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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/35537-h.zip b/35537-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d8cceb5 --- /dev/null +++ b/35537-h.zip diff --git a/35537-h/35537-h.htm b/35537-h/35537-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cd613b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/35537-h/35537-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1377 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Do the Dead Return? + </title> + + <style type="text/css"> + + p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em;} + + body {margin-left: 12%; margin-right: 12%;} + + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right; font-style: normal;} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center; clear: both;} + + hr {width: 33%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; clear: both;} + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + .huge {font-size: 150%} + .big {font-size: 125%} + + .blockquot {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + + .right {text-align: right;} + .center {text-align: center;} + + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + a:link {color:#0000ff; text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:#6633cc; text-decoration:none} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Do the Dead Return?, by Anonymous + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Do the Dead Return? + A True Story of Startling Seances in San Francisco + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: March 10, 2011 [EBook #35537] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DO THE DEAD RETURN? *** + + + + +Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<p class="center"><i>Price, 50 cents</i></p> +<p> </p> +<p class="center"><span class="huge">Do the Dead Return?</span></p> +<p> </p> +<p class="center"><span class="big">A Startling Story from Life</span></p> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/deco.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p> </p> +<p class="center">Crown Publishing Company<br />San Francisco<br />1900</p> + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/frontis.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="center"><small>DR. LOUIS SCHLESINGER.</small></p> +<p> </p><p> </p> + +<p class="center"><span class="huge">DO THE DEAD RETURN?</span></p> +<p> </p> +<p class="center">A TRUE STORY<br /><small>OF STARTLING SEANCES<br />IN SAN FRANCISCO</small></p> +<p> </p> +<p class="center"><i>NOTICE</i><br /> +<i>This work is copyrighted. Editors are warned<br />not to make unlawful abridgments.</i></p> +<p> </p> +<p class="center">CROWN PUBLISHING COMPANY<br />SAN FRANCISCO<br />1900</p> + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<p class="center">COPYRIGHT, 1900<br />BY<br />CROWN PUBLISHING CO.</p> + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<h2>TABLE OF CONTENTS.</h2> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table"> +<tr><td> </td><td align="right"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> +<tr><td><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr> +<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Author’s Story</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr> +<tr><td><span class="smcap">The “Examiner” Seance</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td></tr> +<tr><td><span class="smcap">Some Startling Daylight Seances</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr> +<tr><td><span class="smcap">Character of the Narrators</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td></tr></table> + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> +<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2> + +<p>Before this little volume is read a few words of explanation should be +carefully weighed, for otherwise the reader might go away with many false +impressions.</p> + +<p>The author desires to say that every word here printed is absolutely and +literally true. Nothing has been added or suppressed, but the entire truth +has been expressed, usually in the exact language of the distinguished +gentlemen whose narratives make the bulk of the book. In most instances +the witnesses summoned wrote their accounts with their own hands, and the +original manuscripts are still preserved.</p> + +<p>Though many years have passed since the events recorded herein +transpired,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> all who witnessed the phenomena are still alive, and all are +well-known and reputable citizens of San Francisco. It was only a few days +ago that the author met Captain W. S. Barnes, who was District Attorney of +the City and County of San Francisco in 1893 (the date of the occurrences +with which the book deals), and he said: “What I saw in the presence of +the medium has puzzled me all these years. I can truthfully say that the +things that took place at Mayor Ellert’s office are the most wonderful +events that I have ever come upon. They are absolutely beyond my +understanding.”</p> + +<p>The circumstances with which the narrative deals are an important +contribution to the history of psychic research, and they are presented +for what they are worth while the witnesses and actors in the story are +alive.</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;"><span class="smcap">The Author.</span></span></p> + +<p><i>San Francisco, September, 1900.</i></p> + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> +<h3>THE AUTHOR’S STORY.</h3> + +<p>In the autumn of 1891, the author of this narrative was business manager +of the Modesto (California) <i>Daily News</i>. One afternoon while he was +engaged in an important consultation with the late Senator J. D. Spencer, +one of the owners of the <i>News</i>, there was a knock at the door of the +editorial rooms. In a twinkling an old gentleman entered; he was a +venerable-looking, long-bearded man, with Hebraic features.</p> + +<p>Before Senator Spencer and I could say, “Good day, sir!” the old man said +something like this: “Gentlemen, I am Dr. Louis Schlesinger, the famous +Spiritualist medium. It is well known that I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> can talk with the good +angels, and I desire to have a series of seances here in Modesto.”</p> + +<p>“Our advertising columns are open,” I said, “and we shall be pleased to +announce your meetings at the regular rates.”</p> + +<p>“I have no money to spare,” he replied; “but I think you will say +something about me when I show you that man lives after death.”</p> + +<p>The Senator whispered to me (on discovering that the old gentleman was +quite deaf), “I guess he’s escaped from the Stockton Lunatic Asylum.”</p> + +<p>Stockton was but twenty miles away, and I assented, but said, “Suppose we +sound him before we send for an officer.”</p> + +<p>So we agreed to give Dr. Schlesinger an opportunity to convince us that he +was a man of rare endowments, as he pretended to be.</p> + +<p>Coming to the point, it was arranged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> that the Senator should retire to +the press-room while I remained with the aged suspect.</p> + +<p>“Take eight or ten slips of paper,” said Dr. Schlesinger, “and write one +name on each—some of living, some of dead persons; and don’t tell me or +anybody on earth what names you have written on the slips. Roll them into +little pellets—and come back here with your mind at rest, for I am not +insane, as you think.”</p> + +<p>We were somewhat surprised, for both were certain that the old gentleman +could not have heard Senator Spencer’s whispered doubt concerning our +visitor’s sanity.</p> + +<p>In a few minutes Senator Spencer returned, bearing a number of paper +pellets which he held in his clenched right hand.</p> + +<p>Doors were closed and a table was rolled to the center of the room. Dr. +Schlesinger closed his eyes and appeared to fall into a light slumber. At +once there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> were many distinct raps on the table, as if some one had +thumped upon it with a finger. This was rather singular, as we could see +that our visitor’s hands in no manner touched the table.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the old man opened his eyes and said: “Gentlemen, are you +satisfied that I do not know any of the names on those papers?”</p> + +<p>As Senator Spencer was as truthful and honorable a man as ever lived, one +whose word was better than most men’s bonds, I replied: “I am sure you +have not seen the names and that you do not know one of them.”</p> + +<p>“And some of the names are not known to anybody in California,” added the +Senator.</p> + +<p>“Then I’ll have to show you that I can talk with the spirits of the +departed,” said Dr. Schlesinger.</p> + +<p>Without further delay he said: “I see the spirit of your mother standing +over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> you. She calls you Dillard, which is your middle name, and she says +she died in Kansas City, and was buried in the old cemetery at Westport. +Am I right?”</p> + +<p>Senator Spencer turned pale and said: “That is absolutely correct. Which +one of the pellets bears her name?”</p> + +<p>He then held the bits of paper between his right finger and thumb, and +when he had picked up three or four of them, the medium said, “That is the +one which contains your mother’s maiden name.”</p> + +<p>I have now forgotten the maiden name of the Senator’s mother, though I +think it was Dillard. The answer, however, was correct.</p> + +<p>Next, without asking me to write anything down, the medium thus addressed +me: “I see the spirit of your mother’s mother. Her name was Eliza Johnson, +and she calls you ‘my son,’ and says, ‘Tell Anne that immortality is the +glorious truth of human life.’ Anne was the name of her eldest child—your +mother.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>If Senator Spencer was convinced that Dr. Schlesinger had told him the +truth, I had the same kind of conviction in my case; for every word +uttered was correct. I have never understood how this old man came to the +results announced, nor have I ever seen any one who was able to explain +his power.</p> + +<p>With the memory of my Modesto experiences fresh in mind, I decided, when I +came upon Dr. Schlesinger in San Francisco, in 1893, to institute a series +of daylight seances in the presence of some of the most distinguished +citizens of San Francisco. As I was then a writer of the San Francisco +<i>Daily Examiner</i> staff I found rare opportunities for enlisting the men +desired in the experiments. I was not then, nor am I now, in any manner +affiliated with Spiritualists, nor do I set forth the facts of this +narrative for the purpose of making converts to any theory of mind or +matter.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>The manuscript from which this work is printed was written at the time of +the matters recorded, on an order from the <i>Examiner</i>. Owing to the fact +that Mayor Ellert afterwards regretted that he had allowed a seance to be +held in his office, the <i>Examiner</i> was induced to suppress the story, +which now appears in detail for the first time. It should be borne in mind +that all that follows was written at the time of the events described.</p> + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> +<h3>THE “EXAMINER” SEANCE.</h3> + +<p>That the reader may fully understand the origin of the experiments +recorded in the narrative that follows, it is necessary to state again +that I was a writer for the <i>Examiner</i> in the autumn of 1893, and that I +was on the alert for what newspaper men call “stories,” or special +articles—things a little outside of the ordinary run of news.</p> + +<p>Ambitious to arrange something of unusual interest, I approached Mr. +Hearst and S. S. Chamberlain, who were in charge of the news department of +the paper. I told them what I had seen Dr. Schlesinger do in Modesto, and +outlined the plans that were afterwards carried <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>out—seances at the +office of Mayor Ellert and the Chief of Police, in the presence of +prominent citizens. First, however, it was necessary for the editors to +see the medium at their offices; for they feared there would be some +failure, and that the citizens invited would be disgusted because of their +loss of time in useless experiments.