Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-01-13

eval reliance still
placed by a large percentage Of citizens
in magic. black art, wizardry and kim
dred mystic powers which today are
known politely as the occult" 'telepa-
thy or 'spiritualistic."
Butte city alone has poured hundreds
of thousands Of dollars into the lap of
every itinerant fortune-tellers whose ad-
vertisements were at n time accepted
by the newspapers. Today at least a
dozen fortune tellers are residing in Butte
and making at least q living. One man
in Butte with offices he has occupied
for % years., who never advertised, but
caters to a select clientele, is independ-
emily rich and owns a half interest in q
modern brick rooming o in the hear
Of Butte. Fortune tellers residing in
Butte and plying their profession drive
luxurious automobiles, bank their money
and some maintain winter homes in Cal
ifornia. But the hip hooray has gone
out Of the business. Only a couple OF
lines in the classified" ads or under
personal" advise the credulous where
they may be found. However that is suf-
hcient TO guide the seeker to the mystic,
and find him the will, as Saul sought
the witch of Endor or Macbeth invoked
the witches. l do not include the me-
dunn or the various forms OF spiritual
istic endeavor in this article. That is o
field in itself which has many devotees
and which may claim the distinction
and dignity of a religion. There are
many sincere believers in spiritualism,
who would spring to an angry defense, If
l essayed any expose of the 1.001 frauds
I have probed to the bottom.
OF the itinerant OWNERS who came and
went to Butte. ! knew most Of them per-
sonally and / met many of them in Cali
fornia in my various winter trips. They
worked" hard in Butte they told me,
but said that it was a rich field. There
was the gray haired and dignided Shell
don, retired finally at Pasadena; the
motherly little Madam Argyle, the gypsy
like Madam Montyne, and the Italian
Alvini, but the master of them all was
kellogg. Enviously the local fortune tel
Ter watched them come and go in lux
ury. Thirty-three years ago Madam OK
jenystein had her shingle hung out on
South Montana street and she had been
practicing her art in Butte many years
previous to that. With every personal
attribute of a witch in appearance she
some of Butte's capitalists had beaten a
track to her door and paid her princely
sums for advice. I wrote her obituary
when she died at the age of 80. and that
was 25 years ago. Only two days before
her death patrons came to her bedised
for advice and representation.
Kellog came to Butte about % years
ago and opened room in the Shodair
block. No shrinking wizard was he.
Handsome, Immediately groomed, with
gloves and stick and q change OF cloth
ing for every hour. He wore diamonds
as big as beans and one especially large
one in q ring. 1t was as big as q marble.
At night he established a personal
acquaintance with all the high-class ga
looms Of Butte n though he never
showed the effects Of drink, his mean
behring's were punctuated by the popping
OF champagne corks. He was a slight OF
hand worker Of the most extraordinary
ability. To illustrate, one evening he
passed a silver dollar into a champagne
bottle he had just emptied and left 1t
there. That was good advertising. Every
body present averred they saw him do 1t
While I saw the occurrence / still feel
confident he brought the bottle with the
dollar inside with him and simply
switched bottles. One does not readily
suspect that such things are planned IN
advance, or that when he casually told
a man he had never met before, hit
mothers maiden NAME, he might have
been working on that stunt for several
days. Dropping one glass through an
other Is an optical delusion. and calling
a coin along the bar to follow your hand
10 0OAC WACll u lIhn d1AA VIVA. oAs VIVA
every bartender was boosting kellogg.
S~leight-of-hand had and still has many
marvels boil on and of the stage anC
the best fortune tellers use it. Owen o.
Salt Lake, Brunk Of Kansas City. Ben.
nett, who taught 1t, entour, for $40
lesson; Joseph Jackson, the trick bicycle
rider Of the Orpheum circuit, Professor
Brooks Of Pantages, and Albini have al
demonstrated for me in private or TO
the entertainment OF myself n friends
But that is another story.
While in Butte, kellogg gave tips OF
the stock market for 800. On this iten
alone he had IL patrons. Ten OF thos
won on his n tip, one lost n KelloI
gave him back his money as he agreet
with all Of them II they lost. One TIL
had not had any action when he left. 4
family with whom / was well acquainted
paid Professor Kellog $500 to use his in
fuence SO hat a member OF the tamil.
would not marry q certain woman tn
wedding wa actually postponed for near
ly a year. The pair were afterward mar
ried and divorced. II there Is any pc
tent force in hypnotism, then Kellog wa
a hypnotist. Vie did all his tricks for m
Just to show me he could. / heard wha
was supposed to be the pencil writin
between the states and ! could fill page
with his various feats, some OF which
i (O0iA CARARAA RA0 AtOoS $500
couldn't. Magicians, and there Is q ma
, tional organization Of the best ones, d
, not often explain their work. Their tr.
umph Is to get a new trick their cor
temporaries do not and can not sc
, through. Once / counted 26 persons si1
ting patiently in Kellog's waiting room
. waiting to have the future pried open 6
$40 or more for q peek.
; AS Kellog's fame spread, out Of tow
: people began to come. A well-to-d
widower from the Wise river had falle
. In love with a Butte girl. AS he hs
: : promised his dying wife he would new
. marry again, he was in a terrible quar-
dry, simply because he didn't want
8 break his word. So he came to Kelle
= to see II the mystic could induce h
: wife's spirit to release him. This wa
r large order but Kellog thought 1t coul
be negotiated for 1000. The ranch'
had 81. 900 and the professor with al
Q parent reluctance compromised on th'
amount.
q The next evening the rancher met 7
d with his dead wife at midnight in . sui
d Of rooms in q building opposite Il
y pr,ttA free public library. Later -