The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-12-29
A SPIRITUAL DECEPTION.


WAS DONE.
The Philadelphia Enquirer of the 18th
inst. gives long and rather unsatisfactory
account of the recent pretended exposure of
the "Katie King" fraud. The following ex-
tracts embody the facts given: "This gen.
tleman (who detected the fraud and whose
name is net given) visited these seances on
several occasions, and was disposed to
look at the matter more from a scien-
tifc standpoint than otherwise. Things
were going on smoothly; money was
flowing into the Golfers of the mediums, ,
and Katie's friends were jubilant at
the number of converts daily being made to
the cause of spirit naturalization > but
suddenly, without warning, Katie dis
appeared. Night after night her devotees
assembled to welcome her return. The
medium with plaintive voice, sang, Il am
coming, am coming;' but she did not come.
In the meantime, the gentleman who was
seeking knowledge under difficulties had
been making extraordinary exertions to find
her daily Observation-Disclosures her board
ing house. Little by little he quietly
picked up information that enabled him to
find young lady who he thought very
much resembled Katie King. By certain
pecnlisrities which he observed in the Katie
that young woman who resembled Katie
generally, and had her peculiaritles, took
her meals with great regularity at
a certain house. He then Swallowed this
woman and found that she attended all the
sceances at the Holmes house, and ulti-
mately concluded to scrape an acquaintance
with Katie in the flesh, choosing as an aus
picious time an hour when the lady of
materializing tendencies had been rendered
happy by good, square worldly meal. The
FIRST interview was a failure; the supposed
protested that she did not believe in spiritu-
alism,' declared that she had seen the man
ifestalions at Holmes but once, and so far as
she knew
THEY WERE ALL RIGHT
These assertions, however, did not satisfy
the earnest seeker after truth, and various
schemes, devices, plans and promises were
resorted to in hope of discovering some of
the many presents that had been made to
Katie. Through patience, perseverance and
certain considerations, one present was pro-
duced. This satisfied the gentleman that he
was in the right place. More patience, per-
severance and promise, and out
dropped another, and so on until
a small table was covered with
rings, lockets, crosses, beads and robes
worn in the different spheres from which
Katie bad kindly descended to visit mortals
at so much per capita. The object of the
gentleman's efforts was to 40 narrow down
the evidence of fraud that he might be able
TO knock the bottom out of the humbug at
a blow, and here was his object attained
Here was not only the veritable Katie
weepingly acknowledging her duplicity,
but producing material evidence of il in
the shape Of all those little tokens of regard
which she had been fondly believed to have
borne off in her spirit shape to her abode in
the other Sphere as most of the affected
term it. The presentation of these could
not possibly fail to convince the persons
who had given them to the spiritual Katie
that the latter had place of deposit on this
determined upon. All who are ac-
quainted with Robert Dale Owen and
DR.. Henry L. Child, of this city, will not
hesitate to say that they are honest, upright,
truthful men, but, like the rest of humanity,
they were liable to be deceived. The party
who had made the discovery consulted these
gentlemen, showing them the presents
which Katie had kindly loaned him. They
having been identified with the manifesto
tons from the first, were considered, when
the fraud was discovered, the proper parties
to denounco them. In order to make the
conviction absolute on the part of those who
had hitherto Endorsed the manifestations,
that the NATURALIZATION process was
MOST BAREFACED HUMBUG,
the gentleman improvised seance. Pro-
curing a suitable apartment to which he
invited a number Of Katie's friends, the gen.
tleman prearranged. with the lady. who now
acquiesced in his suggestions for her ap-
pearance, dressed in the gauzy fabrics and
other trappings she used to disport herself
in at Holmes shows. She did so, sort OF
cabinet being hastily improvised, and the
exposure was rendered complete be
yond a chance of cavil or dispute.
AS result there are few spiritual
| lists who are better and wiser men and
women, and, still better result, check
was administered to most dangerous ex-
element, which was beginning to affect the
minds of thousands of superficial thinkers
as it had already weakened those of many
men and women who believe all too will
! ingly in the trickery OF designing, greedy
| New Workers, of the true Yankee stripe.
The woman who persOnated Katie King has
already returned, far possible, all the
| presents she received to those who gave
them TO her. She deeply regrets her part OF
the swindle. and If all the facts in the case
could be made public she would be freely
forgiven by those who were duped by her
aid"
The Philadelphia Press of the same date
| dec. 49, reports an interview with Robert
Dale Owen on the day previous, which &C.
cidentally proves that no such evidence OF
| fraud. as asserted above, had been presented
to him by the anonymous correspondent Of
the Enquirer, although Mr.. Owen has fell
| called upon for good reasons to withdraw
his Endorsement from the Holmeses.