1880] In San Francisco 



long before our arrival a crime soon avenged by 

 the famous Vigilance Committee, actually composed 

 of "best citizens" whose patience had passed its 

 limit. During my stay the son of the mayor shot 

 the editor of the Chronicle; but the Vigilance Com- 

 mittee was not called out, the latter's enemies having 

 asserted that he got only "what was coming to 

 him/' or words to that effect. As to this judgment 

 I venture no opinion, having no personal knowledge 

 of the matters involved. 



For entertainment we occasionally attended the 

 seances of some of the many professional mediums slon ? 1 



, . r, . J . r . , , . mediums 



operating in the city. Spirit voices projected (in 

 the dark) through long trumpets, banjos made to 

 float in the air by means of balloon gas, materializa- 

 tions in which the form of the medium or her as- 

 sistant could be detected in spite of false beard and 

 other "spiritual" accessories, all were part of the 

 stock in trade of the more clever. One whom we 

 visited went into a trance in broad daylight for the 

 benefit of an interested old gentleman who asked 

 many questions in his efforts to identify the dear 

 departed, arid thus gave clues which the medium, 

 was quick to seize. Finally he said: "This must be 

 my mother's mother." ''Yes," came the hasty 

 reply; "I now see clearly the letters G. M. M. 

 grandmother on the mother's side." 



On our own account we found it easy to call up 

 spirits whose names we wrote on paper; equally 

 easy whether we used the names of real people, 

 alive or dead, or of those who never lived. That 

 all these manifestations were frauds goes without 

 saying. As to other mediums or psychic phenomena 

 elsewhere, it of course proves nothing. But only 



C 219 3 



