The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1873-12-18
ANIMAL MAGNETISM.
Proximity Of The Natural and the sspersat
urnl.


The dividing line between Nature and the Sn-
pernatnral is in some places very obscure. A
Young gentleman of the name of J. X. Brown, a
resident of Red Oak, Iowa, aged 81 years, called
at the Tribune Office, yesterday, in company with
ex-senator Woodland, of this city, and gentle
man from Whiteside County. Mr.. Brown was
introduced as one possessing remarkable psychOl-
ogical powers, which the assembled editors were
invited to make a test. We were informed that,
if any person would go to another part Of the
building and dep0sIt any article whatsoever u
secret place, Mr.. Brown, being blindfolded, would
take the person by the band and lead him direct
ly to the place, the only condition being that the
person dePositing the article should Keep his
mind intently fixed upon it. One of the gentle
men of the Tribune therenpOn went into an adj
joining room, closed the door, and placed coin in
side volume of the Poland Credit Mobilier re-
port, and covered this volume with several other
books. Returning, Mr.. Brown, having a hand
kerchief tightly bound over his eyes, took this
gentleman by the left baud, held the hand for
moment against his own (Mr. B.'s) head, and
then walked against the door of the adioing room.
The door being opened, he marched against one
of the glass doors of bookcase having i dozen
or more similar openings. This door being open.
ed, he placed the hand of the gentleman, who
had secreted the coin, in the POlalnl Credit Mo-
bilier report, and said, There it is" He did not
claim to know what the thing was, but he knew
where the place
Several experiments similar to the foregoing
were tried, with the invariable result that Mr..
Brown by placing the hand of the experiment.r
on his forehead, was enabled to walk directly Ia
the place where the object had been placed. IL
was also acertained that if a person should mere
ly fix his thoughts any object in the building,
Mr.. Brown wOnld go directly to it, having first
placed the persons hand on bis cwn head The
only explanation Mr.. b. can give Of his powers
is, that, when the hand is placed on his head, he
sees light leading to the object of which that
person is thinking. He does not pretend to read
anybody's thoughts in any other way than this.
1t is fortunate that Mr.. Brown was born in the
century instead of the Seventeenth else
he would have been burned for a witcL As it is
probable that he will give some public exhibit
tons of his powers, turn him over to the ''sci-
entists." That there is no humbug in his case, we
are fully persuaded. The experiments to which
he submitted in the Office of the Tribune in the
presence of half a dozen extremely skeptical ex-
perimcnteIs, seem TO prove the existence of a
force, to which the name of
. animal magnetism is most commonly APPLIED
The existence Of such force has long been sus-
pected, but the conditions of its operations are SO
rare, and the means or verifying the testimony
it are so unsystematized, that il has
no scientific basis of recognition whatever As
4 starting point for some well-authenticated |
Information upon the subject we suggest that |
he medical profession of Chicago appoint COM |
nittee, whose testimony would be universally ac-
;epted, to hold "seaBce" with Mr. Brown and |
export the facts.-Chicdgo Tribune.