The morning call., 1892-04-18
THE GHOSTS WERE SHY.
Rioters MateriaIize in Large Num-
berS.
EXCITING SCENES AT THE PAVILION.
The Box.0fice Raided BY an Angry Mob-A Free
Fight for the Scattered
Coin.

One thousand or less Of men and women
paid their way Into the Mechanics Pavilion
last night to witness grand spiritual pow-
WOW.
After getting thoroughly chilled by sitting
In the cold draughts for an hour waiting in
vain for the spirits to materialize, the bel
ligerent portion of the audience rose,
stormed the box Office and scattered the
money on the floor. A fight for the spilled
coin ensued. in which those with the big
gest fists grabbed up wealth by the handful.
In the melee coats were torn off mems
backs, silk hats were crushed into eccentric
shapes and skin was peeled from faces and
knuckles. The police did not put in an ap-
pearance until the eruption had ceased.
Seating accommodation had been pro-
vided for 5000 people. The announcement
had gone forth to the ublic that representa-
tive spiritual mediums from all the princi-
pal cities of the country would be on hand
prepared to give tests in materialiZng. slate
writing and clarvOyancy. SO much interest
did this proclama ton awaken that half the
usual Sunday night spiritual seances in this
city broke up. and those who ordinarily at
tend them h0cked to the Pavilion en- masse.
The managers of the show looked happy as
the flood of silver rolled in through the box
cffice windows. Three ticket-seilers ped
died out colored paste boards for the coin
which was so freely rendered.
GROWING INPATIENT.
By o'clock the crowd inside began to
manifest impatienee. More than half the
audience were women. The class that wax
fat on the credulity of their fellow citizens
by holding private slttiDgs and giving slate
writing seances were present in large num-
bers. These began to suspect that scheme
had been arranged 10 burlesQue their voca-
tion. They manifested their impatience by
stamping their feet. The numerous class
who are their dupes and those who frequent
public gatherings for the fun OF the thing
made up the remainder of the audience.
Growing weary at last of the delay one
man in the crowd arose and moved that a
committee be appointed TO Interview the
managers.
Another stranger assembled the platform
aud stated that he was medium and had a
message from the deep. His communication
was that he should call his brothers aud SIS
tsrs in the flesh to order.
A score of excited men and women stood
up and demanded to know who he was.
The con viction was fast stealing over the
crowd that they were the victims of a c0los-
sal fake.
WANTED HIS COIN.
A bald headed man, who frantically waved
his hat and cane, rOared the crowd into
silence and said he had paid his money to
see spirits materialize and if they failed to
show up in short order he would lead a raid
on the box-office and make the money the
people had paid to get in materialize. He
was loudly cheered.
Half dozen others clambered up on the
| platform and gesticulated wildly. Every
body stood up on the chairs and shouted.
Pandemonium IAN things for five minutes.
| shrill voice screamed. II want my money
back! / want my money backp'
Two hundred or more started for the
doors. The ticket-taker was in another mo-
| ment surrounded by furious mob. Every
man and woman was angrlly demanding his
| or her money back. He entreated them to
| keep cool, and advised them to 60 out to the
/ ticket-seliers. The windows in the vestI-
| bu lie swarmed In another instant with peo-
! Pile struggling for front place. One of the
| agents, more frightened than the others,
began passing out quarter dollars. This ac-
ton only added to the excitement. So many
| hands materialiZed in the window that the
| ticketman declined to pay anybody unless
| tickets were presented to him for redemp-
| tion.
| He told the crowd that he did not have the
| key to the big tin box on the floor. One
I man theTeupon kicked the box violently
| Three men laid hands on 1t and tore the lid
| from its hinges. The tickets were spilled on
| the floor ana wild scramble for the paste
boards ensued. Men with their hands full
| of tickets poked them through the windows
| and shouted tor money.
| HAD BUSINESS ELSEWHERE.
Mark 1hall, who represented the man.
| ayers as business agent, attempted to eX-
| ecute flank movement on the crowd by
getting the ticket-sellers TO pass the cash out
| to hin through private door. He knocked.
| at first gently and then loudly, and called
them by their pet names, but those inside
were SO badly frightened that they paid no
heed to his supplicationS. He saw the
crowd coming toward him, and, having
| pressing business elsewhere, started to give
| it his personal attention.
| a rush was made for tha.private door.
th.fr ChA TIar -
and down it fell with loud crash. Into
the little room the crowd quickly swarmed.
| A small valise filled with silver principally
was snatched from shelf. A wild strug-
| gle for its possession followed which ended
| by the coin being dumped on the floor In
few minutes the spectacle presented was
that Of a mass of heads, arms and legs in
tue air. A Harvard Yale football match
| was not a circumstance alongside the wild
scramble for the stuff.
1t took only about five minutes to break
every chair in the office and gather up
every bit of money in sight. The box-office
in this short period was despoiied of over
| $500.
women screamed, but not one tainted.
Loud calls were made for the police, but
not single star came in sight.
HIS FUN FOR HIS MONEY.
Meanwhile another performance was
started on the floor of the Pavilion. Charles
Nj. Steen, who has won some fame as
clever expoSer of Spritualstic frauds, be-
gan running circus of his own. He de.
clared that the whole brood of spiritualists
were fakirs and offered 500 to any medium
in the crowd who would repeat any trick OF
his. This challenge restored good humol
among the crowd and Steen kept up the
fun Tor an hour, assisted by his wife. He
performed all his skllful tricks, in.
Guiding slate writing and the trans
mission of thought to his wife, who
Dlindfolded named every article held up by
people in the audience. stout woman
who drives lucrative trade as a medium
interrupted Steen quite often. but he turned
the laugh on her and defied her to publicly
repeat any Of the spiritualistic feats she
claims to do in private.
Inquiry at the box-office developed the
fact that Mr.. Steen had leased the Pavilion
to expose sprtualistic frauds. AS he hat
paid all the bills for his amusement he |:
out about $500 by the enterprise.