</p> + +<p>For these reasons, therefore, the first sittings were at the editorial +offices of the <i>Examiner</i>, where the editors were as much puzzled as +anybody else. They were at once convinced that, however he performed his +feats, Dr. Schlesinger was at least not a bungling master of the black +art. Several intelligent observers were present, among them one or two of +the brightest newspaper men in the city. The experiments were not only +carefully noted, but they were viewed with grave suspicion. They were, +however, wholly informal and merely preliminary to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> more important and +prolonged seances that followed at the office of the Mayor of the city, +and later at the office of and in the presence of the city’s Chief of +Police. A few facts concerning the occurrences at the <i>Examiner</i> office +are given that the reader may have the full benefit of the story.</p> + +<p>One of the investigators (Managing Editor A. B. Henderson) wrote a number +of names on slips of paper, before Dr. Schlesinger arrived. They were not +seen or known to any one save the person that prepared them, and the slips +on which they were written were carefully folded and clasped in a bundle, +by a rubber band or elastic. Great pains was taken by Mr. Henderson to +prevent the medium from handling or seeing the slips. Without seeing the +writing, Dr. Schlesinger at once gave the names correctly. One of them was +that of Thaddeus Stevens, the eminent Pennsylvanian; and when the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> folded +slip on which his name was written was touched by Mr. Henderson, the +medium said: “That is the name of Thaddeus Stevens, who knew you well. He +calls you Alexander, and sends you his love.”</p> + +<p>Then the name of the sitter’s deceased uncle was properly announced, +though it had not been written on any of the slips. Correct information +was also given concerning the uncle’s religion while “in the flesh.”</p> + +<p>S. S. Chamberlain, now Managing Editor of the Philadelphia <i>North +American</i>, (then News Editor of the <i>Examiner</i>) was one of the +investigators. He wrote down, on separate slips of paper, the names of +many living and dead persons, but, contrary to the medium’s request, he +did not write the names of persons he had ever known. In a few moments Dr. +Schlesinger read the names correctly while the slips were beyond his +reach, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> firmly clasped in Chamberlain’s hand. They were of such +persons as John Ruskin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Shakespeare, Longfellow, etc.</p> + +<p>A faithful report of all that occurred was submitted to the managing +editor of the paper, who at once decided that a series of similar +experiments, conducted at the office of the Mayor of the city and others, +in broad daylight, would make the basis for some interesting Sunday +specials. Under his instructions I arranged the seances, and was present +at all of them. I subsequently wrote a faithful account of what occurred, +but the articles were rejected by the editor of the Sunday <i>Examiner</i> for +personal reasons. This volume embraces the substance of what was then +prepared.</p> + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> +<h3>SOME STARTLING DAYLIGHT SEANCES.</h3> + +<p>It was on September 4, 1893, that a number of the most prominent citizens +of San Francisco held a daylight seance (at high noon) at the office of +Mayor Ellert. The company had assembled in response to the <i>Examiner’s</i> +invitation, and all of the witnesses had agreed in advance to observe +everything closely and write an absolutely fair account of what they saw, +adding any theory or explanation that seemed sufficient to account for the +phenomena.</p> + +<p>It is as well to say that is was a mirthful assembly at the outset, and +the newspaper man who had arranged for the experiments was the butt of +many little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> jokes. The idea that the medium could do anything more than a +little clever juggling seemed farthest from anybody’s thoughts.</p> + +<p>Dr. Louis Schlesinger, then a man about sixty-one years of age, was the +spiritualist medium who said he could convince all present that the dead +return, and that he could hold communion with the living. The following +spectators were present, and the written reports of some of them are given +in full in the subjoined narrative: Mayor Levi R. Ellert, District +Attorney W. S. Barnes, President Theodore F. Bonnet, of the San Francisco +Press Club, Ex-President Grant Carpenter, of the same club, H. H. +McCloskey, then a State Central Committeeman of the Republican party, and +many other casual observers.</p> + +<p>At another seance Chief of Police Crowley, Judge Robert Ferral, Dr. R. E. +Bunker, and Attorney Charles L. Patton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> were the principal investigators, +though Captain Wright and many others saw all that was done. At this +seance the observations were conducted under the test conditions arranged +by Chief Crowley, Dr. Bunker, and Attorney Patton.</p> + +<p>The reader should satisfy himself concerning the mental and moral +qualifications of all the witnesses named by glancing at the biographical +sketches elsewhere in this volume.</p> + +<p>At the Mayor’s office Dr. Schlesinger was announced as a resident of No. 1 +Polk Street. He said he knew none of the committee, and nobody present +except the <i>Examiner’s</i> representative knew the Doctor.<small><a name="f1.1" id="f1.1" href="#f1">[1]</a></small></p> + +<p>“I can converse with the spirits of your deceased friends,” said the +medium, “and I am giving my life to this work. I gave up a great tea +business to teach my fellow men that life does not end at the grave.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> My +home is constantly filled with bands of angels from the celestial depths, +but I am able to call a few spirits around any box, table, or desk. I want +you to satisfy yourself that all that is done here is absolutely honest.”</p> + +<p>Before proceeding further the Doctor produced a testimonial from Editor +Will S. Green, of the Colusa <i>Sun</i> (afterwards State Treasurer), which +explained that Dr. Schlesinger’s performances could not be explained on +the theory of trickery. A clipping from the <i>Sun</i> of September 5, 1890, +gave an account of matters that had puzzled the people of Colusa. The +investigations began, therefore, with a great deal of interest, and before +their conclusion the old Doctor had greatly puzzled all present. They +could not tell whether it was some psychic power by which he operated, or +whether they had been basely deceived.</p> + +<p>At his own request, Dr. Schlesinger was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> not introduced to any of the +persons present. He soon called their names, however, and said they were +given to him by the spirits in the raps that all could hear on the desk.</p> + +<p>The Doctor’s favorite method of communicating startling information was to +have the sitters write, before they came into his presence, fifteen or +twenty names of living and dead friends. Each name being on a separate +piece of paper, the visitors were requested to fold each slip tightly, so +as to preclude any possibility of its being read by the medium. This done, +the slips, all of equal size, were put into a hat and thoroughly shuffled. +The Doctor would then say: “Pick out any slip yourself, and I will read it +without looking and before you yourself know what the name is.” There +would then be raps, and in a few seconds the Doctor would give the name +correctly. These names were written and folded in a room apart from the +Doctor.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>“Granting that there is such a thing as mind-reading,” said Chief Crowley, +“I do not think mind-reading would account for what was done for me, +because he read things that were not in my mind, telling me my mother’s +maiden name and where she died.”</p> + +<p>Dr. Schlesinger calls his gift clairaudient mediumship, and says his right +ear is deaf to all terrestrial sounds, but quickened, as with a sixth +sense, for communications from the other world. He says he can both see +and hear spirits, and that bands of them encircle him, and at times, in +the presence of some peculiarly “fit” visitors, manifest themselves with +great clearness and power. To prove that the sounds he hears are celestial +voices, he does many things which baffle those who witness the strange +phenomena which abound in his presence wherever he goes.</p> + +<p>It was with much difficulty that those who participated in these seances +and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> whose accounts of what they saw are subjoined, were induced to give +the medium a hearing. Chief Crowley was particularly opposed to giving +serious attention to what he denounced as “trickery and sleight of hand,” +and afterwards called “marvelous and beyond power of explanation.” Finally +he wrote down a number of names on separate slips, as explained in the +foregoing, and among those names appeared that of his mother—her maiden +name. The medium at once told the Chief which pellet contained his +mother’s name, then read it, and in a few moments told where she died and +where she was buried.</p> + +<p>A few minutes later the aged Doctor said: “The spirit of Detective Hutton, +who died a violent death, hovers near you.”</p> + +<p>The medium then spoke of matters that were known to nobody but Chief +Crowley and the dead detective. This greatly puzzled the Chief, who was +later deeply<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> affected over purported messages from a son and others who +had been dear to him in life.</p> + +<p>Speaking of the purported message from his dead mother the Chief said: “I +cannot explain this, which is marvelous, for I do not believe a human +being in San Francisco knew that my mother’s maiden name was Elizabeth +McCarthy, that she died in New Jersey and was buried in New York.”</p> + +<p>Chief Crowley then wrote down a list of years, among them the year of his +mother’s death. Dr. Schlesinger pointed to the year 1833 as that of her +death.</p> + +<p>“Correct!” replied Chief Crowley; whereupon the medium said, “and the name +of your father, Patrick J. Crowley, is also here, and he comes with your +son Lewis, who has not been dead long.”</p> + +<p>The Chief thought it the most wonderful performance he had ever seen. “He +does marvelous and inexplicable things,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> said the Chief, “and I’ll admit +I cannot tell how it is done. While I cannot believe he converses with +spirits, I am puzzled. I want to see him again and look into the matter +further.”</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img27.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="center"><small>EX-CHIEF OF POLICE P. CROWLEY.</small></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>The experiments with Mayor L. R. Ellert, who sprang from his chair and +positively declined to be thrown into a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> trance condition when the doctor +requested him thus to visit the spirit world, were fully as startling as +those with Chief Crowley.</p> + +<p>Mayor Ellert took a chair in front of his official table, which had thus +been dedicated to spiritual uses, and asked if any spirits desired to +communicate with him, whereupon the medium grasped his Honor’s hands and +the line of communication with the spirits was declared fully established. +Quite distinct raps were then heard on the table, and Dr. Schlesinger +looked at the Mayor and said: “You are a medium yourself, sir! My, what a +power!”</p> + +<p>The Mayor was urged “to sit alone often and be patient,” and was told that +he could develop much power by such a course.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img29.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="center"><small>HON. L. R. ELLERT.</small></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>Mayor Ellert then wrote down ten of fifteen names of living and dead +friends, on separate slips of paper. He refused<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> to use the paper handed +him by Dr. Schlesinger, but cut up an official letter head which lay on +his own desk. As he began to write the names, the medium stepped away and +engaged in conversation with District Attorney Barnes and Mr. Bonnet at +the other side of the room, so that he could not see what Mayor Ellert +wrote. The Mayor carefully folded the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> slips, put them in a hat, and +shuffled them. He then brought one forth from the hatful.</p> + +<p>“That’s a dead one,” said Dr. Schlesinger. “Open it and see whether I am +correct; but don’t let me see it.”</p> + +<p>The Mayor obeyed the request, and answered, “Yes, this is a dead person’s +name!”