Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1883-09-14
DYING IN A TRANCE.
DID DOCTOR SYKES KILL nan,
What IS Now Exercising the Common.
sense People Of a Great Western
Ciy-Cireumstaness Indeed
Certainly Strange.

.CMcAoo, September l3-vsry damaging
rumors were in circulation Yesterday con.
cernipg the death Of Mrs. Riley L. Mich.
OILS, woman 81 years Of age, who died uu.
der mysterious circumstances in q phv.
sicisn's office Tuesday. All that IL posi.
lively known 10 that . woman has died
while under the caro- Of specialist" and
that she va, person imbued With spirit.
ualistic ideas, and believed to b possessed
Of mediumistic powers Mn. Nichols
affiliated with spiritualists, having
been drawn into the microcosmic circls it
10 alleged, by her friends. Who sssooistiux
with spiritpalists. never lost any opp1tu.
W VIZ aos ioss st.s.s .
selected .. = d1 medium Tor Tor Tie IssssSiS.loa si
Si %os Is'''si An Ss'tssn ,si living sss s:,a
Mrs. Nichols friends informed her.
10 make her q frst.clsss medium wAs
DeSeioP0sas,
and DIR. {. K Sykes was recommended .
person who could NJ her for the elevated
position she was destined 10 fiil a. Au in.
termediary between fossili1ed Camanches
and pale.faced consumpuves. II Is said
that she forthwith repaired to Dr. Sykes
office and requested to be developed"
Those who attributed her death 10 other
than natural causes silege that Or. Sykes Is
4 mesmerist, and by virtue OF his power 10
produce q state OF nervous prostration In
the patient the diseased Indian could better
take possession OF the unfortitied body
the inherent antipathy OF the average
woman TO . ierocious looking Apache
being required TO be removed before the
savage could obtain control. On Tuesday
she visited the doctors otiioe, at No. Isl
Monroe street and never left 10 until her
corpse was removed from the place last
night. Dr. Sy kes says that while there she
went into a trance, but that il was through
10 fort OF his. Others believe that
The Doctor
ptacticed upon her, and after succeeding
IN suhlecring her 10 his magnetism was
powerless 10 bring the mesmerce into Q
normal condition, and she died In the spell.
Naturally. rumors Of this kind eSctted no
small degree Of condemnation. This VAS
more especially the case when the recent
mysterious desth in Montana OF the girl
Eva Clark, whose family aud associates
were sriritualists, was recalled.
As nearly as could be asccrtained Mrs.
Nichols went 10 Or. Sykes Office N about
7 o'clock Sunday evening She Is said 10
nave WCDme suuutHly III Wufc ~ uauOc
and the doctor, unable to restore her. say
her die ut about noon on Tuesday. All that
night, though he says he worked upon her,
she was dangerously III, yet he did NOT
send for any other physician. yesterday
morning he did send TO an unknown doc.
tor named Blain, whose office is over Two
miles from where the woman was dying.
II was not until O'Clock last evening that
an undertaken was sent for, and then
West side undertaken was en-
ployed. whose office Is nearly mile
from Dr. Sykes II IL very possible
that Dr. Sykes explanation that bis patient
died of heart disease may be true yet his
conduct In the premises Is severely criu.
cised. A. II. sheldon, the undertaken. says
that q nervouso0ki man came 10 his
place, No. lGS West Madison street, al
abou, o'clock Sunday evening. aud NJ .
O'Clock
Of Mrs Nichols wss removed 10 his estAb.
lishment, where II was kept until this
morning aud then taken 10 the resi-.
dence OF Mrs. Bclden, u daughter Of the
dPceated. The body was removed on oer.
tifcale Of death made out by Dr. Sykes,
alleging the cause Of death 10 be heart dis.
ease and congestion OF the lungs.
The ease is exciting wide attention and Q
rigid investigation will probably be the
result Should il bo proven. as leading
medical men think i will, that DR.: Sykes
wss the direct cause Of Mrs. Nichols death
IL will he more than apt TO go hard with
him. He seems TO be lsboring under In
tense excitement, and II Ia said is prepar.
ing to leave the city. Further and positive
developments may be expected soon.