The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1873-08-21
A Remarkable Power.

A case singularly different from all
except one heretofore reported, turned up
in this city last Monday, in the person and
gifts of young man named John X.
Brown, whose residence is in Red Oak,
Iowa, where, in partnership with broth.
er, he conducts a machine manufacturing
business. This individual arrived in the
city on Saturday, accompanied by Mr.. NJ.
r. Kelly, late Superintendent of Schools
in Whiteside County, ILL.,, who formerly
was his teacher. The visit to Chicago
was on affairs of trade. On Monday, at
the solicitation of friends who were cog.
infant of his powers, he was prevailed
upon to exhibit its workings in the pres
ence of several gentlemen, among whom
were few attaches of the InterOcean.
His faculty, it may be promised, consists
mainly in his ability to lead persons to
any object mentally selected, no matter
where placed, so that it is accessible by
ordinary means to ordinary people, he
being blindfolded and uniformed as to
the shape or identity of the thing so Sc
lected. Other Curious things are also in
his power to do, as will be related, but
this is his forte. He requires no special
surrounding conditions, no harmonious
action" of Compartments or influences, as
the majority of media do, further than
the person making the test must be
sober-that is, free from the intellectual
haziness consequent upon bibulOus per-
formances-and that this person must be
possessed of sound left arm and hand.
That he is q medium, in the ordinary &C.
ceptation of the term, he does not assert;
nor does he claim to be clairvoyant or a
believer in mesmerism. The parental
Browns are Methodists, and not at all in
clined toward spiritualism; their son fol-
lows in their opinion.
The first test made was by a gentleman,
who, communicating to no one what was
be conducted to certain vest pocket
wherein was a particular key. The pro-
prietor of the vest was at that moment
wearing it in distant room. Mr.. Brown
was blind-folded, took the gentleman's
left hand, placed it upon his own fore
head, and, after number of vacillating
movements, started out through the door.
With few deviations he traversed the var
ious passages, never tripping or stumb-
ling against chairs or tables, and going
through doOrways without bump
straight to the party who wore the vest,
and placed the subjects hand upon the
identical pocket wherein was ensconced
the key. The same test in different forms
was subsequently applied by others, and
invariably with the same result.
Next he was blindfolded, and a dozen
or more photographs produced by an
adolescent in the company, who, with a
nervous tremor in his voice and flush
upon his downy cheek, requested to be in
formed whether Mr.. Brown could pick
out the picture of the lady he (the Adde'S.
cent? was going to marry?" Certainly he
could, was the reply-provided it was
among the photographs. 1t was among
them, and SO, with shaky fingers, the
youth distributed the pictures in various
parts of the room. Immediately his
hand had been carried to Mr.. Browns
head the latter started with surprising
promptness, took direct line to bureau
in corner, and placed the trembling
manual extremity grasped within his own
upon one of the cards, whereup0n with o
'sigh like furnace blast" and smile that
the happy boy acknowledged the success
my girl!'' and retired to the yer.
andah to palpitate alone. Mr..
Brown afterward indicated pictures in an
album, placing the subjects finger upon
the one desired directly it came to view
upon the leaves being turned; spelled
out, upon small-written alphabet the name
of dead sister of one of the spectators,
whose only part in the transaction was to
think it, and did variety of other things
equally strange. A prominent clairvoy.
ant who was Of the party was at a loss
how to name this gift, it being one quite
new to his observation. He opined, he
said, that the mind of the subject influ.
enced the mind of the operator through q
current of magnetic sympathy conveyed
along the arm to his brain. The other
spectators were silent as to opinions, be.
yond that the faculty was wonderful.
Mr.. Brown himself is not aware of the
cause of the means producing these re.
suits. He says that when the subjects
hand is placed against his head, rays Of
lambert light appear to emanate from all
sides of his brain, following, as he sup.
poses, the thoughts Of the other person
When an object is selected to be pointed
out, the mind Of the subject being direct
ed to IL, an unusual line Of light appears
and this he follows until it rests steadily,
which it always does, upon the object
The size of this light varies with the size
Of the object. For instance, should q
lnewspaper be spread upon table, and Z