</p> + +<p>“Don’t let me see it,” said the mysterious visitor, “and I’ll tell you +what it is,” whereupon he at once correctly pronounced the name of the +Mayor’s sister, which was not Ellert.</p> + +<p>The Mayor then announced that he was unable to explain the phenomena. He +watched the medium’s movements and convinced himself that there had been +no juggling in the shuffle, and said that his visitor out-Hermanned +Hermann. He would leave the solution of the phenomena to others learned in +the arts of divination.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img31.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="center"><small>CHARLES L. PATTON.</small></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>The outcome of the seances and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> story of what occurred may best be +told by those who were present, and the subjoined versions are given:—</p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="center">ATTORNEY PATTON’S STORY.</p> + +<p>“I desire to preface what I have to say by remarking that while I have +never been nor am I now a spiritualist, nor have I ever before been +present at the performance of a medium, yet what I saw of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> Dr. +Schlesinger’s so-called manifestations from the spirit world is entirely +inexplicable to me upon any scientific hypothesis with which I am +familiar; yet at the same time I must admit that I cannot explain the +phenomena exhibited upon any theory of legerdemain or sleight of hand +within my knowledge. Therefore, I merely state that I have seen, or +seemingly seen, and heard the following remarkable things, during the +sitting or seance with Dr. Schlesinger, leaving it to others more +competent than I to determine whether they are the manifestations of some +psychic force at present unadmitted by scientists or the legerdemain of a +sleight-of-hand performer.</p> + +<p>“The facts are as follows: At the request of the Doctor, I wrote eight or +ten names of different persons on as many slips of paper, two of the +number being dead, and folded the slips in such a manner that the Doctor +could not read<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> them; and so far as I can judge, the Doctor could not have +had any method of knowing what names I wrote. I then placed the folded +papers in a hat, and one of the other gentlemen present drew them out one +by one. The Doctor, as each paper was drawn out, asked some question, such +as ‘Guide, is this the one dead?’ Finally, after all the papers had been +held up and the questions asked, some raps on the table, seeming to have +indicated according to the Doctor that the persons whose names were on two +of the slips were dead, I, on examination, found that he was correct in +his judgment. He then without (so far as I could see) having had any +opportunity to have seen the names, desired me to place the slips with the +names on in my pocket. Presently he said: ‘I see two faces over your +shoulder; the name of one is J. B. The other says: “I am glad you have +commemorated my name by writing it here,” the name is V.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> C.;’ the Doctor +being correct in naming the deceased person in each instance, and the +message being appropriate to the character of the deceased person. I will +add, that, so far as I know, Dr. Schlesinger had no possible means of +knowing the name or anything about either person. One of the names, I feel +confident, was not known to any person in California outside of myself.</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;">“<span class="smcap">Chas. L. Patton</span>.”</span></p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="center">BARNES WAS PUZZLED.</p> + +<p>District Attorney Barnes gives the following account of the seance:—</p> + +<p>“I was completely surprised at the performance in the Mayor’s office. It +was the first seance I had ever attended, and I must confess that I had +not the slightest respect for such manifestations other than a natural +admiration for the quickness of the operator. I had always supposed that +batteries, wires, a tolerable acquaintance with the sitter, all aided by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +darkness, were the causes of the effects produced by the medium. In this +case, however, the seance took place in broad daylight, and no attempt was +made, so far as I could see, to use any mechanical means. The medium sat +two or three feet from the Mayor’s desk, and only touched the desk +occasionally with his hand, yet from that desk came the spirit rappings<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> +that were clearly audible to all of us in the room. I watched the others +write lists of names containing each the name of some dead person, and saw +the quickness with which Dr. Schlesinger picked out the persons who had +passed away, and gave messages from them. When it came my turn I wrote a +number of names on small slips of paper, folded them and held them in my +hand. Among these names was that of a classmate of mine at Harvard, who +died long ago at Philadelphia, who had never been in California, and whose +name I have not mentioned for years. Hardly had I sat down when Dr. +Schlesinger called his full name and gave me a message from him, recalling +an occurrence, so far as I am aware, known only to the dead man and +myself. To say that I was amazed but feebly expresses it; and when I asked +the Doctor whence he got his information, he replied, ‘It is borne to me +on angels’ wings.’</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img35.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="center"><small>ATTORNEY W. S. BARNES.</small></p> +<p> </p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>“Whether it was or not, it was a most remarkable thing, and deeply +impressed upon me that ‘There are more things in heaven and earth than are +dreamt of in our philosophy.’</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;">“<span class="smcap">William S. Barnes</span>.”</span></p> + +<p>Seven years after the foregoing was written, Mr. Barnes expressed himself +as still deeply puzzled. “I cannot think of any experience in life so +marvelous,” he said, “so beyond my power to explain.”</p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="center">JUDGE FERRAL’S TESTIMONY.</p> + +<p>Ex-Judge Robert Ferral’s narrative largely corroborates what the others +said. He presents the case in his own way.</p> + +<p>“Having taken a deep interest from early boyhood in exhibitions of a +marvelous nature, such as magic, legerdemain, mesmerism, hypnotism, +mind-reading, and spiritualism, it was with pleasure that I accepted the +kind invitation to visit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> Dr. Schlesinger and personally witness his +experiments and manifestations.</p> + +<p>“I found the Doctor an aged, venerable man, in a large room, surrounded by +a company of ladies and gentlemen, bright, cheerful, and intelligent, all +apparently bent upon the rational enjoyment of this life, and happy in the +belief of companionable intercourse with the realm of spirits.</p> + +<p>“Retiring to more quiet quarters, consisting of an ordinary bedroom and +parlor, the business began without waste of words or loss of time. Having +written the names of half a dozen persons, living and dead, each name on a +separate slip, carefully folded and looking precisely alike, which were +tossed into a hat and well shaken up, the doctor proceeded to name the +contents of each paper as it was drawn out. Occasionally he made a +mistake, but in nearly every instance succeeded at the first or second +trial. He first separated the living from the dead, without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> opening the +slips, and sometimes not even touching them; then proceeded to give the +names. Afterward, upon writing place and cause of death, age, occupation, +etc., upon other slips, the same result followed. Some of the names +submitted by me were peculiar, and I believe known to no one else in this +city, yet they were announced—read off, as it were—with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> but little +hesitation and generally exactly as written. The same thing occurred as to +the diseases and places of death.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img39.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="center"><small>JUDGE ROBERT FERRAL.</small></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>“During this manifestation of his power Dr. Schlesinger simply formed a +circle or chain of hands, connecting with himself, frequently tapped the +table, and appealed to an unseen ‘guide’ for his information. Raps were +said to have been heard also, but of this I cannot bear testimony.</p> + +<p>“How was this done? By mesmerism? No; for there was nothing in the nature +of sleep or putting to sleep. Mind-reading? Possibly; although some of the +slips of paper were read correctly when the contents were for the time +forgotten and unknown to myself. Hypnotism? Don’t know, having but a faint +idea how far these phenomena extend. By sharpness of sight, trickery, +sleight of hand? I cannot answer, at least for the present, remaining, as +before, an agnostic on these matters; unable to give an intelligent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> +explanation, but at the same time not disposed to jeer or scoff at what I +do not understand. Respectfully,</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;">“<span class="smcap">Robert Ferral</span>.”</span></p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 12em;">September 5, 1893.</span></p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="center">DR. BUNKER’S NARRATIVE.</p> + +<p>The following is Dr. R. E. Bunker’s account, written at his old office, +No. 802 Kearny Street, just after the seances and while he was still in +charge of the City Receiving Hospital:—</p> + +<p>“I saw Dr. Schlesinger in company with the other gentlemen named, and I +saw wonderful things which I am wholly unable to explain. The phenomena, +manifestations, or things that occur in the medium’s presence are not only +interesting, but marvelous. I went possessed of something like eight or +ten slips of paper, on each of which I had previously written (at my +office) a name of some person I had known—some living, some dead. Not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> a +soul ever saw the slips, for I was alone when I wrote the names. +Furthermore, they were so folded that no one could possibly have read a +single name. Dr. Schlesinger at once picked out the names of living and +dead persons, while the slips were held between my fingers and when I did +not know what person’s name was on the particular slip that I held. He +pronounced every name correctly while I held the pellet, or as it lay +untouched on his table.</p> + +<p>“To say that what he did was by the aid of wires or batteries would be to +impart to wires and batteries more intelligence than the greatest +philosophers have ever possessed. This is no explanation; nor has any one +ever been able to explain to me how these things were done. I do not +believe it was mind-reading (a term that conveys no intelligent idea to me +anyhow), for I did not know the name on the slip under question—not until +I afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> unfolded it and corroborated the Doctor’s readings. You +understand that the entire bunch had been thoroughly shuffled in a hat +before any slip was picked up.</p> + +<p>“To come to specific instances, let me give a few cases as they occurred. +On one slip I had written my mother’s maiden name, which was not known to +anybody in San Francisco. It was placed among eight or ten other names of +women—some married, some unmarried, some wholly fictitious. All slips +were folded alike and placed in a hat under the table, which I held in my +hands. Dr. Schlesinger asked me to pick out the pellets, one at a time and +hold them between my finger and thumb. He would say, ‘That is not the +name, throw it aside;’ and so on, until he hesitated at one pellet and +said, ‘That is your mother’s maiden name; it is Emily J. Laumann.’</p> + +<p>“The answer was correct, and in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> similar manner he read other names and +told me all about the persons. I had written the name of Dick Foster on +one slip. Foster had died of consumption at the old Bella Union Theater, +on June 21st. The medium did not read his name, but wrote a message +backwards—that is, from left to right—very rapidly, and when I held it +up to the light with the written surface from me, I could read the +following:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>I am glad to be here, and if I can obtain the appropriate conditions +I will show my identity.