but pros.
perity. When they went to Paris they
found the French more inquisitive, more
skeptical and more critical.
While at Paris Frenchman by the
name of Robin exposed their tricks and
the Brothers proceeded to Germany -
But on reaching the land of Saxons they
did not say their feats were by the aid of
the spirits. They left the people to judge
by what means they were accomplished.
Now this very quiet concession to the
German intellect was an evidence of their
weakness. For if they were aided by
supernatural force they could have main
tanned it in tho face of few nquisitive
Germans, certainly.
But more than this. At Dresden an
ingenious. goldsmith by the rame of
Hartmann determined to expose the iug-
gIery. At the second exhibition he pro
posed to bind the Brothers, but somehow
they feared Hartmann ard would not al
low him to assist, nor woald they. permit
him in the cabinet. They told him if he
wished to experiment 20 do SO on his own
account.
This game of bluff reused Hartmann
to the very height of his genius AMI lie
determined to expose them IN a way not
to be gainsaid. He gave out that il two
days he would do the very things the
Davenports bad dono. So two days fol
lowing the performances of the brothers,
Hartmann was ready. And on the same
platform he did the same things, in the
same manner and with the same success
that the Davenports had done.
Then he showed the people just how
be did them. He showed them how he
slipped the knots and drew his hand and
how he inserted them all as dextrousy as
the brothers.
AT Music Hall in this city on Thurs
day evening. June 3oth, 1870, Mr.. Cad.
wallader of the NeWs, on behalf of the
committee appointed by the audience,
compelled the Davenport brothers to
make the following acknowledgement TO
the assembly:
First that he (Mr. ca could SO tie
them (the Dayenports) that they could
not unite themselves, and, secondly, that
he could SO tie them that they could not
get loose.
So far as we know this is the first in.
stance in which such au admission was
ever extorted from them during their en-
tire career as showmen; and is the first
instance in which they ever admitted,
even by implication, that their perfor
nance was not the result Of supernatural
or "spirtualistic' assistance.
The committee was on this occasion al
so prepared TO expose the fraud and de-
cept:on practiced on the public by the
ozark scene" performance. whereupon the
Davenport brothers abandoned that part
of the entertainment, and virtually con-
fessed to an ignominous defeat.