The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-06-27
Mexican Woman Leaves With
$500 in Cash and Jewels.
Awed Colony With Her Prom
ises-And Her Good, Looks.
PAID $3.50 TO CURE AN INVALID
Patient Left Hospital Against
OrderS-and Died.
Then Good Fairies Came and
Took Witch Away.

Sometimes the police run across
fraud schemes that are SO nearly ex-
tinct because of age that they appear
somewhat original. Augustin Alba
plain clothes man. is today looking
for a witch, an alleged witch, to wit
one Mexican woman who drifted into
Topeka a few weeks ago and recently
drifted out again carrying with her
jewelry and cash worth more than
$500, which size cleaned from the
Mexican colony here.
When the dusky-skinned voodoo
woman came here. Alba says, she pro-
feSsed to represent the last wCrd In
witchcraft, and cited to the awed
MeXcanS numerous and uncanny in
stances where she had cured both
men and women and little children
of suadry ills and ailments. AS for
missing people, all she needed was q
fee. 4 little fire and few pins tc bring
them Lack to their own homes and
firesides, providing, of course, they
were alive. The Great Beyond was.
perhaps, the only thing she didn't
claim to control and some Mexicans
reluctantly admit now that she did
mention having some sort of an in
fluence with Him.
Tried a Hospital Cure.
The woman possessed a fluent
tongue and was a locker as senoras
go. and she put over her line of
talk. To a Mexican, who had a very
dear friend in the Santa Fe hospital,
she confided that she could cure the
friend. The fee would be only SIS
down and SIS when the cure was
completed, the person engaging her
services to furnish all necessary
equipment which to begin with would
include only half dozen guns of the
best make to scare the bad witches
and spirits away and a few jewels,
such as earrings, watches and solid
gold rings, to entice the beautiful
good fairies and spirits. The Mexican
begged. bought, borrowed and stole
the first SIS payment and the equip
ment.
The woman set to work. She went
! into frances, worshiped fire, went
into the backyards and shot off the
guns and placed the rings-in her
trunk.
The Invalid Died.
One morning she made a bold play.
saying the invalid was on the road to
recovery. The Mexican friend could
go to the hospital and see for himself
and then come back and pay the 9TH
er SIS. The friend visited the hos
pital. AS chance would have At the
| invalid was feeling better and the re-
| naming charge was paid. A few days
afterward the invalid left the hospital
+, against the advice of the physicians
| at the institution and went to Kansas
| City and died.
| The man who had put up the money
was somewhat taken back and threat
ened to tell Alba" The witch
| laughed, saying that she stood in"
with Alba and the son of Montezuma
believed it.
The woman. feeling safe for the
time being, took interest in the case of
woman whose daughter had run
| away from home to get married. For
! $40 and several costly pieces of
jewelry and a few silk dresses she
| could bring the girl back home
! On the day that the runaway was
supposed to return the mother went
/ to the Santa Fe depot and stayed in
! the waiting room nearly twenty-four
hours waiting for the girl. No daugh-
ter came, and the mother sadly but
| spiritedly hied herself to the house
of the voodoo woman for vengeance
The voodoo woman was gone.
| Little Mexico awakened to the fact
then that it had been tipped" Au-
gustin Alba was called into consulta-
ton. When he heard that the woman
claimed she had a stand in" with
him he readily consented to capture
her. The plain clothes man resents
| intimatio-,s that he is crooked and
| seldom fails to "get the party when
he has such a personal interest in the
case. Alba already has the woman
located in another city. and expects to
| get her back in Topeka to face angry
Little Mexico at an early date.