</i></p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;"><i>DICK FOSTER.</i></span></p></div> + +<p>“This was a puzzling thing, and I should like for some one to explain how +it was done, if there was not communication with some invisible +intelligence. In regard to Foster’s name it should be said that the medium +had not seen nor heard it, and that his hand flew over the paper very fast +while he wrote the backward message. So far as I could see, Dr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +Schlesinger was quite deaf and near-sighted. He was an old man of heavy +weight and clumsy fingers. His manner was that of a devout believer in the +genuineness of his theory. If any one can explain to me how these things +were done, he will interest me far more than Dr. Schlesinger did, and it +should be said that my attention to what he did was held without +interruption from the start. There were several other like tests wherein +he read for me other names by a process equally startling, making one feel +that he had marvelous powers.</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;">“<span class="smcap">R. E. Bunker, M. D.</span>”</span></p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="center">WHAT MR. BONNET SAW.</p> + +<p>Theodore F. Bonnet, who was a reporter for the <i>Daily Report</i> at the time +of the seance at the Mayor’s office, was a guest of the author during the +seance. Mr. Bonnet, who is now editor and owner of <i>Town Talk</i>, an +influential weekly <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>newspaper, wrote the following account of what he saw +and handed it to the author just after the seance:—</p> + +<p>“After witnessing the efforts of Dr. Schlesinger as a medium, one cannot +but be impressed by his marvelous powers of divination. They are +impossible of explanation on any hypothesis calculated to reduce his work +to the vulgar plane of legerdemain. Yet the manifestations, as he is +pleased to call his marvelous, puzzling and apparently supernatural +revelations concerning matters with which he could not become familiar +under ordinary circumstances, are after all, unsatisfactory to the person +engaged in testing his power. I must give him credit, however, for having +startled me by one message. I had written on small slips of paper, which +were then carefully folded—all this an hour or more before the meeting. +One of the names was Joseph Touhill, an Oakland burglar, who had been +killed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> by a policeman who caught him robbing a saloon. I had known +Touhill, and had been quite friendly with him in late years, but had never +suspected that he was of the Jekyll and Hyde species. The medium did not +at once direct me to the piece of paper on which Touhill’s name was +written, but afterwards he suddenly said:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> ‘The spirit of the man with +whom you wish to communicate is here now.’</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img47.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="center"><small>EDITOR THEODORE F. BONNET.</small></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>“I signified my willingness to hear from the spirit, whereupon the Doctor +said, ‘Old boy, I’m not quite as dead as you think.’ Then he mentioned the +name of Joseph Touhill. Now, this circumstance deeply impressed me, +because the language was so characteristic of the dead burglar, it having +been customary with him to address me as ‘Old boy.’ Mind-reading will have +to be rejected as an explanation, because the Doctor subsequently read a +name that was on a pellet that I had not opened, and knew nothing about +until I subsequently read it. I picked up the pellet from the desk where I +had put it with a number of others, and handed it to Mayor Ellert, who, +without examining it, deposited it in his vest-pocket. Then came rappings +on the table, and the medium said: ‘Behind you stands the spirit of the +man whose name is on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> that paper. He was an eminent person, and he died +far away from here. He is waving a flag over your head, and on it is +written the name of Victor Hugo.’</p> + +<p>“The name was correct. Subsequently the Doctor correctly read the name of +William Cullen Bryant, which I had also written. The Doctor quoted the +spirit of the poet as saying that he was delighted that I was interested +in demonstrating that there was a world of spirits. Dr. Schlesinger’s +feats are bewildering to the human mind. If he is a mere trickster he +possesses in a marvelous way the skill to disguise his character, for his +appearance and demeanor are those peculiar to fanaticism or strong faith +in a cause.</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;">“<span class="smcap">Theo. F. Bonnet</span>.”</span></p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="center">MR. M’CLOSKEY’S VERSION.</p> + +<p>The following is the narrative of Mr. H. H. McCloskey, a resident of +Merced at the time of the seance, but now a San Francisco lawyer:—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>“I did not attend the little seance at the Mayor’s office by appointment. +I was on my way to finish up some business and catch the 4-o’clock boat, +when District Attorney Barnes suggested that I drop in and see the fun. +Intending to remain but a few moments, I accepted the invitation, and have +no reason to regret having done so. As to what happened there, while I +remember perfectly well what was done, and kept careful note of all that I +saw, I am unable to account for it on any other hypothesis than that the +Doctor was, as he claims to be, a spiritual medium. At the same time I am +not prepared to admit that much.</p> + +<p>“What I saw I saw clearly; it was real and devoid of illusion. There being +no one present but the Mayor and thoroughly reputable gentlemen, collusion +by which a portion of the events of that afternoon might be accounted for +is, of course, out of the question; and neither collusion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> mind-reading, +nor anything else could account for all that occurred.</p> + +<p>“The Doctor requested me to write on seven slips of paper, one on each +slip, the names of six acquaintances, five of whom were living and the +sixth dead. On the seventh my own name was to be written. I had never seen +the Doctor before, and have no reason to suppose that he had ever seen me. +I used my own pencil in writing the names, and wrote upon paper furnished +by the city and county for the use of his Honor the Mayor. When writing +the names I was twenty feet away from the Doctor, and as I wrote upon each +slip I folded it up carefully, so that I myself could not see anything of +the writing, nor tell one of the seven slips from the others. Five of the +names were those of intimate personal friends, the sixth of a man whom I +knew in a business way, but for whom, while I was not at all intimate with +him, I had always a great regard.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> This man is dead, and has been so for a +couple of years.</p> + +<p>“In obedience to the Doctor’s request, I placed the seven slips on the +table. Taking the hand of Mr. Barnes, I holding the hand of the latter, +the Doctor proceeded to take the slips one by one from the table. The +first he held a second and dropped. The second he handed to me saying, +‘This contains your name.’ Upon opening it I found the Doctor to be +correct, and asking him what my name was he promptly told us.</p> + +<p>“I confess I was a little mystified, but the Doctor didn’t stop there. +Continuing, he picked up the other slips until the fifth one had been +reached. ‘This is the name of your dead friend. His name is V. C. W. +Hooker—not exactly, but a name very similar. I can’t quite make it out. +He says he will talk to you at another time.’ As you saw when I opened the +slip it showed as I had written it the name of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> V. C. W. Hooper, a man who +was quite prominent in Merced during his lifetime. Just how the Doctor +found that out I leave to others who were there to explain when they have +time after accounting for the mysterious things that happened to +themselves. I cannot and will not pretend to. It was not mind-reading, +however. Of that I am satisfied. For as he picked up the fifth slip and +said, ‘This is the name of the dead man,’ he did not get that information +by reading my mind, for there were two more slips remaining, and I +couldn’t say which was which. That is beyond any explanation. Mind-reading +will not fit it at all.</p> + +<p>“One of the party—I think it was Mr. Barnes—wrote the name of <i>two</i> dead +men in his list. Leaving out the first problem—the picking up of the +right slip—putting that aside, how is it to be explained that the Doctor +chose the right name of the two dead ones? Mr. Barnes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> did not know. He +had not opened the slip; therefore the Doctor could not read his mind. For +myself, I give up the conundrum.</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;">“Very truly.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">“<span class="smcap">H. H. McCloskey</span>.”</span></p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> +<h3>CHARACTER OF THE NARRATORS.</h3> + +<p>To any one who has a fair knowledge of human nature, a glance at the line +pictures of the gentlemen who participated in the events with which this +book deals will tell that they are men of character and keen observation. +In San Francisco and throughout the West many of them are as well known as +the Governor of the State.</p> + +<p>Their names need no introduction, and since they have been representative +men for many years it is not necessary to say much about them. For the +benefit of persons who know nothing concerning them, however, the +following information is submitted:—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span><span class="smcap">Patrick Crowley</span>, Chief of Police, was +born in Albany County, New York, on March 17, 1831. When quite young he went to New York and worked in +different printing-offices. He came to San Francisco in 1850, and worked +in the mining-camps for two or three years. He was engaged in the boating +business here, when in 1854 he was elected to the office of Town Constable +on the Democratic ticket. He was re-elected on the same ticket in 1855, +and from 1856 he was re-elected every two years on the old People’s Party +ticket till 1866, when he was elected Chief of Police. He held that office +by election for six years, when he quit the force and went into the +brokerage business. In 1878, by an act of the Legislature, the Board of +Police Commissioners received the power to appoint the Chief of Police. +The office was tendered him, and after considerable pressure he +reluctantly accepted it, as he was making an excellent living<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> at his +business. He held the office by election or appointment for twenty-four +successive years. His wide experience with criminals, bunko-men, and all +sorts of tricksters gave him excellent training and amply fitted him for a +thorough inspection of all that was done during the seances. In fact, it +was his boast at the beginning of his sitting with Dr. Schlesinger that he +had helped to trap the Eddies and other disreputable mediums, and that he +would soon expose the fraud in the case in hand.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">William S. Barnes</span>, son of the eloquent and famous General W. H. L. Barnes +(known all over America as the greatest living after-dinner orator, and +known all over the United States as a Republican orator), is a graduate of +Harvard and a man of fine legal attainments. He is one of the most +prominent Native Sons, and is famous for his shrewdness as Prosecuting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +Attorney for the great City and County of San Francisco. It was he who +prosecuted and convicted Theodore Durrant in one of the most marvelous +criminal cases of the century. He was also the star lawyer in the +prosecution of the great Sydney Bell footpad case. Mr. Barnes was the +organizer and president of the Association of District Attorneys of +California; is an active member of California Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M., a +member of the Pacific-Union Club, also of the Union League, of which he is +one of a committee on political action, of the Juarez Manufacturing +Company, of which he is President. Thus his mastery in the legal +profession is no less equaled in his social and business associations.