Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-11-07

UOrsE ~ " Hfl "A SPIRIT NAPpIy s,J1fCINATED.
which may never bc atoucd on Garth Forty
years have passed away. in which these lit
uc Waiis have grown 10 cir.hood. from girl
hood to e. sCrrowUl aud cray-l ..rad yyo-
manhood and widowhoad. aud now. faiu to
spend the last days of their lives iu peace
aud goodwill with their follows. 30 day con-
fess their SIN TO the world they have so long
deceived and trcE'd, and then depart in
silence t1 the ob-curty ina which they now
So long have dwcl-
now THEY DISCOVERED THEIR rOwrHs.
According 10 tlis confession OF thc Fox
sisters ,he great fabric ol modern Spiritual
ism Was born FROM the most commonplace
incident By ttc mali sulation of certain
muscles tlc two sisters. lcft much alone by
themselves, discovered that they could
mako certain peculiar sounds, which they
used 90 d0 lnr t.cir own amusement. BY
tlc mCr.-l ace ..ut Ju1ir simpio-minded
mother Cucc l..II tAo.o unnatural noises,
Uud, Ignorant Cl tnDir se. became
alarmed. Ils children, noticing their
mothers fright, .Uhcvously concealed
tlcir secret. aH1 " ior tlr flu of the th.uer
persisted 200 lL. sport aud then laughed ln
Their sleeves. It Was 90 more serious thing
for nervous, sup'rHitau- mother, how
ever, and the mote the WOliui sisters piled
their trick the more nervous and supersti-
tuus she became. When she could con-
cCal her fear no lcagCr she Couh0ed 1t To
her uciElb0rs, and the Fox homestead was
soon regarded Ina The town with suspicious
glanccs. About this time Leah Fish. the
married sister, twcnty-threc years older to
a day than the cight-ycag-old Margaret,
came on a visit To Hydcsvile from her home
in Rochester, aud learned of the occult
powers of the children. with a quick eve
TO the scheme by which she could practice
on the crcduity Of the country folk. she
fostorcd and developed the lSnavish trickery,
tin. long before Kate and Margaret awalI-
cnod TO The consciousness OF the wrong in
which they were enlisted, the sleepy village
Of Hydcsville had become famous and they
them selves The object Of universal curios-
ity.
The need Of larger circle than that of
Rochester was felt for the experimentation
Of the child mediums, and Mrs. Fish, the
elder sister, removed, with Margaret and
Kate, To- Philadelphia. The sisters continued
TO attract M proportion TO the numbers who
witnessed their operations, and in the same
proportion started up other mcdiums simi-
larry possessed with the modumistic gift.
The mania spread like contagioC, aud soon
every hamlet, village and town had its
oracle, through whom Napoleon spoke with
English and SD Paul with the smell Of
whisky on his breath.
The FIRST rappiugs at Bydesville had been
sounded ia 1875. At that time Margaret Fox
was eight years Old aud Kate little
younger. ln tAe autumn of 1852 the elder
OF Che two had pggCoClously matured and
had developed into q beautiful girl-a
stuure mixture OF child and woman. She
was ardent and impulsivc, yet generous in
her disposition end of % peculiarly demure
and attractive manner. Slc is described in
q journal of that day rs having The dark,
tender eyes OF "a Madouna. "a sweet, delicate
ly-modClcd mouth and a graceful form, with
an easy, regal carriage Of thc head At
this time She with her mother was occupy
inc rooms at the Union Ho;cl in Philadcl-
phia, holding scanccs which were patron
lied by tho elect OF the staid old city, and
NJ was here one morning, while bonding
her pretty head over "a French manual, that
romance first entered hcc young life with
tbC appearance of Or. Elisha Kent Kane,
the celebrated explorer and q scion of one
of the Quaker City's most aristocratic fam
lilies.
The doctor was then % handsome. dashing
young blonde Of the D'Orsay type, not yet
thirty-four, who had been graduated some
ten years before from the University Of
fcuusrlNauia; uiid subsequently gone cut
10 China with Commodore Parker % sur
gcou To the embassy, uu6, ootaiuinga leave
of absence afterwards. had travelled through
Greece on foot, pushed up the Nile, made "a
tour 90 India, Ccy.On aud tie South Sea
Islands. and had dared the Himailras. In
Che Mexican war hc had won spurs FOR his
gl.iantry. aud iu l,.0 lis spirit of unrest
sent him away agaia ou thc relief exrcili-
tion that was sent to search Tor Sir John
Franklin.
uH. KNNE-'s ROMANTIC ATTacrrsENT.
HCnorCd by mis- own sex ana tue adnlirs-
tiou of She other, be was tasting tAe de-
I ngh,s of furiourh at home when he f,u in
with tho young medium. li was tae oid,
Old story Dgain. Dr. Kane used afterwards
90 sar rat. lutC as fargarlt sa r-rtel his
own iccnu-s, ho icit that she. Do ans o1e,
was to ue ti- viic The winning -l..c Of
tlis modest terrestrial sp,rit pro ad more
aitrlrfNg o. iui iaau tll e.csf 30 oness.
sfl1. pc Be- SAID. were nor aivlrr 81. wil-
n.lg or sc mooe-l o. LcraciL she lrgg ni-
most ioo youHs to uricrFIsud thc l.clIing
ul tle word "loFc. anG tcoll q iYlIr iiiae
i to vco her lrcn her fbyncss. e. lle Of
0ur.iclil utlcn She was leading ~ qeil4s
lf ntlIWClel uF her l1rcr. end genly
bat lrmlv SEQ about 20 uceu her u "a lt
% was lQuE. Slows ysoIl., lof nc ha- 10 CON
7 tend against lle b4noiul iudac1ct u 1ils.
! Fuh. who raled he cutire family ss with ,