Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-11-07
THE MEOIUM's STATEMENT.
Mrs. Margaret Fox Kane Tells the Stor-
OF Her RemarlSnbIe Life.

Mrs. Margaret Fox Kane Tells the Story
OF Her Remarkable Life.
think that it is about time that the truth
OF this miserable subject Spiritualism," :"
should be brought out It is now wide
spread all over the world aud, unless il Is
put down soon, it will do great evil I was
the first in the field, and l have the right
to expose il.
My sister Kate and myself were very
young children when this horrible decep-
tion began. was eight, and just a year
and half older than she We were very
mischievous children, and we wanted to-
terrify our dear mother, who was a very
good woman and very easily frightened
At night, when we went to bed, we used to
tie an apple TO Il string, and move the string
up and down, causing the apple to bump on
the floor, or we would drop the apple on the
floor, making a strange noise every time it
would rebound. Mother listened TO this for
time. She could not understand it, and
did not suspect US of being capable of q
trick because we were so young.
CHILDISH Mischief AT FIRST.
At last she could stand il no longer and
she called the neighbors in and told them
about it. 1t was this that set us to discover
the means of making the raps. think
when reflect about 1t, that it was a most
wonderful discovery "a very wonderful
thing that children 50 young should make
such discovery, and all through our mis-
chief. Children viii always find means to
accomplish mishief. As to the thought of
spirits, this never entered our brains. We
were too young to know any thing about
that.
Our eldest sister, Mrs. Underhill, was
twenty-thTee years Of age when was home
She was in Rochester when these tricks
first began, but came to Hydesville. the ht-
tie village in Central New York. where we
lived and were born, shortly after NV
father and mother We're very good, honest
people and great friends with the HYDE
family, for whom the village was named and
who lived near. They took great fancy TO us
and we were especial favOrites ofthe Hydes,
both before and after the nOtOriety that our
rappings made became widespread. All the
people around, as / have said. were called
in 10 witness these manifestations. Ny
sister, now Mrs. Daniel Underhill-she was
Mrs. Fish then-bogan Ia form society of
spirtualists. There were so many people
coming TO the house that we were not able
to make use Of the apple trick except when
we were in bed and the room was dark
Even then we could hardly do II, 50 that the
only way was 10 rap on the bedstead.
And that is the way we began. First as
mere trick TO frighten mother, and then.
when so many people came TO see us chill
dren, we were frightened ourselves and
kept it up. We were then taken by Mrs.
Underhili to Rochester There it was that
we discovered how To make the other raps
My sister Katie was the first one TO dis
cover that BY swshing her fingers she
could produce a certain noise with the
knuckles aud iOints, and that the same eff
feet could be made with the toes. Finding
we could make raps with our feet-first
with one foot and then with both-we
practiced until we could do this easily
when the room was dark. No one sus-
pected Us of any trick because we were
such young children. We were led on by
my sister purposely and by my mother un-
Intentionally. We often heard her say
'Is this d.sem6Odicd spirit that has taken
possession of nay dear childrcnr'
CONVINCED THAT MURDER HAD BEEN DONE.
That encouraged our fun, aud we went
on. All tue neighbors thought there was