</p> + +<p>Attorney <span class="smcap">Charles L. Patton</span> is Grand Master of California Masonic +fraternity, and is a gentleman of the highest personal and professional +character. He was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> strong competitor against Mayor Phelan, and was +chosen by the Republican party a few years ago as the best candidate +against the present (1900) Mayor of the city. Mr. Patton is a man of much +erudition and wide experience with men and books. He, like all his +associates, and like the writer of this book, was and is a skeptic +regarding the truth of so-called spiritual phenomena. His account speaks +for itself.</p> + +<p>Mayor <span class="smcap">L. R. Ellert</span> is a man of legal attainments and of wide business +interests. He was a popular reform Mayor, and was in office at the time of +the occurrences narrated. He is to-day one of the best-known and most +highly respected lawyers and business men of San Francisco. For many years +he was a skillful pharmacist, and his wide knowledge of drugs and +physiology was useful in the attempted solution of the various problems +presented by the medium.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>Judge <span class="smcap">Robert Ferral</span> is the warhorse of Democracy, and one of the Nestors +of the California bar. He made some of the most spirited races ever +entered upon for Congress, and polled the largest vote ever known for an +unpopular political party in the old days. As a judge and criminal lawyer +of wide experience, as well as by reason of his unexcelled literary +attainments and extended experience in the science of hypnotism and +kindred phenomena, the Judge was an invaluable spectator and participant, +especially as his native wit usually enables him to see through many +things that puzzle other men. Here, however, he stood dumbfounded.</p> + +<p>Dr. <span class="smcap">R. E. Bunker</span> is a regular physician of high reputation and personal +standing. He was at the time of the matters recorded in charge of the City +Receiving Hospital, and was considered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> one of the most careful and +competent observers at the seance. Like all others named, Dr. Bunker’s +word is absolutely above reproach, and there is not a more competent man +in the country.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Theodore F. Bonnet</span> was at the time of the seance a reporter for the <i>Daily +Report</i>. He was afterwards elected to the important position of License +Collector, and is now editor and owner of <i>Town Talk</i>. This is one of the +best weekly papers in the United States, and its success dates from its +purchase by the gentleman named. Mr. Bonnet is an Elk of high standing, +and a man of good family and social position. In addition to all these +facts, it should be borne in mind that his long training as a reporter +fitted him in a peculiarly advantageous way for the duties of trying to +detect what was done by the medium.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span><span class="smcap">H. H. McCloskey</span> was a casual visitor at the seance, being the guest of +District Attorney Barnes. Mr. McCloskey was at the time a resident of +Merced, and was a prominent lawyer and politician. He was also a +Republican State Central Committeeman and was considered one of the ablest +of the party. He is to-day a well-known San Francisco attorney. His +account of the seance explains just what occurred.</p> + +<p>These facts, with some of the pictures, will give the reader an idea of +the men whose narratives he has doubtless read with pleasure.</p> + +<p>In conclusion, it should be remembered that this book is sold by the +publishers only. It will be sent to any address for fifty cents. If you +have enjoyed reading it, recommend it to the next friend you meet.</p> + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> + +<p><strong>Footnote:</strong> <a name="f1" id="f1" href="#f1.1">[1]</a> He now lives in Boston.—Editor.</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Do the Dead Return?, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DO THE DEAD RETURN? *** + +***** This file should be named 35537-h.htm or 35537-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/5/3/35537/ + +Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Do the Dead Return? + A True Story of Startling Seances in San Francisco + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: March 10, 2011 [EBook #35537] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DO THE DEAD RETURN? *** + + + + +Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive.) + + + + + + + + + + _Price, 50 cents_ + + + Do the Dead Return? + + A Startling Story from Life + + + Crown Publishing Company + San Francisco + 1900 + + + + +[Illustration: DR. LOUIS SCHLESINGER.] + + + + + DO THE DEAD RETURN? + + + A TRUE STORY + OF STARTLING SEANCES + IN SAN FRANCISCO + + + _NOTICE_ + + _This work is copyrighted. Editors are warned + not to make unlawful abridgments._ + + CROWN PUBLISHING COMPANY + SAN FRANCISCO + 1900 + + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1900 + BY CROWN PUBLISHING CO. + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS. + + + PAGE + + INTRODUCTION 5 + + THE AUTHOR'S STORY 7 + + THE "EXAMINER" SEANCE 14 + + SOME STARTLING DAYLIGHT SEANCES 19 + + CHARACTER OF THE NARRATORS 55 + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +Before this little volume is read a few words of explanation should be +carefully weighed, for otherwise the reader might go away with many false +impressions. + +The author desires to say that every word here printed is absolutely and +literally true. Nothing has been added or suppressed, but the entire truth +has been expressed, usually in the exact language of the distinguished +gentlemen whose narratives make the bulk of the book. In most instances +the witnesses summoned wrote their accounts with their own hands, and the +original manuscripts are still preserved. + +Though many years have passed since the events recorded herein +transpired, all who witnessed the phenomena are still alive, and all are +well-known and reputable citizens of San Francisco. It was only a few days +ago that the author met Captain W. S. Barnes, who was District Attorney of +the City and County of San Francisco in 1893 (the date of the occurrences +with which the book deals), and he said: "What I saw in the presence of +the medium has puzzled me all these years. I can truthfully say that the +things that took place at Mayor Ellert's office are the most wonderful +events that I have ever come upon. They are absolutely beyond my +understanding." + +The circumstances with which the narrative deals are an important +contribution to the history of psychic research, and they are presented +for what they are worth while the witnesses and actors in the story are +alive. + +THE AUTHOR. + +_San Francisco, September, 1900._ + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE AUTHOR'S STORY. + + +In the autumn of 1891, the author of this narrative was business manager +of the Modesto (California) _Daily News_. One afternoon while he was +engaged in an important consultation with the late Senator J. D. Spencer, +one of the owners of the _News_, there was a knock at the door of the +editorial rooms. In a twinkling an old gentleman entered; he was a +venerable-looking, long-bearded man, with Hebraic features. + +Before Senator Spencer and I could say, "Good day, sir!" the old man said +something like this: "Gentlemen, I am Dr. Louis Schlesinger, the famous +Spiritualist medium. It is well known that I can talk with the good +angels, and I desire to have a series of seances here in Modesto." + +"Our advertising columns are open," I said, "and we shall be pleased to +announce your meetings at the regular rates." + +"I have no money to spare," he replied; "but I think you will say +something about me when I show you that man lives after death." + +The Senator whispered to me (on discovering that the old gentleman was +quite deaf), "I guess he's escaped from the Stockton Lunatic Asylum." + +Stockton was but twenty miles away, and I assented, but said, "Suppose we +sound him before we send for an officer." + +So we agreed to give Dr. Schlesinger an opportunity to convince us that he +was a man of rare endowments, as he pretended to be. + +Coming to the point, it was arranged that the Senator should retire to +the press-room while I remained with the aged suspect. + +"Take eight or ten slips of paper," said Dr. Schlesinger, "and write one +name on each--some of living, some of dead persons; and don't tell me or +anybody on earth what names you have written on the slips. Roll them into +little pellets--and come back here with your mind at rest, for I am not +insane, as you think." + +We were somewhat surprised, for both were certain that the old gentleman +could not have heard Senator Spencer's whispered doubt concerning our +visitor's sanity. + +In a few minutes Senator Spencer returned, bearing a number of paper +pellets which he held in his clenched right hand. + +Doors were closed and a table was rolled to the center of the room. Dr. +Schlesinger closed his eyes and appeared to fall into a light slumber. At +once there were many distinct raps on the table, as if some one had +thumped upon it with a finger. This was rather singular, as we could see +that our visitor's hands in no manner touched the table. + +Suddenly the old man opened his eyes and said: "Gentlemen, are you +satisfied that I do not know any of the names on those papers?" + +As Senator Spencer was as truthful and honorable a man as ever lived, one +whose word was better than most men's bonds, I replied: "I am sure you +have not seen the names and that you do not know one of them." + +"And some of the names are not known to anybody in California," added the +Senator. + +"Then I'll have to show you that I can talk with the spirits of the +departed," said Dr. Schlesinger. + +Without further delay he said: "I see the spirit of your mother standing +over you. She calls you Dillard, which is your middle name, and she says +she died in Kansas City, and was buried in the old cemetery at Westport. +Am I right?" + +Senator Spencer turned pale and said: "That is absolutely correct. Which +one of the pellets bears her name?" + +He then held the bits of paper between his right finger and thumb, and +when he had picked up three or four of them, the medium said, "That is the +one which contains your mother's maiden name." + +I have now forgotten the maiden name of the Senator's mother, though I +think it was Dillard. The answer, however, was correct. + +Next, without asking me to write anything down, the medium thus addressed +me: "I see the spirit of your mother's mother. Her name was Eliza Johnson, +and she calls you 'my son,' and says, 'Tell Anne that immortality is the +glorious truth of human life.' Anne was the name of her eldest child--your +mother." + +If Senator Spencer was convinced that Dr. Schlesinger had told him the +truth, I had the same kind of conviction in my case; for every word +uttered was correct. I have never understood how this old man came to the +results announced, nor have I ever seen any one who was able to explain +his power. + +With the memory of my Modesto experiences fresh in mind, I decided, when I +came upon Dr. Schlesinger in San Francisco, in 1893, to institute a series +of daylight seances in the presence of some of the most distinguished +citizens of San Francisco. As I was then a writer of the San Francisco +_Daily Examiner_ staff I found rare opportunities for enlisting the men +desired in the experiments. I was not then, nor am I now, in any manner +affiliated with Spiritualists, nor do I set forth the facts of this +narrative for the purpose of making converts to any theory of mind or +matter. + +The manuscript from which this work is printed was written at the time of +the matters recorded, on an order from the _Examiner_. Owing to the fact +that Mayor Ellert afterwards regretted that he had allowed a seance to be +held in his office, the _Examiner_ was induced to suppress the story, +which now appears in detail for the first time. It should be borne in mind +that all that follows was written at the time of the events described. