The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1913-03-12
HELD SEANCES OVER
BODY OF DEAD CHILD
Trying to Restore 1t to Life. Sheriff
Makes Arrest after Two Weeks Con-


Free, was Jailed last night by Sheriff
Rector to save him from violence at
the hands of a mob that had gathered
about a suburban home, incensed over
the mans attempt to restore life to an
infant that had died last Monday night.
There is another white man for whom
the sheriff Is searching, it being al
legged that he was the ring-leader In
the grewsome performance that had
gone on in this house continuously
since the death OF the child. 1t Is
one OF the most horrible cases in the
annals OF crime-if it can be so desig-
nated-that has come to light in this
county, and is so revolving in detail
that 1t Is hard for one to realize that
such an orgy could be enacted in
civilized country.
From what can be gathered OF the
affair seems that Free and another
holiness" fanatic, having heard of
the death of the little babe of James
Ballew, went to his home and told
the sorrowing mother and father that
they could restore life to the child.
The parents, crazed in grief and sway
ed by the pleadings OF the two char
latans, allowed the men to begin
their grewsome work. Every day and
night since the child died 1t Is alleged
these men have resorted to Ballew's
house and have held seances that sur
pass anything ever heard OF among
Orientals.
Late yesterday afternoon a citizen
of that section of the city called Sher-
if Rector over the telephone and re-
lated to him what had been going on
at this house, and advised him that
crowd Of some 200 people had father
ed about the place with the intention
OF taking the two charlatans off to the
woods and chastising them severely.
When Sheriff Rector arrived on the
scene one of the men had fed, but Free
was taken in charge. He protested
loudly against arrest, unless the Lord
commanded it From what Sheriff Rec
tor gathered, the man was practically
insane; and on the way to Jail loud
ly proclaimed that he was in the GUS
tody of the Lord.
A resident OF the section Of the
city whore this performance had been
going on telephoned The News last
night that the "holiness" preachers
had been working with the child's
body since the night it died, and had
so twisted and pulled at it's limbs
that they were perfectly timber and
the body blue from bruises. The
child was but five weeks old. This
party stated that some of the resi-
dents of the neighborhood had dubbed
one of the charlatans Daniel the
Prophet" and that they claimed that
they were Interpreters of the "un-
known tongue" lingo which religious
fanatics have been heard to use in
this vicinity for number of years.
1t seems that the matter went so
far that the more level-headed people
OF the community became so indig-
nant over the grewsome affair that
they resolved to use violence, If nee
essary, to drive the fakirs from the
community 1t was when crowd
estimated at some 200, gathered last
night about the house for this pur-
pose, someone informed the sheriff
OF what was about to take place.
Coroner Black went to the scene
with Sheriff Rector. He called in a
physician and had an examination of
the body made, the physician arriving
at the conclusion that the child died
Of natural causes
While investigating the matter last
night Sheriff Rector arrested two
white men, A. C. Roberts and w.
r. Scott, who had with them three
and one-half gallons of contrabrand
whiskey. Sheriff Rector states that
these men attended the seance over
the child's body on Wednesday night
and had come back last night for the
purpose OF attending another per-
formance. The men were placed in
the county jail and charges of trans
porting contraband whiskey entered
against them.