The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-03-15
HIS ANCESTRAL GHOST.
1t Appears Before Mr.. Blake's Aston
ished Eyes at a Boston
Seance.
In the Excitement It Tobogganed
on the Figure Of a
Spectator.
Mr.. Fielding Admits Himself En- Rapport
With Iniquity-Bright Eyes, Cow
boy, and Catastrophe.

Written for The SUNDAY 1NDEPENDENT.l
It is reported that a number of distin'
guished gentlemen and ladies' have banded
themselves together for the purpose of in
v~estigatirR the phenomena of spiritualism
They propose to get up a series of tests
through which no fraudulent ghosts and
very few of the genuine can ever pass sue
cessfully.
Let me hasten to say that it is not my
purpose to ~criticise OF ridicule these inves-
tigators. Some of them live in Boston and
are thus above criticism. while others do
not live in Boston and are therefore objects
of pity rather than ridicule. Collectively,
if they have a fault it is that they are too
good. The work requires somebody who ia
on rapport with iniquity, a. = Boston gen.
tleman remarked in rendering me an invi-
tation to . spook-hunt in that city some
years Ago.. l did not understand French
at that time, so I simply thanked him, ad-
ding modestly that l had a good bringing
up, and hoped not to dispoint his expecta-
tions. l now perceive that l should have
struck him with a club. but it il too late. I
The hunt of which I have spoken was or
ganized by spiritualists. They were honest
believers who desired to expose fraud as
the surest way of giving the truth a chance
lacked discretion. / shall tell the story of
the hunt a. a warning to the above mem
tioned committee not to push. investigation
recklessly.
We were to expose \ man who was tenn
porarily named Morse. His wife material
ICED spirits through the power of q de-
ceased Indian princess. who in life had been
called Bright Eyes. Her vision must have
been considerably. dimmed in the myster-
ious hereafter or she would have been able
to see through such a %dinphanous fraud as
Mrs. Morse, and would have refrained from
having anything to do with her. When
Mrs. Morse passed into = rance she was
that she could speak nothing but pure
Chootaw. Thus the ordinary auditor at one
of her seances learned little or nothing
nbout the eternal mysteries.
Our hunting party heard of this linguistic
difficulty. and SO We pressed into our ser
vice An ~ex-cOwboy who converted ~fluently
in Choctaw. He could also shoot the neck
of a two-gallon demijohn at fifty PAGES,
and afterwards drink the entire contents,
no matter what 1t happened to be. He was
an accomplished gentleman.
He arranged the plan of campaign very
carefully. 10 each was assigned his share
of the work. Bill Adams, the cowboy. was
to test the quality Of Bright Eyes yChoc-
tsw, after which he was to wait till the sio-
nal OF attack should be given BY Harvey
Blake. This young man acted as a sort OF
spirituslism, who had come to the Morse
ssances in good faith. until their tricksry
became too thin to deceive even no partial 4
witness. The Morses thought that they
had a sure grip OIL him. and so he could
easily secure a front ssst at the seanoe-a
favor not shown to strangers. In his posi-
ton Of advantage he was to wait until a
materialixsd spirit wa we'll within his
~--"A and then he vas TO grab u, and yell.