Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-06-08

4 ,-f.. arLru aIt iIE Du.YHN tHY
around the edges of the vessel fuming,
kissing and blazing, as it always does,
and seemed on the point Of expiring,
when to my astonishment and alarm a
sharp explosion took place, and in a
second of time the water was blazing in
a red, lurid column half way to the
Il ceiling. LlQ vi naHl
For God sake" | cried, extinguish
the flames or we shall set the building
on firel
"Had / dropped the potassium into
remarked, the building would indeed
have been consumed Lower and lower
fell the Pickering flames, paler and paler
\ grew the blaze, until finally the fire went
out, and | rushed up to see the effect OF
the combustion. ail 9al
Not drop of water remained in the
vessel! Astonished beyond measure at
what / had Witnessed, and terrified
almost to insanity, approached Sum
merfield and tremblingly inquired: To
whom, sir, is this tremendous secret
knowh2'l9l To myself alone, a he re-
u sponded n and now answer me ques-
ton: Is it worth the money! cIs
9" 1t is entirely unnecessary to relate
in detail the subsequent events con-
nected with the transaction. | will only
add general statement, showing the
results fmy negotiation. Having fully
satisfied myself that Summerfeld ac-
tually held in his hands the fate Of the
whole world, with its millions of human
i beings, and by experiment having tested
the combustion of sea water, with equal
facility as fresh, next deemed it my
duty to call the attention of few of the
principal men in San Francisco to the
extreme importance of Summer6eld' s
discovery. uO
=" A leading banker, bishop, chem
ist, two State university professors,
physician, a Judge, and two Protestant
divines were selected by me to witness
the experiment on a large scale. This
was done at small sandhill, lake near
the seashore, but separated from it by
ridge of lofty mountains, distant not
more than ten miles from San Francisco
Every single drop of water in the pool
was burnt up in less than fifteen min
utes. We next did all we could to pacify
Summerield, and endeavored toinduce
him to lower his price and bring it twithin
the bounds of. reasonable possibility.
But without avail He began to grow
urgent in his demands. The sub-com-
mittee soon commenced work amongst
the wealthiest citizens of San francisco,
and by appealing to the terrors of a few
and the sympathies of all succeeded in
raising one-half the amount within the
prescribed period. i shall never forget
the woe-begone faces of California street
during the month of October. The
outside world and the newspapers spoke
most learnedly of money panic-a
pressure in business, and the disturb
ances in the New York gold room. But
to the initiated there was an easier solu-
tion Of the enigma, The pale specter of
death looked down upon them all, and
pointed with his bony finger to the fiery
tomb Of the whole race, already looming
up in the distance before them. Day
after day | could see the dreadful raw
ages of this secret horror; doubly ter
rible, since they dared not divulge it.
Still, do all that we could, the money
could not be obtained. The day preced-
ing the last one given, SUNNI merfield was
summoned before the committee, and
fun information given him of the state
of affairs Obdurate, hard and cruel, he
still continued. Finally, proposition
was started that an attempt should be
made to raise the other half of the money
in the city Of New York. To this prop
osition Summerfield ultimately yielded
but with extreme reluctance. 1t was
agreed in committee that ! should ac-
company him thither, and take with me,
in my own possession, evidences of the
sums subscribed here; that proper APP
peal should be made to the leading cap
italists, scholars and clergymen of the
metropolis; and that, when the whole
amount was raised, it should be paid
over to Summerfeld, and bond taken
from him never to divulge his awful
secret to any human being. l0
with this he seemed to be satisfied,
and left us to prepare for his going the
next morning.
''As soon as he left the apartment, the
bishop arose, and deprecated the action
that had been taken, and characterized
it as childish and absurd He declared
that no man was safe one moment whilst
that diabolical wretch still lived; that
the only. security for us all was in his
immediate extirpation from the face Of
the earth, and that no amount of money
could seal his lips or close his hands.
1t would be no crime he said, to deprive
him of the means of assassinating the
whole human family, and that, as for
himself, he was for booming him to i'm
mediate death. ..1 ....l V
F" With a unanimity that was extraor-
dinary the entire committee coincided.
"a great many plans were proposed,
discussed and rejected, having in view
the determination of Summerfeld. In
them all there was the want of that
proper caution which would lull the ap- |
prehension of an enemy; for should he
for an instant suspect treaehery we knew
his nature well enough to be satisfied |
that he would waive all ceremonies and |
carry his threats into immediate execu-
ton,
1t was finally resolved that the trip
to New York should not be abandoned,
apparently, but that we were to start out |
in accordance with the original pro
gramme; that during the journey some
proper means should be resorted to by
me to carry out the final intentions of
the committee, and that whatever did
would. be sanctioned by them all, and
full protection, both in law and cons
cience, afforded me in any stage of the
proceedings.
Nothing was wanting but my own
consent. / asked the privilege of medi-
tation for one hour, at the hands of the
committee, before l would render de-
cision either way. During that recess
the above augmentation occupied my
thoughts. The time expired and 1
again presented myself before them.