Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1885-05-23
THE TRICKS OF MEDIUMS
Keller Tells How Easily Great Men Have
Been Duped.

L .IISlClAS .OF MEDIUMS.
Keller Tells How Easily Great Men Have
Been Duped.
"Well I'll tell you how I got into
the business" said MI. Keller, the
magician, beginning one of his lively
chats yesterday. "a good many years
ago 1 travelled with the Davenport
brothers. Their father was an old man
then, and he used to tell me " and
over that his sons were true mediums
of spiritual power, and that they were
called to that mission by divine will.
Well, he being an old man and l a boy,
of course l believed him, especially
when I saw their incxplicable tricks.
I looked on the brothers with: awe, and
travelled with them for eight years as
an assistant. Finally: filled with a
pious desire to serve the spirits a little
myself, I got hold of a rope alone. I
tied my hands the best l could initiate
the brothers, to sort of coax tue spirits,
but they acted as if they didn't care
for my services, and whether I wanted
myself tied or united, I had to do it
myself. l studied knots awhile and
practiced them, and finally [ got n of
the other assistants to tic Inc. The
result gratitied me, for I found I could
just manage to get out. I kept on
trying and found l could get out Of the
rope let him tic it as he would. Skep-
ticism had already set in, and I soon
found myself working at the other
tricks OF the brothers and could do
many OF hem. About this time Fay,
who was the old manager Of the
brothers, found out that l had dis.
covered their secrets, and we at once
started up a company OF two and
struck off on our own account. We
travelled all over the world, and have
seen all the tricks going. You hear
great stories about the tricks of East
ern jugglers, and a great many Of them
are pure yarns. l saw a newspaper ar
ticle just the other day that was full of
bon up in the air, climbing, up out of
sight, falling down in pieces. and put
ting himself together, and all that. 1t
isn't so. The European magicians are
far superior to the Orientals.
"But it is the mediumistic trick that
I am bent on e exposing, without hurting
the business of any reputable %juggler.
To begin with, l think thatSpiritualism
puts more people in the insane asylum
than anything else except liquor. But
we can excuse the majority of the
Spiritualists when great men allow
themselves to be easily fooled. For
instance, | was tho assistant at q pri-
vate seanco which tho Davenport
h,.oflo,c novn IN .rclon IN n p,,,1o,,
of gentlemen, among whom were Dion
Boucicault, Charles Reade, Algcrnon
Borthwick, Lord BURY, Capt. Ingle-
field, and others. The brothers were
both tied in their cabinet. Lord BURY
stepped up and leaned over one of
them to examine the knot, when tho
other quickly slapped him on the back.
There was a murmur in the room.
These great men were struck with awe.
Now, let me tell you, this rope trick
depends upon mere physical dcxterity,
and the slap was made like q flash and
pretty hard; but here is the descrip-
ton Dion Boucicault wrote of it: "A
small white, delicate female hand sud-
denly appeared above one Of the doors
of the cabinet. 1t quivered for several
seconds, and then, slowly descending,
tapped Lord Bury gently on the
shoulder, and then melted in air.
at is just in this way that otherwise
sensible people allow their senses to be
deceived and their ~imaginations preyed
upon.
"The celebrated thcosophist Engling-
ton completely dumfoundcd me in Cal
cutta. Three of us were seated by a
plain round table. Two states were
brought in. | took the two and washed
and wiped them clean. He then gave
mo Il little piece of slale-pcncil, which
l put between the two clean slatcs. He
took hold Of one corner with one hand
and l took hold with the other. We
then clasped our free hands and held
the states under the table. Presently
there was Il noise as of the pencil
writing, and when we opened the slate
| beheld the following: My name is
Geary. Don't you remember meP We
used to joke Of this matter at the St.
George. I know better now.'
Il remarked: Il know no one by the
name Of Gcary.' The slate was put
under the table again, and the word
'Geary, Geary,' was written several
times. Other states were put under,
too, and one was brought out with this
on it: 4 am Alfred Geary. You know
me and St. Lcger.
Then | remembered having met
both men at Cape Town, in South
Africa, four years before. Geary had
died three years before. Geary and 1
had joked about SPIRITUAL nj at the St.
George Hotel in that town, thousands
Of miles away. Well, l had to confess
didn't know how the thing was done,
and paid my forfeit. But the mystery
is now clear. l learned it several wears
afterward. At the hall in Cape Town,
Africa, where | performed, there was a
Janitor named Hutchinson, a great
Spiritualist. Engliugton had been
there just after l left, and, of course,
Hutchinson told him all about me.
That's how he got his information, for
the spiritual letter and mediums arc al-
ways preparing themselves in'this way.
AS to how he wrote the communication
on the slate l found that out, too, and
have done it before the Sicbert Com
mission, which is investigating Spiritu-
allsmr and will soon report. They have
had Slade and Lord and a great many
alleged mediums before them.
Nearly all the Spiritualists are honest
IN their ridiculous. belief, however
much accused for dishonesty, and,
stranger still, I believe there is a
chance medium who speaks in u trance
who really believes in his agency; but
those mediums who make use of tricks
are frauds every time.'-Fhuadelph,a
North american. -
Norristown has a man who is in a