Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-01-23

Prof. Crawford, OF San Francisco, told
me in 1892 that the year previous, while
ne was in New York city. he succeeded
in organizing a naturalization" seance
with all the conditions satisfactory and
that the result was decidedly startling.
The professor. a we'll known medical
man. had been investigating so called spir-
IL phenomena for some time and. after de-
tecting various frauds in this line prose-
cutting the perpetrators in the courts for
obtaining money under false pretenses,
and, incidentally, getting big scar on his
fine intellectual forehead, received in
melee which resulted from his Selling one
of the materialized Spirits in his arms,
while friend who was with him turned
up the lights and disclosed the buxom
medium playing the role of spook, very
naturally came to the conclusion that the
Undertaking. branch of the business was
a humbug.
However, just before leaving New York
in 1891, for his return to the Pacific coast,
he heard of medium of whom such as
founding things were related that he de-
termined to make one more trial to salts
~ himself that there was nothing in It,
This last test, however resulted in man
ner so different from what he anticipated
that the story is worth relating.
The seance was in a small private sitting
room belonging to a suite in the Fifth
Avenue hotel. The cabinet was formed by
pinning up a sheet in one corner of the
room, shutting of just enough of the
angle to hide chair with the medium in
II.
The medium came alone TO the hotel
was carefully searched for any parapher-
MALTA which might be used to deceive, was
placed in the chair, tied hand and foot
and body to the seat and legs of the chair
by means of small whipcord, while over
all the ligatures, wherever knotted, long
strips of surgec4fs plaster were wound
and securely glued A large plaster was,
likewise. pasted over the mediums mouth.
The hands, also, were secured by strips
of plaster. The doctors friend had pro-
cured a half a dozen fish hooks and lines
for use on the occasion. The hooks were
inserted in various portions of the medi-
ums clothing and the lines were then
brought out taut from behind the curtain
and held in the hand, so that the slightest
move on the part of the medium would be
betrayed by the straining or slackening Of
the cords.
When all was ready, the gas was turned
down, so that a species of twilight pre-
vailed in the room, objects, however, be-
ing readily distlnguishable. The time was
9 O'Clock at night. Present the medium,
Professor Crawford and his friend. The
one door of the room was solidly locked
and near it the two Investigators occupied
seats. The room itself was in the fourth
story of the hotel.
About three or four minutes after the
sheet in the corner had been adjusted, so
as to screen the medium, and while the
professor and his companion were watch
ing that portion of-the room and chuck
ling audibly over the igenuity of their
arrangements and the little likelihood OF
anything happening, their attention was
attracted by blue flames which started
from the floor just in front of them and
went pickering up towards the ceiling.
An instant after, two white robed figures
glided out from the sheeted corner.
MY wifer' gasped the professors COM
panion, as he fell in partial faint against
a near by sofa.
The professor himself, startled beyond
measure by the suddenness and unexpect-
edness of the apparitions, quickly turned
up the light sprang to the corner where
the medium was seated, tore down the
screening curtain and beheld a corpse oc-
cuping the chair. At least it seemed so
to the frightened investigator. The body