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE "EXAMINER" SEANCE. + + +That the reader may fully understand the origin of the experiments +recorded in the narrative that follows, it is necessary to state again +that I was a writer for the _Examiner_ in the autumn of 1893, and that I +was on the alert for what newspaper men call "stories," or special +articles--things a little outside of the ordinary run of news. + +Ambitious to arrange something of unusual interest, I approached Mr. +Hearst and S. S. Chamberlain, who were in charge of the news department of +the paper. I told them what I had seen Dr. Schlesinger do in Modesto, and +outlined the plans that were afterwards carried out--seances at the +office of Mayor Ellert and the Chief of Police, in the presence of +prominent citizens. First, however, it was necessary for the editors to +see the medium at their offices; for they feared there would be some +failure, and that the citizens invited would be disgusted because of their +loss of time in useless experiments. + +For these reasons, therefore, the first sittings were at the editorial +offices of the _Examiner_, where the editors were as much puzzled as +anybody else. They were at once convinced that, however he performed his +feats, Dr. Schlesinger was at least not a bungling master of the black +art. Several intelligent observers were present, among them one or two of +the brightest newspaper men in the city. The experiments were not only +carefully noted, but they were viewed with grave suspicion. They were, +however, wholly informal and merely preliminary to the more important and +prolonged seances that followed at the office of the Mayor of the city, +and later at the office of and in the presence of the city's Chief of +Police. A few facts concerning the occurrences at the _Examiner_ office +are given that the reader may have the full benefit of the story. + +One of the investigators (Managing Editor A. B. Henderson) wrote a number +of names on slips of paper, before Dr. Schlesinger arrived. They were not +seen or known to any one save the person that prepared them, and the slips +on which they were written were carefully folded and clasped in a bundle, +by a rubber band or elastic. Great pains was taken by Mr. Henderson to +prevent the medium from handling or seeing the slips. Without seeing the +writing, Dr. Schlesinger at once gave the names correctly. One of them was +that of Thaddeus Stevens, the eminent Pennsylvanian; and when the folded +slip on which his name was written was touched by Mr. Henderson, the +medium said: "That is the name of Thaddeus Stevens, who knew you well. He +calls you Alexander, and sends you his love." + +Then the name of the sitter's deceased uncle was properly announced, +though it had not been written on any of the slips. Correct information +was also given concerning the uncle's religion while "in the flesh." + +S. S. Chamberlain, now Managing Editor of the Philadelphia _North +American_, (then News Editor of the _Examiner_) was one of the +investigators. He wrote down, on separate slips of paper, the names of +many living and dead persons, but, contrary to the medium's request, he +did not write the names of persons he had ever known. In a few moments Dr. +Schlesinger read the names correctly while the slips were beyond his +reach, and firmly clasped in Chamberlain's hand. They were of such +persons as John Ruskin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Shakespeare, Longfellow, etc. + +A faithful report of all that occurred was submitted to the managing +editor of the paper, who at once decided that a series of similar +experiments, conducted at the office of the Mayor of the city and others, +in broad daylight, would make the basis for some interesting Sunday +specials. Under his instructions I arranged the seances, and was present +at all of them. I subsequently wrote a faithful account of what occurred, +but the articles were rejected by the editor of the Sunday _Examiner_ for +personal reasons. This volume embraces the substance of what was then +prepared. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +SOME STARTLING DAYLIGHT SEANCES. + + +It was on September 4, 1893, that a number of the most prominent citizens +of San Francisco held a daylight seance (at high noon) at the office of +Mayor Ellert. The company had assembled in response to the _Examiner's_ +invitation, and all of the witnesses had agreed in advance to observe +everything closely and write an absolutely fair account of what they saw, +adding any theory or explanation that seemed sufficient to account for the +phenomena. + +It is as well to say that is was a mirthful assembly at the outset, and +the newspaper man who had arranged for the experiments was the butt of +many little jokes. The idea that the medium could do anything more than a +little clever juggling seemed farthest from anybody's thoughts. + +Dr. Louis Schlesinger, then a man about sixty-one years of age, was the +spiritualist medium who said he could convince all present that the dead +return, and that he could hold communion with the living. The following +spectators were present, and the written reports of some of them are given +in full in the subjoined narrative: Mayor Levi R. Ellert, District +Attorney W. S. Barnes, President Theodore F. Bonnet, of the San Francisco +Press Club, Ex-President Grant Carpenter, of the same club, H. H. +McCloskey, then a State Central Committeeman of the Republican party, and +many other casual observers. + +At another seance Chief of Police Crowley, Judge Robert Ferral, Dr. R. E. +Bunker, and Attorney Charles L. Patton were the principal investigators, +though Captain Wright and many others saw all that was done. At this +seance the observations were conducted under the test conditions arranged +by Chief Crowley, Dr. Bunker, and Attorney Patton. + +The reader should satisfy himself concerning the mental and moral +qualifications of all the witnesses named by glancing at the biographical +sketches elsewhere in this volume. + +At the Mayor's office Dr. Schlesinger was announced as a resident of No. 1 +Polk Street. He said he knew none of the committee, and nobody present +except the _Examiner's_ representative knew the Doctor.[1] + + [1] He now lives in Boston.--Editor. + +"I can converse with the spirits of your deceased friends," said the +medium, "and I am giving my life to this work. I gave up a great tea +business to teach my fellow men that life does not end at the grave. My +home is constantly filled with bands of angels from the celestial depths, +but I am able to call a few spirits around any box, table, or desk. I want +you to satisfy yourself that all that is done here is absolutely honest." + +Before proceeding further the Doctor produced a testimonial from Editor +Will S. Green, of the Colusa _Sun_ (afterwards State Treasurer), which +explained that Dr. Schlesinger's performances could not be explained on +the theory of trickery. A clipping from the _Sun_ of September 5, 1890, +gave an account of matters that had puzzled the people of Colusa. The +investigations began, therefore, with a great deal of interest, and before +their conclusion the old Doctor had greatly puzzled all present. They +could not tell whether it was some psychic power by which he operated, or +whether they had been basely deceived. + +At his own request, Dr. Schlesinger was not introduced to any of the +persons present. He soon called their names, however, and said they were +given to him by the spirits in the raps that all could hear on the desk. + +The Doctor's favorite method of communicating startling information was to +have the sitters write, before they came into his presence, fifteen or +twenty names of living and dead friends. Each name being on a separate +piece of paper, the visitors were requested to fold each slip tightly, so +as to preclude any possibility of its being read by the medium. This done, +the slips, all of equal size, were put into a hat and thoroughly shuffled. +The Doctor would then say: "Pick out any slip yourself, and I will read it +without looking and before you yourself know what the name is." There +would then be raps, and in a few seconds the Doctor would give the name +correctly. These names were written and folded in a room apart from the +Doctor. + +"Granting that there is such a thing as mind-reading," said Chief Crowley, +"I do not think mind-reading would account for what was done for me, +because he read things that were not in my mind, telling me my mother's +maiden name and where she died." + +Dr. Schlesinger calls his gift clairaudient mediumship, and says his right +ear is deaf to all terrestrial sounds, but quickened, as with a sixth +sense, for communications from the other world. He says he can both see +and hear spirits, and that bands of them encircle him, and at times, in +the presence of some peculiarly "fit" visitors, manifest themselves with +great clearness and power. To prove that the sounds he hears are celestial +voices, he does many things which baffle those who witness the strange +phenomena which abound in his presence wherever he goes. + +It was with much difficulty that those who participated in these seances +and whose accounts of what they saw are subjoined, were induced to give +the medium a hearing. Chief Crowley was particularly opposed to giving +serious attention to what he denounced as "trickery and sleight of hand," +and afterwards called "marvelous and beyond power of explanation." Finally +he wrote down a number of names on separate slips, as explained in the +foregoing, and among those names appeared that of his mother--her maiden +name. The medium at once told the Chief which pellet contained his +mother's name, then read it, and in a few moments told where she died and +where she was buried. + +A few minutes later the aged Doctor said: "The spirit of Detective Hutton, +who died a violent death, hovers near you." + +The medium then spoke of matters that were known to nobody but Chief +Crowley and the dead detective. This greatly puzzled the Chief, who was +later deeply affected over purported messages from a son and others who +had been dear to him in life. + +Speaking of the purported message from his dead mother the Chief said: "I +cannot explain this, which is marvelous, for I do not believe a human +being in San Francisco knew that my mother's maiden name was Elizabeth +McCarthy, that she died in New Jersey and was buried in New York." + +Chief Crowley then wrote down a list of years, among them the year of his +mother's death. Dr. Schlesinger pointed to the year 1833 as that of her +death. + +"Correct!" replied Chief Crowley; whereupon the medium said, "and the name +of your father, Patrick J. Crowley, is also here, and he comes with your +son Lewis, who has not been dead long." + +The Chief thought it the most wonderful performance he had ever seen. "He +does marvelous and inexplicable things," said the Chief, "and I'll admit +I cannot tell how it is done. While I cannot believe he converses with +spirits, I am puzzled. I want to see him again and look into the matter +further." + + +[Illustration: EX-CHIEF OF POLICE P. CROWLEY.] + + +The experiments with Mayor L. R. Ellert, who sprang from his chair and +positively declined to be thrown into a trance condition when the doctor +requested him thus to visit the spirit world, were fully as startling as +those with Chief Crowley. + +Mayor Ellert took a chair in front of his official table, which had thus +been dedicated to spiritual uses, and asked if any spirits desired to +communicate with him, whereupon the medium grasped his Honor's hands and +the line of communication with the spirits was declared fully established. +Quite distinct raps were then heard on the table, and Dr. Schlesinger +looked at the Mayor and said: "You are a medium yourself, sir! My, what a +power!" + +The Mayor was urged "to sit alone often and be patient," and was told that +he could develop much power by such a course. + + +[Illustration: HON. L. R. ELLERT.] + + +Mayor Ellert then wrote down ten of fifteen names of living and dead +friends, on separate slips of paper. He refused to use the paper handed +him by Dr. Schlesinger, but cut up an official letter head which lay on +his own desk. As he began to write the names, the medium stepped away and +engaged in conversation with District Attorney Barnes and Mr. Bonnet at +the other side of the room, so that he could not see what Mayor Ellert +wrote. The Mayor carefully folded the slips, put them in a hat, and +shuffled them. He then brought one forth from the hatful. + +"That's a dead one," said Dr. Schlesinger. "Open it and see whether I am +correct; but don't let me see it." + +The Mayor obeyed the request, and answered, "Yes, this is a dead person's +name!" + +"Don't let me see it," said the mysterious visitor, "and I'll tell you +what it is," whereupon he at once correctly pronounced the name of the +Mayor's sister, which was not Ellert. + +The Mayor then announced that he was unable to explain the phenomena. He +watched the medium's movements and convinced himself that there had been +no juggling in the shuffle, and said that his visitor out-Hermanned +Hermann. He would leave the solution of the phenomena to