Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-04-25

his Inquiries into these and other mysteri-
Gus things. Tn book. The Psychic Rid
de- has been recently Issued from the
press Of the Funk E. Wagnals Ompany
DIR. Funk is editor-in-chief of the Stand
ard dictionary and author of several
books.
Several years g al agreement was made
between DR.. Richard Hodgson and Prof.
James Fl. Hyslop. scientific Investigators
OF spiritualistic phenomena, that which
ever of them should die first he would
make every effort, II such q thing was
possible. to communicate with the other.
Prof. Hyslop declares that he has talked
with the spirit of DR.. Hodgson through the
agency OF Mrs. Piper. a medium. 1t was
recently published everywhere that DIR.
Funk. too. had talked with the spirit Of
DIR. Hodgson.
In his book DR.. Funk denies this. He
tells OF his different sittings with Mrs.
Piper when she went into q trance and
when 1t was purported that DIR. Holgson
spoke through her, but DIR. Funk says ne
does not know whether 1t wa DIR. Hodg-
son speaking or not.
"lts Largely Fraud" Says Dr.. Funk
Or. Funk sums up all of his investiga-
tions as follows:
What are called spiritualistic manifes-
tatlons are. so far as my experience goes.
IN large part due to fraud and in large
part are traceabie to certain psychic pow
ers within us-powers which are more or
less active but which psychologists have
not az yet clearly defined, in some cases
not even really classifed-some, possibly,
"nich they nave not as yet recognized.
aut aside from these there are. in my
Judsment, whole classes of phenomena
which point clearly to the operation of in
teillgent forces that exist outside of what
we know as human bodies.
These foreign forces manifest at times
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS so. This intel
liEence is a chief element in the psychic
problem or problems to be solved.
Whence and what is this intelligence?
MY dehnltlon OF a sptritualist Is one who
holds as true these two propositions:
u. That intellisences who are foreign to
us. that is. who reside beyond our five
senses. can and do communicate through
the physical sense organs with those-or
With some of thuse-wnu are living In the
p That these intelligcrces can and do
Identity themselves as those who once
lived in the flesh.
OF these TWO propositions. As 10 the sec
Ohd, ! have seen no sufficient reason for
beiievins II true. TO its acceptance as sci
formidable difficulties.
In his book DR.. Funk gives accounts of
many phenomena. some of which he saw.
others or which We're related to him.
Among the most mysterious things which
ne describes are the doings of Mrs. r..
Blake. of Bradrick. o.. who has been "A
"'i'VS W. w III lOT INV wears. Ine
account which DR.. Funk gives was writ
ten by David Abbott. of Nebraska. who.
with George w. Ciawson. of Kansas CITY.
and Prof. Hyslop, visited her last Septem-
her.
Mrs. Blake is old and feeble. She is the
wife OF a humble farmer and is the moth
err of fifteen children. In all her life she
was never more than twelve miles distant
from her birth place. the obscure little viii
lage or Braderick In which she lives. This
village IL without a railroad. 1t is reached
by a ferry across the Ohio river from
Huntington. w. Va.
David Abbott. who wrote tho account
incorporated into his book by DIR. Funk, is
a magician who has A wide reputation in
psychic c!rcies az one who has made a
life study of the tricks OF the professional
spirit medium. Mr.. Abbott says:
determined TO make an investigation on
sucn iines as would entirely remove the
POSSIBILITY OF any kind of trickery being
employed: i will say, for such readers AZ
may not know, that | am a performer of
Ihe tricks used by the hundreds of spiri,
mediums thar travel over the land. i am
.hotoueniy familiar with the various
systems, by which they gain the infor-
NATION that they give their subjects. and
u determined to entirely remove III. pos
s.lbllity of anything Of that kind being used
IN lhls case; was known TO no one In
.t INA, pa narl IT,, OF The country with The exocp-
lan'e and residence. He knew nothing Of
any of my relatives, nor of the ,oT,s
where they resided.
George w. Clawson of Kansas CITY. NO.
who, like myself. is a member OF iho
American Society for Psychical Rescarcl.
80 with the exception tina, 1t was within
100 miles of CincinnatD until two days be-
i ihrs starting ! then merely wrote him
no names. i did not tell him The lasdv.s
name or town until we arrived in Hunt
'hg, ,si h ana had started for her village.
Hys!op in New York when we were TO
meet in Huntington. went by way of
kansas City where Mr.. Ciawson was. /
wilson an' ne ''a s0--'he name was {. E.
Mr.; Clawson registered at the F~loren,:ne
hotel under the pame OF G. T.. Wilson. and
] Introduced him to Mr.. Y under thai
name. IL was the first time | had me-: Mr..
\. and as he had only known me since
thp was certain thai even he was in
me dark as to my history. I had care
fully instructed Mr.. Clawson in the meth
Cd OF asking questions so as TO reveal no
between lines. AS he was an
attorney ne proved an apt pupil and was
Boon certain | need have no fears on that
score. i was present at all of the sittings
ana heard every word. SO that any infor-
obtained by some means outside of the
ordinary channels.
Mr.. Abbott then gives a long account of
several sittings that he and his friend MIR.
Clawson. and later DIR. Hyslop. had with
his woman. He says. I'VE found the
woman sitting by her window in a willow
rocker with her crutches by her side"
She hesitated at first to give Mr.. Abbott
and his friends sittings because of her
feeble condition.. having just recovered
from a six weeks illness. The first three
Sittings were held in Mrs. Blake's home
and the last one was given across tho river
at the office of MIR. X, where they had
taken Mrs. Blake to have a photograph
taken. He says that in the sittings Mrs.
Blake used "A trumpet. one end of which
he himself or MIR. Clawson would nut to