The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1875-01-07

gladly complied with the request, az he
was anxious to have the cabinet placed
in room where it could stand near solid
walls. He found one or two houses
where the front room would admit of
this arrangement, but Mrs. Holmes dis
covered SOME fault with them all and
finally decided upon the house at 1926
North Tenth street. In the second story
front room of this house the cabinet was
placed in such a position that it stood
about eighteen inches from boarded-u
window. AS already described in the
Press, this window was arranged in such
q way that with the sash taken out there
was room for person to stand between
the boards on the inside and the shutters
on the outside. One of the boards was
apparently fastened by screws, but they
were only dummies" In reality it
swung on pivots and was held in it's place
by stout button on the inside. A board
in the back of the cabinet was similarly
arranged. Before the seances began "Ksr
tie King" took her position in the window
and fastened herself in. The space be-
tWCCu SAC CduAuCG tSuu IuC WILL was Cutu
concealed by a door, which at first glance
appeared as part of the cabinet, table
covered with musical instruments was
showed up against it, and the guests, who
we're always received in q down. stairs
room, were invited to ascend. A dark
seanCe always opened the entertainment,
during which Katie would descend from
her perch and, making her way into the
III toll a of r. no
she could not be seen when the cabinet
door was opened. Mr.. Holmes would
then enter the cabinet, and between the
two the usual manifestations were pro-
duced. The numerous faces shown were
nothing but rubber masks, SO made that
they could he blown up into different
sizes, and 1t the same time produce diff.
fcrent appearances. Mr.. Holmes could
conceal half dozen such faces in his
inside pocket. At the Tenth street
house Mr.. and Mrs. Holmes were sup
posed to live alone, having an old col
ored woman as an assistant. This
auntie" was quite dumb, and on sew
eral occasions forgot herself, and set the
table for three instead of two, as the
HOlmeses usually partook of light sup
per after the evenings performance The
dark circles given at 1875 North Tenth
street were often quite entertaining to
lovers of the mysterious; and as they
performed almost all of the still-unex-
planned tests given by the best mediums
it was less difficult for them to avert
suspicion than it would have been
had they confined themselves to
Katie King. Their mediumistic pow
crs are highly attested, and
those who are mOst familia r
with Spiritualism state that there is no
doubt but that Mr.. and Mrs. Holmes are
really excellent mediums, who have
been led by cupidity to mix great deal
of trickery with their natural powers.
There was published in the London
Spiritualist of Feb. /, 1873, record of a
sitting held with the HOlmeses in London,
at which Mr.. Luxmore, who reports the
seance, declares that the same "Katie
King" who materialized through Flor
ence Cook appeared through MIR. and
Mrs. Holmes. Mr.. LuxmOre is a wealthy
gentleman, living in one of the fashion
able squares of London, and it was at
his residence that many of the Florence
Cook seances were given. Some of the
best-known Spiritualists seem to believe
from this that Mr.. and Mrs. Holmes have
at some time presented the veritable
Katie King" and failing to reproduce
the manifestations were led to employ a
confederate. How long the humDug
would have prospered if the Holmeses
and their misguided assistant had not
disagreed it is impossible to say;
katie's" conscience, however, began to
trouble her greatly when she learned
what an effect her performances had
created, and at last, feeling that she
could no longer practice the deception,
she left Mrs. Holmes to her own devices
For several weeks no Katie appeared, as
the medium" found it difficult task to
secure a young woman similar in feat
ures and form to the first confederate.
One young lady, whose appearance
pleased her, was asked to play the part
of Katie King but refused with horror
She afterward related the circumstance
to prominent Spiritualist, and the con.
sequence has been a complete exposure
of the whole fraud.
Both Robert Dale Owen and DIR. Child
feel deeply Inundated at having been
! SO deceived, and, more than that, lend
ing their influence to the support of
what is now proved to be trick, and are
doing all in their power to undo at least
part of the harm. The doctor has bought
from the publishers of his book or
John and Katie King every vol
ume ON hand, some 500 worth, and
has ordered its publication to be
discontinued. Mr.. Holmes, who has
been one of the chief actors in the cabi
net seances, was at one time the editor
of Baptist religious journal in Georgia
From his doings here and information
which has recently been received con-
corning certain irregularities in London,
it is very evident that he has fallen from
grace. katie King" who was forced
into this business by poverty, is much to
be pitied, for she long felt the wicked
ness of deception on such subject, and
is now suffering all the pangs of remof9e
Even those whom by her course she has
most deceived feel that the young woman
is deserving of sympathy instead of con,
demnatlon, and all stcadfastly refuse to
divulge her name, giving as a reason
that the poor woman has already suffered
enough. The Holmes seances have not
yet closed, and the mediums still persist
in their assertion that they will yet show
Katie King" under the most strict test
conditions. If the spirit of the original
Katie King" was really matcrialized
tHlOuSH T"lCuCC SOOh, Ill LOIl(tUu, aS
Prof. Wallace and I)r. Crooks both tes-
tify, there is no reason why she cannot
appear again; but even if the Holmeses
should in time exhibit materialized
spirit it would not prove that the
Katie King" of last summer or this fall
was anything but flesh and blood. The
evidence against them is SO convincing
that it cannot be disprovcd by future
testimony, which can only relate to the
past by analogy.-PhiLadelphia Press,
Dec 49,
The New Finance Bill.
A Washington Associated Press dis.
patch gives the following as the leading
features of the new Finance bill agreed
upon by the Senate Republicans in
caucus on the 10th, and passed by the
Senate on the ed: