The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1871-07-01
EBENsBURG; PA, SATURDAY, july |, 1871.


ed me to 'be silent and listen to what he
had to say.
"He began with some general remarks
about the inequality of fortune amongst
mankind, and instanced himself as strik-
ing example of the fate of those men who.
according to all the rules of right, ought
to be near the top, instead of at the foot
OF the ladder of fortune. But said he.
sprlnglng to his feet, with impulsive ener-
| gy, L have now the means at my COM
mand of rising superior to fate, or of in
tilctlng incalculable ills upon the whole
| human race
Looking at him more closely, thought
could detect in his eye the CLEAN of
madness; but ! remained silent and
awaited further Developments But nv
scrutiny, stolen as it was, had been de-
tected, and he replied at once to the ex-
preston of my face: No, sir, [ am neith>
er drunk nor maniac; l am in deem
earnest IN all that L say; aud | am fully
| prepared, by actual experiment, to demon
strate beyond all doubt the truth of all |
| claim
'tFor the first time noticed he carried
small portmanteau in his hand this he
! placed on the table, and unlocked it, and
| took out two or three small volumes; q
pamphlet or two, small, square, wide.
mouthed phial, hermeticalIy sealed.
81 watched him with profound curiosi-
ty and took note of his slightest move
ments. Having arranged his books to
suit him. and placed the phial in cons
| spicuous position, he drew up his chair
closely to my own, and uttered; in a half.
kissing tone:
'''l demand one million dollars for the
| contents Of that bottle; and you must
raise 1t for me in the city of San Francis
| co within one month, or scenes too terri
BILE for even the imagination to conceive,
will surely be witnessed by every living
hurhan being on the face of the globe
"Ihe tone, the manner, and the ex-
travagance of the demand excited faint
smile upon my lips, which he observed,
but disdained to notice
only mind was fully made up that /
had maniac to deal with, and l pre-
pared to act accordingly. But ascer-
tanned that my inmost thoughts were read
by the remarkable man before me, and
seemed to be anticipated by him in ad.
vance of their expression.
" Perhaps, said l, 'Mr. Summerfield,
you would oblige me by informing me
fully of the grounds of your claim, and
the nature of your discovery
THAT is the object of my visit he
replied. L claim to have discovered the
key which unlocks the constituent gases
of water, and frees each from the embrace
of the other, at single touch.'
You mean TO assert | reioined,
'that you can make water burn itself up 2
"tNothing more nor less,' he responded,
except this-to insist upon the conse-
quences of the secret, if my demand be
not at once complied with
"'Now, suppose | fling the contents of
this small phial into the Pacific Ocean,
what would be the resulti Dare you
contemplate it for an instant7 l do not
assert that the entire surface of the sea
would instantaneously bubble up into in
sutferable flames no, but from the nu-
cleus Of circle, of which this phial would
be the centre, lurid radii of flames would
gradually shoot out ward, until the blazing
circumference would roll in vast pillows
of fire, upon the uttermost shores. Not
all the dripping clouds Of the deluge could
extinguish it. Not all the tears of saints
and angels could for an instant check it's
progress. Onward and onward it would
sweep with the steady gait of destiny,
until the continents would melt with fer
vent heat, the atmosphere glare with the
ominous confagration, aud all living crea-
lures in the land, and sea, and air perish
in one universal catastrophe.'
"Then suddenly starting to his feet he
drew himself to his full height, and mur>
INJURED solemnly Il feel like God and
recognize my fellow-men but as pigmies
that spurn beneath my feet
At this Parker states that he attempted
to reason with Summerfield upon the alb
surdity of believing that he held in his
hands power SO mighty, at which the
latter retorted with quotations from the
Scriptures, Humboldt's Cosmos, and the
works of famous astronomical writers,
proving that it was not only possible for
entire planets to be destroyed by fire, but
that such terrible events had actually often
occurred This answer concluded, he
handed Parker a small phial, requesting
him to open and smell of its contents, the
result being that a strong odor of potas~
sium was observed. At this Summerfield
continued, 'Of course, said he, you are
familiar with the chief characteristic of
that substance. 1t ignites instantly when
brought into contact with water. With
in that little globule Of potassium l have
imbedded pill of my own composition
and discovery. The moment i. is liberia
ted from the potassium, it commences the
work of decomposing the fluid on which
it floats. The potassium ignites the lib
Grated oxygen, and the confagration of
this mighty globe is begun.
'sYes,' said 1. begun, if you please,
but your little pill soon evaporates or