The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-11-05
KYRLE gELLEw RELATES MIN
ING CAMPS EXPERIENCE
WITH sPIRITUALIsM.
Lost Diamond Reconnaissance to
Discover Precious Metal-How
the Mediums Found and
Cinched 1t.

z aH4 AtAAEA4a AA1G WIN N0NNNShNN -
owner OF several more or less pro
ductire gold mines. In fact, am no
the star OF this particular curtain
raiser al all. | am simply one OF III
rank and file Of Its actors.
The scene Is laid In Queensland, Aus
tralia. In parts il is q wild enough
place to-day. 1t was still wilder ont
day in the last century. when, tired
ehoked with dust and discouraged By
the endless journey from Sydney, | ar
rived in ihe little mining camp Of Ar
gy,e.
Ii vas not much unlike the camps O
the sort made immortal by your Amer
lean genius. Bret Harte. except thaf
red-shirted. shaggy men did not accosr
you with, Put 1t thar, pard." bat said
instead, "Not cheers Ow's yer bloom.
in elthe" People out there were MOI
held up By road agents" They were
stuck up by hushrangers," See the
difference
We were a rough but fairly straight
community in Argyle. A lucky strike
or the arrival Of pay day, OF course, in
volyed rlore or less spirituous conyiv-
iai;ty. and hands had a way at times OF
/ strayiag 70 pistol butts. But our local
vigilance committee bad undiluted
ideas Of honesty, and woe INTO the
man Who stole even a pinch of his
Baighbors gold dust It was short
sariit. long rope and a still life object
lesson for the rest of the camp.
So stringent did our ~vigilantes grow
that thefJs and hold-ups were as rare
as purple COWS. For months not a rob-
berry had occurred in the vicinity, and
tbs y~igilantes' office had become a sine
care.
Funny Folk" Reach Camp.
Such was our State of ethics when
the Funny Folk arrived.
Strictly speaking, the Funny Folk
were not funny at all. They did not
claim to be. In fact, I never saw men
with less sense of humor. There were
two of them. One, understood, nerv-
Gus, pathe,ically timid of the desper-
ate characters he had heard abounded
among us; the other tall and feshless
as a ~beanpole, and sharing in exagger-
ated form his comrades timorousness.
Both were ragged aud footsore. Their
garments were of semi-clerical cut,
their manner family suggestive OF
evangelists.
The smaller man, who led the party
of two, presented Hal Sundowne, our
head man" with a very greasy card
that read.
Professor Hiram 7. Spogg and as
sistant, s~piritualistic adopts, seances,
naturalization and occult readings
given"
AS Sundowne read this card aloud to
the assembled camp in front of the To-
cal tavern a howl of derisive laughter
arose.
Il guess you'll find all the spirits you
want here" drawled the landlord.
Good lively ones to practice on. Come
In If you like and have a drop"
hahn sOut cllI bulu lnG lIlllt DTO-
fessor, not without a certain mild dig
nifty, but we do not indulge in liauor,
my assistant and l. If our presence
here is distasteful, as l gather from
the derision that greets us, we will not
obtrude presence on you longer"
There was something so gentle, so
simple in the mans voice and manner
that a dozen voices rose in protest as
the two weary men prepared to depart.
Stop on here as long as you like"
growled Sundowne, "as long as you
don't bother us and behave yourselves
you're welcome enough
81 thank you, gentlemen" gratefully
replied the professor.
And so it was that the Funny Folk"
became a part of our life. Who first
gave them that nickname in that re-
gion of quick and incomprehensible
nicknames | do not know. But the
name stuck.
Day after day they remained with us,
unobtrusive, polite, harmless, frugal in
their lives. making no offer to thrust
their doctrines of spiritualism upon
anyone nor offering blatantly to give
so-called exhibitions" In that rough
community people usually attend
strictly TO their own business. 1t Is
too often unhealthful to NEEDLE with
others affairs to make the practice
popular. Yet l could see that a daily
increasing interest in the two strangers
and in the mysterious calling they fol-
lowed was taking hold of the m
Also a respect for men who could alb
jure drink, refuse to gamble and shud-
der at sound of a rough oath.
Search for Lost Diamond.
Yet, perhaps because ashamed to
evince open curiosity concerning a pro-
fession at which they had laughed so
bo%isterously at first, the camp did not
mention the word "spiritualism, nor
did 1t ask any of the countless queries
on the subject that must have risen
to their lips.
One evening as we were sitting out
side the tavern--the two Funny Folk
sitting near, but by themselves-Big
Sundowne gave q cry of dismay.
Ny big diamond" he yelled. Its
gone"
He was staring amazedly down at his
hairy hand. where the empty setting
Of a little finger ring betokened the
loss Of q stone that had been the
envy OF the camp.
at was there when I washed up for
support" he groaned. "It has fallen
out somewhere. I'll give ESQ to the
chap that finds It"
There was a general scattering Of
the crowd. Every inch Of the ada
cent ground was gone over by q hun.
AIRED willing hands. At the end of
twp hours, however, the chase was
abandoned. Had the stone been with
ia the marrow confines Of the camp It
HE- LIN ---