others learned in +the arts of divination. + + +[Illustration: CHARLES L. PATTON.] + + +The outcome of the seances and the story of what occurred may best be +told by those who were present, and the subjoined versions are given:-- + + +ATTORNEY PATTON'S STORY. + +"I desire to preface what I have to say by remarking that while I have +never been nor am I now a spiritualist, nor have I ever before been +present at the performance of a medium, yet what I saw of Dr. +Schlesinger's so-called manifestations from the spirit world is entirely +inexplicable to me upon any scientific hypothesis with which I am +familiar; yet at the same time I must admit that I cannot explain the +phenomena exhibited upon any theory of legerdemain or sleight of hand +within my knowledge. Therefore, I merely state that I have seen, or +seemingly seen, and heard the following remarkable things, during the +sitting or seance with Dr. Schlesinger, leaving it to others more +competent than I to determine whether they are the manifestations of some +psychic force at present unadmitted by scientists or the legerdemain of a +sleight-of-hand performer. + +"The facts are as follows: At the request of the Doctor, I wrote eight or +ten names of different persons on as many slips of paper, two of the +number being dead, and folded the slips in such a manner that the Doctor +could not read them; and so far as I can judge, the Doctor could not have +had any method of knowing what names I wrote. I then placed the folded +papers in a hat, and one of the other gentlemen present drew them out one +by one. The Doctor, as each paper was drawn out, asked some question, such +as 'Guide, is this the one dead?' Finally, after all the papers had been +held up and the questions asked, some raps on the table, seeming to have +indicated according to the Doctor that the persons whose names were on two +of the slips were dead, I, on examination, found that he was correct in +his judgment. He then without (so far as I could see) having had any +opportunity to have seen the names, desired me to place the slips with the +names on in my pocket. Presently he said: 'I see two faces over your +shoulder; the name of one is J. B. The other says: "I am glad you have +commemorated my name by writing it here," the name is V. C.;' the Doctor +being correct in naming the deceased person in each instance, and the +message being appropriate to the character of the deceased person. I will +add, that, so far as I know, Dr. Schlesinger had no possible means of +knowing the name or anything about either person. One of the names, I feel +confident, was not known to any person in California outside of myself. + + "CHAS. L. PATTON." + + +BARNES WAS PUZZLED. + +District Attorney Barnes gives the following account of the seance:-- + +"I was completely surprised at the performance in the Mayor's office. It +was the first seance I had ever attended, and I must confess that I had +not the slightest respect for such manifestations other than a natural +admiration for the quickness of the operator. I had always supposed that +batteries, wires, a tolerable acquaintance with the sitter, all aided by +darkness, were the causes of the effects produced by the medium. In this +case, however, the seance took place in broad daylight, and no attempt was +made, so far as I could see, to use any mechanical means. The medium sat +two or three feet from the Mayor's desk, and only touched the desk +occasionally with his hand, yet from that desk came the spirit rappings +that were clearly audible to all of us in the room. I watched the others +write lists of names containing each the name of some dead person, and saw +the quickness with which Dr. Schlesinger picked out the persons who had +passed away, and gave messages from them. When it came my turn I wrote a +number of names on small slips of paper, folded them and held them in my +hand. Among these names was that of a classmate of mine at Harvard, who +died long ago at Philadelphia, who had never been in California, and whose +name I have not mentioned for years. Hardly had I sat down when Dr. +Schlesinger called his full name and gave me a message from him, recalling +an occurrence, so far as I am aware, known only to the dead man and +myself. To say that I was amazed but feebly expresses it; and when I asked +the Doctor whence he got his information, he replied, 'It is borne to me +on angels' wings.' + + +[Illustration: ATTORNEY W. S. BARNES.] + + +"Whether it was or not, it was a most remarkable thing, and deeply +impressed upon me that 'There are more things in heaven and earth than are +dreamt of in our philosophy.' + + "WILLIAM S. BARNES." + +Seven years after the foregoing was written, Mr. Barnes expressed himself +as still deeply puzzled. "I cannot think of any experience in life so +marvelous," he said, "so beyond my power to explain." + + +JUDGE FERRAL'S TESTIMONY. + +Ex-Judge Robert Ferral's narrative largely corroborates what the others +said. He presents the case in his own way. + +"Having taken a deep interest from early boyhood in exhibitions of a +marvelous nature, such as magic, legerdemain, mesmerism, hypnotism, +mind-reading, and spiritualism, it was with pleasure that I accepted the +kind invitation to visit Dr. Schlesinger and personally witness his +experiments and manifestations. + +"I found the Doctor an aged, venerable man, in a large room, surrounded by +a company of ladies and gentlemen, bright, cheerful, and intelligent, all +apparently bent upon the rational enjoyment of this life, and happy in the +belief of companionable intercourse with the realm of spirits. + +"Retiring to more quiet quarters, consisting of an ordinary bedroom and +parlor, the business began without waste of words or loss of time. Having +written the names of half a dozen persons, living and dead, each name on a +separate slip, carefully folded and looking precisely alike, which were +tossed into a hat and well shaken up, the doctor proceeded to name the +contents of each paper as it was drawn out. Occasionally he made a +mistake, but in nearly every instance succeeded at the first or second +trial. He first separated the living from the dead, without opening the +slips, and sometimes not even touching them; then proceeded to give the +names. Afterward, upon writing place and cause of death, age, occupation, +etc., upon other slips, the same result followed. Some of the names +submitted by me were peculiar, and I believe known to no one else in this +city, yet they were announced--read off, as it were--with but little +hesitation and generally exactly as written. The same thing occurred as to +the diseases and places of death. + + +[Illustration: JUDGE ROBERT FERRAL.] + + +"During this manifestation of his power Dr. Schlesinger simply formed a +circle or chain of hands, connecting with himself, frequently tapped the +table, and appealed to an unseen 'guide' for his information. Raps were +said to have been heard also, but of this I cannot bear testimony. + +"How was this done? By mesmerism? No; for there was nothing in the nature +of sleep or putting to sleep. Mind-reading? Possibly; although some of the +slips of paper were read correctly when the contents were for the time +forgotten and unknown to myself. Hypnotism? Don't know, having but a faint +idea how far these phenomena extend. By sharpness of sight, trickery, +sleight of hand? I cannot answer, at least for the present, remaining, as +before, an agnostic on these matters; unable to give an intelligent +explanation, but at the same time not disposed to jeer or scoff at what I +do not understand. Respectfully, + + "ROBERT FERRAL." + September 5, 1893. + + +DR. BUNKER'S NARRATIVE. + +The following is Dr. R. E. Bunker's account, written at his old office, +No. 802 Kearny Street, just after the seances and while he was still in +charge of the City Receiving Hospital:-- + +"I saw Dr. Schlesinger in company with the other gentlemen named, and I +saw wonderful things which I am wholly unable to explain. The phenomena, +manifestations, or things that occur in the medium's presence are not only +interesting, but marvelous. I went possessed of something like eight or +ten slips of paper, on each of which I had previously written (at my +office) a name of some person I had known--some living, some dead. Not a +soul ever saw the slips, for I was alone when I wrote the names. +Furthermore, they were so folded that no one could possibly have read a +single name. Dr. Schlesinger at once picked out the names of living and +dead persons, while the slips were held between my fingers and when I did +not know what person's name was on the particular slip that I held. He +pronounced every name correctly while I held the pellet, or as it lay +untouched on his table. + +"To say that what he did was by the aid of wires or batteries would be to +impart to wires and batteries more intelligence than the greatest +philosophers have ever possessed. This is no explanation; nor has any one +ever been able to explain to me how these things were done. I do not +believe it was mind-reading (a term that conveys no intelligent idea to me +anyhow), for I did not know the name on the slip under question--not until +I afterwards unfolded it and corroborated the Doctor's readings. You +understand that the entire bunch had been thoroughly shuffled in a hat +before any slip was picked up. + +"To come to specific instances, let me give a few cases as they occurred. +On one slip I had written my mother's maiden name, which was not known to +anybody in San Francisco. It was placed among eight or ten other names of +women--some married, some unmarried, some wholly fictitious. All slips +were folded alike and placed in a hat under the table, which I held in my +hands. Dr. Schlesinger asked me to pick out the pellets, one at a time and +hold them between my finger and thumb. He would say, 'That is not the +name, throw it aside;' and so on, until he hesitated at one pellet and +said, 'That is your mother's maiden name; it is Emily J. Laumann.' + +"The answer was correct, and in a similar manner he read other names and +told me all about the persons. I had written the name of Dick Foster on +one slip. Foster had died of consumption at the old Bella Union Theater, +on June 21st. The medium did not read his name, but wrote a message +backwards--that is, from left to right--very rapidly, and when I held it +up to the light with the written surface from me, I could read the +following:-- + + _I am glad to be here, and if I can obtain the appropriate conditions + I will show my identity._ + + _DICK FOSTER._ + +"This was a puzzling thing, and I should like for some one to explain how +it was done, if there was not communication with some invisible +intelligence. In regard to Foster's name it should be said that the medium +had not seen nor heard it, and that his hand flew over the paper very fast +while he wrote the backward message. So far as I could see, Dr. +Schlesinger was quite deaf and near-sighted. He was an old man of heavy +weight and clumsy fingers. His manner was that of a devout believer in the +genuineness of his theory. If any one can explain to me how these things +were done, he will interest me far more than Dr. Schlesinger did, and it +should be said that my attention to what he did was held without +interruption from the start. There were several other like tests wherein +he read for me other names by a process equally startling, making one feel +that he had marvelous powers. + + "R. E. BUNKER, M. D." + + +WHAT MR. BONNET SAW. + +Theodore F. Bonnet, who was a reporter for the _Daily Report_ at the time +of the seance at the Mayor's office, was a guest of the author during the +seance. Mr. Bonnet, who is now editor and owner of _Town Talk_, an +influential weekly newspaper, wrote the following account of what he saw +and handed it to the author just after the seance:-- + +"After witnessing the efforts of Dr. Schlesinger as a medium, one cannot +but be impressed by his marvelous powers of divination. They are +impossible of explanation on any hypothesis calculated to reduce his work +to the vulgar plane of legerdemain. Yet the manifestations, as he is +pleased to call his marvelous, puzzling and apparently supernatural +revelations concerning matters with which he could not become familiar +under ordinary circumstances, are after all, unsatisfactory to the person +engaged in testing his power. I must give him credit, however, for having +startled me by one message. I had written on small slips of paper, which +were then carefully folded--all this an hour or more before the meeting. +One of the names was Joseph Touhill, an Oakland burglar, who had been +killed by a policeman who caught him robbing a saloon. I had known +Touhill, and had been quite friendly with him in late years, but