SHE CAPTURED THE SPOOK
———
Dreadful Flesh and Blook Quali-
ties of a Spirit Snared by
Mrs. Peattie
An Invitation Accepted With Unexpected Alac-
rity—A Dramatic Exposure of a Spiritual-
istic Hoax—The "Spirit" Faints.
———
For several weeks past a peculiar woman
has been interesting some men and women
in this city by the materializations of the
dead.
From behind the cabinet where she sat
have appeared the white-robed forms of
dead babies, at the sight of which some
aching motherly hearts have been con-
forted. The old German mother of a well-
known dealer in old books came—so he
says—and called him by back in the father-
land. A number of young lawyers became
intensity interested. Some of them were
almost convinced. A great many people,
both men and women, were honestly
curious.
Last night Dr. Horace P. Holmes
invited a number of persons
to his rooms for the purpose
of witnessing those materializations. He
put up two dark curtains across the corner
of the room and placed a blue chair
within.
The company gathered. There were
about twenty-four present. Among those
whom curiosity brought were Dr. and Mrs.
Holmes. Mr. and Mrs. Cable, Mr. Charles
Eigutter, Mr. John l. Rodick, Mr. Henry
Shonfeld, Dr. Own, Mr. and Mrs. Robert
Peattie.
Mrs. Fritz, the medium, was a pleasant-
faced woman, about 40 years of age. She
has lived for twenty years in Madison,
Neb. She is a widow and said that she
had come to Omaha to make a better living
than she could make in her own town.
She has been conscious of her
power as a medium, so she says, since she
was 15 years of age.
It is not necessary to use the double neg-
ative as Mrs. Fritz uses it, nor to spell
"ought' with an r, atter her manner of
pronouncing the word. Nor is one called
upon to spell "sit' with an e, Substan-
tially, Mrs. Fritz said:
"The first time I was ever took with a
trance was at a Methodist meetin'. I said
to ma, 'I fee so queer—like I was going to
faint.' Then they begun to sing 'Come to
Jesus.' An' I wiut right off., I never
knowed anything fur twenty-four hours.
Since that time I've been subject to trances
right along. They take me rite in my
home-jus' while I'm setting' still. I nin't
had these materializations very long. I
ain't sure I ken do anything here tonight.
It's hard work producin' materializations."
Mrs. Fritz was interrupted here with the
question:
"If you are unconscious from the first to
the last of your trances, how is it that you
are able to make sufficient effort of the
will to produce tose materializations? If
it is such hard work how can you remain
unconscious?"
Mrs. Fritz shook her head mysteriously,
"I can't explain it," she said. "It's some
power outside of me, it makes me very
happy. I ain't no more afraid of death!"
Mrs. Fritz really couldn't say how far she
was from being afraid of death.
At last the company being all arrived,
and the yellow glow having died
out of the sky and given place
to the darkness which spirits love, the
shades were drawn, the mystic circle
formed, gentlemen and indies alternating
as much as possible, considering that the
number of men was in excess, and the elec-
trie lights were turned off. One faint glow
from a kerosene burner gave blurred light
—just enough to see the manifestations by.
There was one young woman with a white
waist who sat at the end of the
circle, a few inches from the
cabinet. As Mrs. Fritz seemed anx-
iuos to mingle the men and women as
much as possible, one of the indies present
was interested to observe that
she made no suggestion that this young
woman change her seat.
So the indy suggested that the young
woman wiht white waist move—which
she did, just one sent. The man with her
was perhaps her husband. At any rate, he
was her escort.
Mrs. Fritz went behind her curtains.
The company joined hands and sang-very
much out of time. It sang "Shall We
Gather at the River." "The Sweet Bye and
Bye," and "Nearer, My God, to Thee,"
Nobody seemed to know these songs very
well, and the words gave out very often,
But the tune went mercilessly on.
After a time the signing of Mrs, Fritz
censed.
Mr. Shonfeld confided to the company
that the name of her control was "Hen-
nery," by which it is supposed that
"Henry" was meant.
There was a pause. Chills went down
the backbones of some of the people.
"Are you there Henery?" said Mr. Shon-
feid. "Henry," in a voice singularly like
that of Mrs. Fritz, said he was, and that
there were anxious to appear. But it was
all so new—so new.
The medium was, he said, in a dead
trance. He invited the people to come and
see her. The people examined her in the
semi-darkness, lier body was rigid, her
arms straight out like a person in consul
slons, and there was no perceptible beating
of the pulse.
More singing, more waiting, more objus-
rations to "Henery." More assur-
ances on the part of "Hennery"
that he was doing the best he could.
At length with much apparent relluct-
ances a while shape with no apparent fent-
ures appeared before the curtains. The
hands clasped together trembled a little.
"Who is that?" asked the young woman
in the white waist. There was a whispered
reply. The young woman in the white
waist head itn and told the rest what it
was. After much more bad singing a tiny
white shape, a mero white streak about as
long as a gentleman's pocket handkerchief,
appeared before the curtain.
This, it appeared, was "Gretchen"—and
her found relative,—the young woman in
the white waist—conversed with her in
German.
Upon inquiry it was learned that
"Gretchen" was 4 years old when she died.
As her spirit showed her last night, she
would have been entitled to enter the dime
museum as the smallest Lilliputian since
Zarate died.
Other spirits appeared. The "Hen-
nery" said that a spirrit wanted to know if
her daughter was present.
"I think I must be that daughter." said
Mrs. Peattie, "is that my mother, 'Hen-
nery?'" It seemed disrespectful to call
him simply Henry.
"She says she is your mother," said
"Hennery." It took Mrs. Peattie's mother
a long time to overcome her shyness and
appear. At Mr. Shonfeid's suggestion
Mrs. Peattie appealed to her mother. She
said:
"Mother, mother, come, appear to me,"
There was some more talking. Mrs.
Peattie still begged for her amternal re-
lative. All sang the same tunes in differ-
ent keys, it had the desired effect,
Mrs. Peattie's mother came out—tall,
white, and headless, A whisper came
from her; she said:
"Come to me dear!"
Mrs. Peattie came in one leap across the
room, and clasped in her arms the portly
form of the medium, who, with an un-
earthly shriek sank in her chair.
"You've killed the medium." cried the
young woman in the white waist, but she
oried this only after she had received
something white from the frantic hands of
the medium and hidden it about herself.
Meanwhile Mrs. Peattie pulled the black
dress skirt down over the white petticoat
of the medium—for fear her modesty would
suffer. The medium protested that the
lights were not to be turned on. The
young woman in the white waist and her
escort clamorously protested that eh lights
were not to be turned on.
The medium did not die.
Mrs. Peattie's mother is eating three
hearty meals a day at her home a mile
south of the World's fair.
Thus ended the first lesson,
