The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1877-09-13
Negroes Vocal POwers-GhOstly
Practical Joke on a Funeral
DarfY
Ist. Louis Globe Democrat


A great many people in st, Louis have
seen something of the peculiar perform
ances of a young mulatto named Albert
Rhodes, who follows the river for a
regular living, but whose chief delight
is in exhibiting his skill as whistler
and ventriloquist before crowds wherever
he can find them. There is not steam
boat, tug, or ferry-boat between St.
Louis and New Orleans the whistle of
which he can not closely initiate. The
imitation of each, in fact, is so perfect
that any person familiar with the
whistle of given boat would at once
recognize it.
The most remarkable features of
Rhodes voice, however, are its ventrilo-
quial and duplex qualities. He is able to
carry tune in two distinct keys-alto
and tenor-each being clearly defined
and apparently produced by seperate
agencies. This feat is not by any means
perfect, but enough so to make it one of
wonderful nature. Rhodes is a nat
ural yentriloquist, and though he is a
rude boy, and his voice yet undeveloped,
is able to throw sound in any given
direction with startling effect. What he
calls his "echo" isa genuine triumph. In
a large hall or room he gives low halo,
and in a moment you hear the echo on
the opposite wall; then it bounds to the
next wall, and the next, the next, and
then to the ceiling, and dies away.
There is really no echo at all, the sounds
being produced solely by ventriloquial
agency, but the imitation is perfect and
the deception complete. Several per-
sons who witnessed this performance at
saloon on Pine Street few days ago
could scarcely be made to believe that it
was simply the trick of ventriloquist.
At the same place Rhodes initiated the
neighiDg of a horse SO perfectly that he
was Immediately answered by sympathetic
neighs from two car horses in the ada
cent streets. On another occasion and
in another part of the city he threw his
voice up an alley with the cry of "Mur-
derp and Watchp' and in three min
utes there were six policeman on the spot
to catch the supposed assassin. At
Vicksburg about two months ago he
attended the funeral of colored person,
who was being buried by a Baptist con-
gregation of that city. There were at
least three hundred persons present,
including the widow, children and
mother of the deceased. The burial
services were recited, the coffin lowered
into the grave, and the boards adjusted.
As the first clod of earth fell on the
boards there came a low moan as if from
the coffin. The sounds at first were very
indistinct, but in moment they became
loud and frantic, as if the corpse had
come to life and was struggling to free
itself from the habiliments of the grave.
There was, of course, intense excitement
among the crowd, and the greater por
ton of those present fled in dismay, the
women and children shrieking at the
top of their voices. Those remaining
hastily raised the coffin from the grave,
and without waiting to unscrew the lid,
pried it off with an ak in order that the
resurrected body might get air as soon
as possible. 1t was at once discovered
that is was not possible that there could
be spark of life in the corpse. Decom-
position had, in fact, set in, and the
body, which had been encoffined two
days before burial, was rapidly losing
all human shape. Of course, there was
nothing to be done except to replace the
lid, lower the coffin, and fill in the grave
which the crowd hastily did, and then
hastily left. The event served as a
great sensation among the colored people
of Vicksburg, and old women shook
their heads ominously as if it presaged
something terrible that was about to
happen. Rhodes was the author of the
trick, using his power as ventriloquist
to produce the unearthly sound in the
| grave. The next day it leaked out
| among the colored folks that Rhodes was
the offender, and if he had not discreetly
left the city few hours before the dis
covery they would undoubtedly have
made it very unhealthy for him.