St. Paul daily globe., 1888-11-13
MODERN VOUDO0.
The Astrologist Kidnarins Case in
Court.
THE VALUE OF A CURSE.
Was It BIackmail ?.--Her Heart Was
as Big as Spit
t0cn.

l.. Lamont, the aStrOlOglSt, was ar
ranged OH charge of kid:iaping Detlaz
Smiths infant. The prisoner was
dressed i'll black silk and wore a black
veil. She stepped into her seat behinde =
her attorney, w. Ell. Donahue, With a
lively air. and then cast her eyes over
the audience once or twice for luck.
Della Smith was the first witness. She
was fairly nice-lookiDg young woman,
but did not appear to be over bright
When asked to tell her story, She
said that she was unmarried and
was working as wet nurse
at 414 Fourth avenue north.
II first met Mrs. Lamont last August"
said she, "when / went to her to have
my fortune told, and to get her to work
charm to bring back the absent man.
the father of my child. When hrst
saw Mrs. lamont she asked me how
much / wanted to pay for having my
fortune told. She finally agreed to
bring back the absent man. and to do
this she took my baby and $35, all the
money had. l told her that the people
where | was staying did not want to
keep me, and she said she would get
place for me. Iremained at her rooms
three OF four days, and she finally sent
note to Mayor Ames, asking him II L
could not go to Bethany home. She
wanted me to let some one adopt my
baby, but l did not want to let it 80.
One day man came in to see the baby,
and Mrs. Lamont took the baby from
my arms and gave it to him. Mrs. La
mont would not let me talk to him at
all. Three days later saw Mrs. Lamont
ct, foiA ch q know
where the baby was. The next time l
went to see her she was gone. Mrs.
Lamont gave me charm the first time
l went to see her--here it iS,'' and the
witness pulled a small plush bag from
her pocket and held it up so that every
one in the room could see it. ''She
warranted this charm to bring the
absent man back to me-"
Mr. Donahue took the witness and
asked her number of questions which
confused her greatly. She did not want
to betray the man who had ruined her,
and in her endeavors to shield him she
contradicted herself dozen or more
times.
Miss Mollie Ramsdell. young lady
with light yellow hair and brown eyes
and saucy toss of the head. was the
next witness. She lived with her sister,
Mrs. Cox. at 514 Nicollet avenue,
where Mrs. Lamont had formerly re-
sided. So
.Did you ever see the baby there?"
asked County Attorney Jameson.
Eyes, sir, did, was the emphatic
response. Il saw it there quite often.
One day asked Mrs. Lamont what she
was going to do with the child, and she
replied: L am going to make a stake
with it. The world owes me fortune,
and am going to have it,
..You are not on friendly terms with
Mrs. Lamont, are you"' asked Mr.
Donahue. Is
mo, sir, am not, and do not like her
at all, but that does not prevent my
telling the TRUTH
Mrs. Lizzie Cox was next called. She.
had lighter hair than her sister, and
was similarly affected as regarded the
tossing OF the head and the sharp, mur-
derous glances at Mrs. Lamont, who
looked equally as wicked as the witness
She lived at 514 NicOllet avenue, she
said, and rented the rooms to Mrs: La
mont She had seen Della Smith. there
several times. =.
ibid you see the man to whom the.
baby was given?"s asked MI. Jameson.
II did. ! peeked through the door
while he was there and saw him. H1e
was rough-loeking man, and did not
think he was tit man to give baby
to-"
s.Did you ever talk with Mrs. Lamont
about the baby?"
eyes. once or twice. told her that
she had no right to coax the girl to give
up the baby"
.'What did she say?"
''She saidt hat sheswas going to make
money, for herself and for the girl, and
if she could not get any money for the
baby she could use it to blackmail the
baby's father, whom she knew
.Oh, my!" exclaimed Mrs. Lamont,
starting up from her seat; that's he!
a lie, a lie! there is no truth in it!''+s
Her attorney shut her up, and the
did not see the baby given away" con-
tinued the witness, but Mrs. Lamont
told me later on that she had disposed
of it. and had made good thing out
of it.''
care you friendly toward Mrs. La
mont?'' asked Mr.. Donahue.
well, we had few words the day
she left my house, but ] amt got moth
ing against her except that she's an old
fraud"
.'What's the matter with you?" again
broke out Mrs. Lamont, getting red in
the face and clinching her small hands
The court interposed and stopped the
riot.
Mrs. 3. Dumont, at whose house Della
Smith is now stopping, was the last wit
ness for the state. She stated that she
had seen Mrs. Lamont and Miss Smith
ST. Paul last Thursday she said,
.sWhen went down there with Della.
We called on Mrs. Lamont, and Della
told her she wanted to know where the
baby was. Mrs. Lamont told her that
she had taken her oath never to tell
where the infant was. Then she told
me that she could take her oath that she
did not know where the baby was. Mrs.
Lamont then called herself Nine. Bars
tow"
Ibid she say anything more to you?''
eyes, she did. She got in front of
me and said: ''ln the name of God the
Father. the Son, and the Holy Ghost, /
pronounce a curse upon you and hope
to God you may never have any rest in
this world. Then she said she had
good mind to slap the face off Of me-"
"Did her curses affect you any?''
asked Mr. Donahue.
mo, they didn't" was the tart Fe-
sponse, "for knew they were no good.
In fact l have felt better since she
cursed me. This Mrs. What-you-cail-
her sent Della to my house. and the
girl has been acting as wet nurse for
my daughters baby ever SINCE There
is no trouble between Mrs. Lamont and
myself further than the curse she put
upon me. and | guess that didn't work
because there was not a charm togo
with it,"
There was a small-sized sensation in
the court room when Mrs. Lamont took
the stand in her own behalf. She looked
cool enough, but it was evident that
tbaro yyac q volpanO raUino inside after