The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-04-05
SAVED HER HUSBAND.
>piritist Fraud Exposed Ia a Drsmsti,
Manner

>piritist Fraud Exposed IA n Dramatic
Manner
From the ST. Louis Republic.
That the spirits materialized by the
class of persons calling themselves
mediums are creatures of cheese cloth.
mosquito bar and a subdued green
light was proved most conclusively
last night at the home of George wal
tiers, No. 3205 California avenue.
medium, Mrs. NJ. J. Roberts. was ex-
posed there in a manner most artistic
and dramatic. She spent last night at
cell at the Fifth district station in
the company of her son and manager.
song-and-dance artist named j. c.
Jackman. who travels under the name
of Clements. when he is on the road. a
warrant will be applied. for against
them this morning on a charge of OBJ
tanning money under false pretenses.
There have been exposures and eX-
posures of spiritistic mediums. but Il Is
doubtful IL there ever was one i'm which
there Is weaved such an interesting
story as that which happened last
night. About a year ago George Wal
tiers. the man at whose home the
ance was held. submitted TO an opera
ton at the Marion Sims hospital for
appendicitis. which left him I'm a very
weak condition. About a month after
the operation was performed he be-
came acquainted with a janitor at the
hospital named Mahan. who was a
spiritist. Through Mahan he became
acquainted with Mrs. Roberts. who be-
gan at once TO make a convert of him.
In her endeavor she was eminently sue
cessful
Walters did not recover rapidly from
the effects of the ordeal he had under
gone at the hands of the surgeons and
Mrs. Roberts persuaded him that
through converse with the spirits she
was able to obtain for him medicine
which would grant him relief. He be-
gan taking her medicines. attending
seances and was in a short time one of
the leading lights in the rank of be-
levers who supported Mrs. Roberts.
The medicine she gave Walters had
a peculiar effect on him IL left him
dull and listless and seemed TO deaden
every faculty he possessed. He was I'm
bad way. and through the past win
ter has been getting worse. At the
present time his physical condition is
such that IL is with the greatest effort
he is able to work, and II was feared
by his friends and relatives that he
would lose his mind as well.
The wife of Mr.. Walters is one of the
bravest little women in st. Louis. She
saw that the Roberts woman was
working an evil influence on him and
resolved to break il. She had the medi-
cine examined by friend. who is a
physician. and he pronounced IL
strong narcotic poison. She noticed
that when she kept the medicine away
from him for a few days he seemed
brighter and more active. After every
other expedient had failed, she Joined
the circle of spiritists. pretended to be
a firm believer, and last week she in
vited Mrs. Roberts to give a seance at
her house on Sunday evening. when
she Matched a plot To prove Mrs. Rob
erts a fraud. She invited a number OF
her friends TO be present and explained
TO them her purpose. They tried 20
dissuade her at this time, for the poor
little woman is in an interesting condi-
ton. She insisted, however that II IL
was not done at once il could never be
done. She was afraid another success
full seance would place her husband be-
yond control Already she detected
signs OF a wandering mind that filled
her with alarm. Her friends agreed,
and last night the expose was made
according to programme. With her
own hands Mrs. Walters tore the mask
from the medium and then tried to
scratch her eyes out.
Among those who agreed TO assist
Mrs Walters in forcibly bringing TO
her husbands eyes the fact that he
was being worked by fal<ir were her
brother-in-law, G.. A. Colesworthy, No.
1920 st. Vincent avenue; +. Mccarthy
foreman of the Notwithstanding shoe
factory Joseph Bacon. an engineer.
and five or six others Mr.. Bacon's son
was also one of the party.
IL was announced that the seance
was to be held at s o'clock. and at that
hour the little house was well filled
with people. There were 16 i'm all i'm
the circle that formed around three
sides of the parlor, IL men and five
women. Mrs Walters took a seat near
the cabinet. She was about the coolest
and most confident of all the plotters
assembled. Mr.. Walters busted himself
in helping young Jackman fix up the
cabinet. arrange the chairs and do the
other work necessary TO a real seance.
In one corner Of the room the cabinet
was placed.
When the company was seated. Mrs.
Roberts. who had been secluded up to
this time, came in. She is spare
woman Of medium height. with pierre
ing gray eyes. hair streaked with gray
and a healthy complexion. Her man
ner of speaking is soft and mild, but
she occasionally misses a word, and
her conversation shows generally that
she knows she is In a business that
might earn her arrest at any time. She
was attired in a gray gown, the waist
OF which Is made TO hang very loose at
the bust. Before she got out OF the
house the people present saw a reason
for this.
She stood by the cabinet and looked
carefully at everyone i'm the audience
before she began to talk. She began
by requesting that all present antago-
nistic TO the beliefs OF the spiritists
should leave the room. She said IL
anyone in the circle was an unbeliever
the spirits were hard 10 produce.
Everybody in the room. including the
conspirators. looked as solemn and anX-
ious TO be converted as they could.
and the brave little wife rocked back
and forth in a big chair. seemingly as
happy as a child. Her husband sat
opposite her. next to the wife Of Jack
man. who IL an actress. but assists her
husband and mother-in-law IN their
seances when she is not on the road
She sat next the cabinet. so near she