The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1875-01-01
KATIE KING.
Expose OF ONE or GIae VI
Successful 1HumbuEs
Of ahe Age.
How Was Done.

How Ia Was Done.
Special Telegram to the Chicago Times
PHILADELPHIA, December Is.
A gentleman of this city, per
suaded in his own mind that the
GENERALIZATION" of tbs spirit o.
Katie King, under the auspices oi
Mr.. and Mrs. Nelson Holmes, was
humbug. and yet without any
substantial grounds to rest such
an opinion upon, decided to ties;
the matter, and ascertain whether
the revived London beauty was
not in fact a Philadelphia beauty,
of his OWE day an generation. He
attended the seances given by the
HOlmeses, at No. 1925 North Tenth
street, his firm opinion of the i'm
position remaining unchanged, al
though baffied for a long time in
making certain demonstration OF
that fact. By degrees, however,
an inkling of the secret of the
whole matter dawned on his mind.
With others he attended, night af-
ter night, to see the beWiLching
beauty, and was surprised, one
day, when going up the street, 10
see in a lady who was passing
along, the very prototype of the
enchanting Katie. He made some
subsequent discoveries which were
important, viz: that this proto-
type boarded ncar the residence of
the mediums, and what was still
more to the great object he had in
view-a revelation of the impos-
ture-that she attended all the
Katie King seances given by the
Holmeses. By what in police
slang, is called piping off," he
found that she entered the resi-
dence of the Holmeses prior to the
seances; that she came out after
they were over; and, Furthermore,
that she was not to be seen in the
audience which invariably assem-
bled to witness the Katie King
phenomenon.
AS the NATURALIZATION" night
after night went on, our gentleman
detective discovered perfect iden-
tity of form and feature between
Katie and the fair boarder of q
few squares of. Finally, after
much patient persevering, this
gentleman secured an introduce
ton to the lady in question.
Without declaring his purpose in
conversation with her, he ascer-
tanned from her lips that she had
witnessed the manifestations, and
that, as far as she knew, the ma
terialization was q. X. This was
not enough for the detective.
thirsting after fuller intelligence,
and, he proposed one night that
both should go in company TO the
seance and witness the appearance
of the London Hebe; but to this
proposition the lady positively dis
scented. subsequently, at another
interview, she inadvertently pro-
duced a number of
PIECES OF JEwELRY,
which had been given, under the
gentleman's own observation, to
the materialized Katie King by
a number of enthusiastic atten-
dants at the seances. This was
another piece of circumstantial
evidence of the most positive ma
ture. The gentleman's laudable
efforts to knock the bottom out of
the swindle resulted, later, in a
full exhibition of trinkets which
had been given to Katie King
some by himself-and which were
now spread out to his admiring
view by the lady whose acquain-
lance he had so fortunately made.
Then came the declaration, which
he ono day made to her, that she
and none other was the being who,
in the dress of gauZe, and in the
subdued light of the chamber, had
emerged from the cabinet, before
the astonished lookers-on, as the
naturalization of Katie King. At
first she denied the soft impeach-
ment; but subsequently, with
tears, admitted that she and Katie
were one and the same. On this
denouement, the gentleman who
effected it consulted with Robert
Dale Owen and DIR. Child, and they
Immediately published the cards
Withdrawing the endorsement of
the naturalization which they had
given to the Holmeses. In order
to make assurance doubly sure
the gentleman.
IMPRoVIsED a SEANCE.
at which the lady agreed to act.
Suitable apartments were procur-
ed; a cabinet was hurriedly ar
ranged, an audience invited, and
the Katie King seance was done to
perfection. All the presents given
to the lady, while acting the role
of q returned denizen from the
other world, have been returned to
their donors, as far as possible,
and her share in the gigantic mod
ern spiritualistic humbug is ended.
Yesterday this lady received let
tiers from sources which are be-
lieved to be fully known, in which
she was threatened with personal
violence if she persisted in aiding
the movement to thoroughly eX-
pose the impostnre. The seances
took place upon the second floor of
the builing, two rooms being nee
essary to the development of the
naturalization. In the front one
the audience assembled, witnessing
there the seance, and thoroughly
unconscious of the part which the
other room took in this bogus
drama of the spirits. The cabinet
was placed in the front room, with
its back against a door which open
ed into the adjoining apartment
THE DOOR WAS TAKEN OFF,
and there was substituted by Mr.
Holmes a walnut board partition
This partition, lac declared fire.
quently, might be examined by
anybody prior to the occurrence o
the seance; and many, including
DIR. Child and Robert Dale Oven
did so exemine it, finding nothing
at the time TO engender suspicion
These walnut boards were secures
by tour buttons on each side; ant
frequently the gentlemen abov,
, named were invited to take thes,
, buttons off and examine thu
, boards. 1t has since been discov
cred that Holmes had the means
of taking out one OF these board
the center one, which was abou
} fifteen inches wide-and of sub
{ stituting in its place board tina
, was cut across the center, admitting
of the removal of the lower hall
; and easily admittinga person froT
> the back room into the cabinet