National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-08-13
THE SHOTGUN TEST.
A "Kstsrislirsd spiritn FIRED Upon In st.
Louis-Fifty Dollars Paid for ths Privilege.

Louis-k1Ity Dollars fAiu for tne rrtvilege'
tFrom the 81. Louis Republican August 1o.l
A somewhat extraordinary exhibition Of conf
dence on the part Of . materialized spirit took
place last evening 1t Concert hall, when Mr.. W.
O. Clark, st. Loais medium, permitted one Of
his materializstions to stand the test Of Q ride
shot. II has for some time been contended BY the
skeptieal that the true way to prove the spiritual
nature Of these phenomena was with o shotgun.
II . face smiling through an unglazed window
could receive charge OF shot and still smile It
was thought the test might be accepted Is sproof
al least that the face Was not human. The sxhi-
bition last night grew ont Of . challenge TO Mr..
CLARK from Henry Timkens, . carriage-m maker.
MT. Timkens offered $50 for the privilege Of bad.
ing and firing o rife at . face which Mr.. CLARK
should produce ct the aperture Of . cabinet, the
medium to disrobe before entering the cabinet
and put on clothes which the challenger should
produce After this the challenger was TO fasten
audience was very small, indeed, comprising only
few OF the believers and full representation OF
reporters from the daily papers: At $50 the doors
to effect the change Of raiment. The clothes pro-
Vided were white shirt, pair Of linen trousers,
and pair Of white cotton socks. The change
was effected under the close scrutiny Of several
reporters and Mr.. Timkens. He was then con-
Quoted directly TO the cabinet. Before the medium
had been scrutiniEed all over, inside and out,
while being put together, and there was nothing
Of i, at least nothing that could be seen.
When the medilm entered the cabinet he seated
himself on the floor with his back gainst the wal
furtbest from the aperture, and then Timkens
tied him. Timkens had brought along brace
ceeded TO bore holes In the bottom Of the cabinet
Through these holes he passed stout cords. The
were tied outside the box. Each leg was corded
down In two places, above and below the knee.
Another cord was passed around the body and
end Of this cord being likewise secured outside.
The hands were then tied together and drawn
fastening also being knotted on the outside. Mr..
Timkens was handy with the rope, and looked
upon his work with considerable degree Of sat
isfaction. When the fastenings had been duly
examined the door was closed.
This was at precisely 80 ?. m. In about three
tnere was succession Of fsPs from COR
It was still little time, AFTER which there was
suspicious creakng Of cords. The lights Of course
oppressive that It was relief when . small boy
was head whistling out on the street. Somebody
in the audience started song In feeble, quayer-
iI voice, and quite chorus gradually Joined in.
German vocalist favored the seance with o ire
mendous bass solo, in the midst Of which an imp
ish street ARAB that aad lodged the GGSSrksspsr
exsggeration IL can safely be said that the musi-
cal performance last night was quite enough 20
At $50 o'clock the audience HAD warbled them
selves into 8 mild excitement by marching John
Browns soul onward toward some underlined des-
Hallelujah," when suddenly the curtain moved
aside and the lace appeared. There It was. A
pale, ghostly countenance that looked as though
IL might have belonged to girl Of seventeen at
some previous time Of the worlds history. 1t
don't look bit like actual flesh and blood. Had
IL been possible to remove the front of the cabinet
any pinned back.gear about the neither portion Of
the naturalization. It was the face that might
sand years ago, and reminded one Of the marble
countenance Of some statue. So much Of the
inquire as was visible was strongly suggestive of
q lost collar button little lower down. All who
saw were fairly transhxed with astonishment.
The features were perfectly clear and distinct,
bsing illuminated by soft light, There was not
the slightest movement Of q muscle or an eyelid
that could be distinguished. While all were
eagerly gazing at the vision, there was an ex-
plosion that caused Q rude Interruption TO the
imaginative reyeries the more superstitIous hal
fallen into.
As soon as the face appeared, Mr. A. B. Gun.
sighted small rife at it. The wideopen eyes
looked almost into the muLzle Of the gun with
out any sign Of finehing. Without the tremor Of
ing no more of shooting couple Of girls than Q
Comsnche would. After the shot the face remained
steadfast. II wasn't scared and didn't wink. A
few seconds IL remained As before, and then the
curtain mysteriously slid across and obscured IL
from view. After about ten minutes waiting the
given him, and in little time after he asked to
be let out. When the door was opened he was
found tied Just as he was left when the door was
strained q little and that was ali. EVeiy6o sII
said 1t was good thing, and no body could tell
how IL was done If the spirits didn't do 1t.
The medium professed to be very much ex-
hausted by the exhibition, and said he wouldn't
do 1t again for anything. The difficulties in the
way Of any imposition in this matter appear TO be
very great. II would have been almost impossi-
bile for any material for the production Of the
image as by q mack to have been introduced into
the cabinet. The medium was very securely
tied, and there was no possible chance Tor col
fusion on the part Of q confederate. The bullet
certainly went through the aperture and through
the face, whatever It was. This was ascertained
beyond doubt by the finding Of the ball, II having
passed through the back Of the cabinet and i'm
becded itself in board.