Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-06-18
OUR SUPERSTITIOUs AGE.

The croduIIty Of some people iu this
age Of schools and general education
IS almost beyond belief Il cannot he
sscouuted FOR except on the supposiuon
that many people are but poorly
equipped intellectually. or that they
are too inioIeut 20 exercise such rcss-
oning faculties as they may have been
endowed with. a curious Illustration
Of tho case with which some people
are deceived. is furnished IN the trial
m q chsrlatan of Baltimore calling
himself a doctor This fellow must
have made q fortune by taking adyan-
tagc NJ The credu.,ty and Uporsti,ions
Of his fe.low.men. and the number ~
persons thus afflicted must be legion:
otherwise the traffic would not pay.
According 90 the testimony tho fellow
issued pamphlets On which he gave his
clients advise on various subjects.
Here r. one Of HIS recipes for the sum-
moning n owl spirits. in cdse any
body desired TO make their acquaint-
ance
Place an egg before the Are and
watch Il without moving or uttering
2 sound until nlghifall. Then the egk
will sweat blood. and when the spooky
word 'abracadabra' Is uttered a tenn
pest viii rise and an the evil spirits
which were ever heard OF since the
world began viii appear"
A charm warranted to arouse the
tender passion n love consisted Of
two roots, which the dupe that bought
them was directed 10 place in running
water while repeating a given form
ula.
Finding treasures was one Of the
spccialties Of This fraud At his die
tation one witness had written a letter
10 an inquirer alleging that he had
located sac with thc ala N the spirits
The letter said I'm part.
you ask me n ! saw anything
when / was digging w the chest n
gold. / must confess that ] did see
some awful looking sights \ large
black dog appeared before mo nearly
as large as COW. also big white
horse. with two heads and fire seemed
10 be flying out OF his mouth. also
saw several spirits appear. and Il
Numbered and lghtencd most fu-
riously. The wind seemed 10 blow az
the rate of q mile "a minute"
A description was added " a great
black cat with two big balls OF hre
for eyes" which spoke 10 the writer
Of the letter saying Fear not am
a friend. ] am the spirit that con-
trolls the earth
Another witness. testified that she
had studied me directions very care
fully ana followed them 10 the letter.
but without discovering a treasure. She
had dug On The garden, because" she
said, "the spirits whispered IN my ears
10 hunt there She also wore one ~
The breastplatcs. (which was stuffed
with prayers and powders and charged
with magic solar fluid" AZ last she
sent Tor priest. She said. who anoint-
81 her and destroyed the brcsstplate.
This vitness was asked:
"Q-Did sea see the snirites
"A.-N0 but J heard them nearly
an The time until The action ~ the
priest killed them.
Odd the spirits lead Won % tho
probable treasure
"A.-They led me to the garden, where
] was 10 search
One would he Justified IN refusing 10
credit the statement that there are
persons In this country who can b.
the dupes Of such frauds. hut there
must be- many SUCH n is claimed
that the monthly man expenses of that
oharlatan amounted 90 uo less than
$1,000 In one month, u was alleged
by the prosecution, no lees than 200
people sent locks Of hair and dollar
bills for "l.fo readings which. by a
singular coincidence, proved 90 Do pre-
cisely similar in au cases There were
nearly 200 witnesses from thir,y-seyeu
States of the Union 90 testify 90 The
trial
II seems 90 b. aG established rule
that as the true religious conceptions
a. the relations between me visible