had never +suspected that he was of the Jekyll and Hyde species. The medium did not +at once direct me to the piece of paper on which Touhill's name was +written, but afterwards he suddenly said: 'The spirit of the man with +whom you wish to communicate is here now.' + + +[Illustration: EDITOR THEODORE F. BONNET.] + + +"I signified my willingness to hear from the spirit, whereupon the Doctor +said, 'Old boy, I'm not quite as dead as you think.' Then he mentioned the +name of Joseph Touhill. Now, this circumstance deeply impressed me, +because the language was so characteristic of the dead burglar, it having +been customary with him to address me as 'Old boy.' Mind-reading will have +to be rejected as an explanation, because the Doctor subsequently read a +name that was on a pellet that I had not opened, and knew nothing about +until I subsequently read it. I picked up the pellet from the desk where I +had put it with a number of others, and handed it to Mayor Ellert, who, +without examining it, deposited it in his vest-pocket. Then came rappings +on the table, and the medium said: 'Behind you stands the spirit of the +man whose name is on that paper. He was an eminent person, and he died +far away from here. He is waving a flag over your head, and on it is +written the name of Victor Hugo.' + +"The name was correct. Subsequently the Doctor correctly read the name of +William Cullen Bryant, which I had also written. The Doctor quoted the +spirit of the poet as saying that he was delighted that I was interested +in demonstrating that there was a world of spirits. Dr. Schlesinger's +feats are bewildering to the human mind. If he is a mere trickster he +possesses in a marvelous way the skill to disguise his character, for his +appearance and demeanor are those peculiar to fanaticism or strong faith +in a cause. + + "THEO. F. BONNET." + + +MR. M'CLOSKEY'S VERSION. + +The following is the narrative of Mr. H. H. McCloskey, a resident of +Merced at the time of the seance, but now a San Francisco lawyer:-- + +"I did not attend the little seance at the Mayor's office by appointment. +I was on my way to finish up some business and catch the 4-o'clock boat, +when District Attorney Barnes suggested that I drop in and see the fun. +Intending to remain but a few moments, I accepted the invitation, and have +no reason to regret having done so. As to what happened there, while I +remember perfectly well what was done, and kept careful note of all that I +saw, I am unable to account for it on any other hypothesis than that the +Doctor was, as he claims to be, a spiritual medium. At the same time I am +not prepared to admit that much. + +"What I saw I saw clearly; it was real and devoid of illusion. There being +no one present but the Mayor and thoroughly reputable gentlemen, collusion +by which a portion of the events of that afternoon might be accounted for +is, of course, out of the question; and neither collusion, mind-reading, +nor anything else could account for all that occurred. + +"The Doctor requested me to write on seven slips of paper, one on each +slip, the names of six acquaintances, five of whom were living and the +sixth dead. On the seventh my own name was to be written. I had never seen +the Doctor before, and have no reason to suppose that he had ever seen me. +I used my own pencil in writing the names, and wrote upon paper furnished +by the city and county for the use of his Honor the Mayor. When writing +the names I was twenty feet away from the Doctor, and as I wrote upon each +slip I folded it up carefully, so that I myself could not see anything of +the writing, nor tell one of the seven slips from the others. Five of the +names were those of intimate personal friends, the sixth of a man whom I +knew in a business way, but for whom, while I was not at all intimate with +him, I had always a great regard. This man is dead, and has been so for a +couple of years. + +"In obedience to the Doctor's request, I placed the seven slips on the +table. Taking the hand of Mr. Barnes, I holding the hand of the latter, +the Doctor proceeded to take the slips one by one from the table. The +first he held a second and dropped. The second he handed to me saying, +'This contains your name.' Upon opening it I found the Doctor to be +correct, and asking him what my name was he promptly told us. + +"I confess I was a little mystified, but the Doctor didn't stop there. +Continuing, he picked up the other slips until the fifth one had been +reached. 'This is the name of your dead friend. His name is V. C. W. +Hooker--not exactly, but a name very similar. I can't quite make it out. +He says he will talk to you at another time.' As you saw when I opened the +slip it showed as I had written it the name of V. C. W. Hooper, a man who +was quite prominent in Merced during his lifetime. Just how the Doctor +found that out I leave to others who were there to explain when they have +time after accounting for the mysterious things that happened to +themselves. I cannot and will not pretend to. It was not mind-reading, +however. Of that I am satisfied. For as he picked up the fifth slip and +said, 'This is the name of the dead man,' he did not get that information +by reading my mind, for there were two more slips remaining, and I +couldn't say which was which. That is beyond any explanation. Mind-reading +will not fit it at all. + +"One of the party--I think it was Mr. Barnes--wrote the name of _two_ dead +men in his list. Leaving out the first problem--the picking up of the +right slip--putting that aside, how is it to be explained that the Doctor +chose the right name of the two dead ones? Mr. Barnes did not know. He +had not opened the slip; therefore the Doctor could not read his mind. For +myself, I give up the conundrum. + + "Very truly. + "H. H. MCCLOSKEY." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +CHARACTER OF THE NARRATORS. + + +To any one who has a fair knowledge of human nature, a glance at the line +pictures of the gentlemen who participated in the events with which this +book deals will tell that they are men of character and keen observation. +In San Francisco and throughout the West many of them are as well known as +the Governor of the State. + +Their names need no introduction, and since they have been representative +men for many years it is not necessary to say much about them. For the +benefit of persons who know nothing concerning them, however, the +following information is submitted:-- + +PATRICK CROWLEY, Chief of Police, was born in Albany County, New York, on +March 17, 1831. When quite young he went to New York and worked in +different printing-offices. He came to San Francisco in 1850, and worked +in the mining-camps for two or three years. He was engaged in the boating +business here, when in 1854 he was elected to the office of Town Constable +on the Democratic ticket. He was re-elected on the same ticket in 1855, +and from 1856 he was re-elected every two years on the old People's Party +ticket till 1866, when he was elected Chief of Police. He held that office +by election for six years, when he quit the force and went into the +brokerage business. In 1878, by an act of the Legislature, the Board of +Police Commissioners received the power to appoint the Chief of Police. +The office was tendered him, and after considerable pressure he +reluctantly accepted it, as he was making an excellent living at his +business. He held the office by election or appointment for twenty-four +successive years. His wide experience with criminals, bunko-men, and all +sorts of tricksters gave him excellent training and amply fitted him for a +thorough inspection of all that was done during the seances. In fact, it +was his boast at the beginning of his sitting with Dr. Schlesinger that he +had helped to trap the Eddies and other disreputable mediums, and that he +would soon expose the fraud in the case in hand. + +WILLIAM S. BARNES, son of the eloquent and famous General W. H. L. Barnes +(known all over America as the greatest living after-dinner orator, and +known all over the United States as a Republican orator), is a graduate of +Harvard and a man of fine legal attainments. He is one of the most +prominent Native Sons, and is famous for his shrewdness as Prosecuting +Attorney for the great City and County of San Francisco. It was he who +prosecuted and convicted Theodore Durrant in one of the most marvelous +criminal cases of the century. He was also the star lawyer in the +prosecution of the great Sydney Bell footpad case. Mr. Barnes was the +organizer and president of the Association of District Attorneys of +California; is an active member of California Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M., a +member of the Pacific-Union Club, also of the Union League, of which he is +one of a committee on political action, of the Juarez Manufacturing +Company, of which he is President. Thus his mastery in the legal +profession is no less equaled in his social and business associations. + +Attorney CHARLES L. PATTON is Grand Master of California Masonic +fraternity, and is a gentleman of the highest personal and professional +character. He was a strong competitor against Mayor Phelan, and was +chosen by the Republican party a few years ago as the best candidate +against the present (1900) Mayor of the city. Mr. Patton is a man of much +erudition and wide experience with men and books. He, like all his +associates, and like the writer of this book, was and is a skeptic +regarding the truth of so-called spiritual phenomena. His account speaks +for itself. + +Mayor L. R. ELLERT is a man of legal attainments and of wide business +interests. He was a popular reform Mayor, and was in office at the time of +the occurrences narrated. He is to-day one of the best-known and most +highly respected lawyers and business men of San Francisco. For many years +he was a skillful pharmacist, and his wide knowledge of drugs and +physiology was useful in the attempted solution of the various problems +presented by the medium. + +Judge ROBERT FERRAL is the warhorse of Democracy, and one of the Nestors +of the California bar. He made some of the most spirited races ever +entered upon for Congress, and polled the largest vote ever known for an +unpopular political party in the old days. As a judge and criminal lawyer +of wide experience, as well as by reason of his unexcelled literary +attainments and extended experience in the science of hypnotism and +kindred phenomena, the Judge was an invaluable spectator and participant, +especially as his native wit usually enables him to see through many +things that puzzle other men. Here, however, he stood dumbfounded. + +Dr. R. E. BUNKER is a regular physician of high reputation and personal +standing. He was at the time of the matters recorded in charge of the City +Receiving Hospital, and was considered one of the most careful and +competent observers at the seance. Like all others named, Dr. Bunker's +word is absolutely above reproach, and there is not a more competent man +in the country. + +THEODORE F. BONNET was at the time of the seance a reporter for the _Daily +Report_. He was afterwards elected to the important position of License +Collector, and is now editor and owner of _Town Talk_. This is one of the +best weekly papers in the United States, and its success dates from its +purchase by the gentleman named. Mr. Bonnet is an Elk of high standing, +and a man of good family and social position. In addition to all these +facts, it should be borne in mind that his long training as a reporter +fitted him in a peculiarly advantageous way for the duties of trying to +detect what was done by the medium. + +H. H. MCCLOSKEY was a casual visitor at the seance, being the guest of +District Attorney Barnes. Mr. McCloskey was at the time a resident of +Merced, and was a prominent lawyer and politician. He was also a +Republican State Central Committeeman and was considered one of the ablest +of the party. He is to-day a well-known San Francisco attorney. His +account of the seance explains just what occurred. + +These facts, with some of the pictures, will give the reader an idea of +the men whose narratives he has doubtless read with pleasure. + +In conclusion, it should be remembered that this book is sold by the +publishers only. It will be sent to any address for fifty cents. If you +have enjoyed reading it, recommend it to the next friend you meet. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Do the Dead Return?, by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DO THE DEAD RETURN? *** + +***** This file should be named 35537.txt or 35537.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/5/3/35537/ + +Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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