The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-04-11
[Jewish Times.l
Swapping Souls.
AN INGENIOUS STORY FOR THE cREDULoUs.


odical devoted to medical and psychological
science, the following strange story:
Orenburg is town of European Russia, sit
uated in the Ural mountains, near the Asiatic
border. About year ago Abraham Chorkev.
a wealthy Jewish inhabitant OF that town, was
lying dangerously sick with typhoid fever. On
the 22d day of September, at midnight, crisis
set in which seemed to take fatal course; the
man suffered aud struggled. and his ply sicians
called it the agonies Of death. A number of
Jews were called in, prayers were offered, wax
candles lit, and behold the patient, who was
thought to be in the last stages, commenced to
breathe freely, opened his eyes, aud looked
with establishment at the surrounding scene.
Well, this has happened before. Many In
whom life was thought to be extinct rallied
again aid recovered their health. But the
sequel has no precedent. The man soon after
fell into sleep which the physician declared
to be healthy one. In the morning he awoke,
saw wife and children around him, who partly
in anguish and partly in joy were waiting for
his awakening. His wife, overwhelmed with
joy, wanted to throw herself upon his neck,
but by signs he repealed her, and demanded
in language which none of them
understood
1t should be mentioned here that Abraham
ChorkOv is man of sallow appearance, tall
and lean, looking like genuine Russian Jew,
with long black whiskers and beard, black eyes
aud long oriental nose, and that before his
sickness he understood no other languages
than Hebrew and little Russian, being one
of those illiterate Jews found in such large
number in that part Of the world. Now the
man began to speak in language unintellig-
ible to every one around him. The physician
who was summoned did not understand him.
With contempt he pushed away his wife and
children whenever they attempted to come near
him, and the doctor gave it as his opinion To at
in consequence Of the typhus the fellow had be-
come insane. The despair of the family lasted
for many days. His wife had in the mean
time sent to Tamboy for his parents, but on
their arrival Abraham would not recognize
them, did not understand their language, and
appeared to be angry that no one understood
wife gave him his clothes as worn by him be-
fore his sickness, the usual habits of the Rus
sian Jews; he examined them closely and
laughed heartily. He wanted to run out, but
his people quickly shut the doors, fearing he
would catch cold. He remained in the room
glass, he behed his figure in it; he stopped be-
fore the mirror amazed, touched his curls,
his big nose, his long beard, and burst
out laughing, but then, all of a sudden, became
quiet aDd earnest, and in deep meditation.
His wife and parents, who had witnessed this
establishment, and it now appeared to them
that the man before them was not their Abra-
ham Chorkov, but stranger. But Abraham's
forehead bore still the black line with which
he was born, so that even the physician who
had attended on the patient for nearly two
months, had to laugh at the idea. Abraham
Chorkev looked often out of the window and
seemed surprised at the country about him,
and one day he made strong efforts to run
away. The family now decided to call in the
a. kLNr
after careful examination pronounced him
thoroughly sane. Although they did not un-
derstand the tongue in which he spoke, they
recognized it as regular language, we'll artic-
ulated. Thinking that he could make himself
understood in writing, Abraham wrote few
lines on piece of paper, which the physician
read, but without comprehending their mean
ing. The writing was in plain, good hand,
in Latin letters, but the language was unin-
tellgble to all, and no one could make GU: how
Abraham Chorkov came to use Latin char
acteIs
So things went on until it was agreed to take
Abraham to ST. Petersburg to the medical uni
versity, to hear the opinion of the prominent
scholars. As soon as Professor Orlow heard
the language of Abraham he recognized it
forthwith as English. Abraham expressed i'm
mense pleasure of being enabled to make him
self understood, after some conversation Pro-
fessor OrlOw pronounced Abraham to be a very
intelligent Englishman.
but for Gods sakep' cried his wife. show
does my husband come to the English. and
how did he forget his Hebrew language?'
Professor Orlow listened with astonishment
to the story of Abraham's life, and would not
believe that he had been common, iliterate
Russian Jew. He asked Abraham in English
who he was and whence he came, and Abra-
ham replied in the same language: 81 am
from British Columbia in North America, my
native town is New Westminster. L have
there wife and one child living, and God only
knows how came here, or to this woman"
1t is easy to imagine the great amazement
of all parties. The professor declared the par
ties to be frauds, or that naturalization had
taken place. He called upon the government
to have them after investigated, and the family
physician of Abraham, his neigabors and 9TH
ers were officially examined, the examinations
lasting few weeks, but, to be brief, nothing
came of the investigation, the m after remained
as deep mystery as ever, and the physicians
contented themselves with declaring it to be a
psychological puzzle, a revelation of the hu-
man soul, which can not be explained. Abra-
ham told the professor that although his name
is Abraham, it is not Abraham Chorkov but
Abraham Durham, and that he had no other
desire than to go back to his family. One
morning, when his wife arose, she found his
place empty-he was gone, had disappeared.
The marvellous story soon reached the ears of
the Russian emperor, who forwith ordered dill
gent search to be made after the lost one; but
all of no avail, the man could not be found.
and at last it was generally believed that he
had been insane, and in his insanity sought his
denth in the river Neva.
In the spring of 1875, Professor Orlow of st.
Petersburg visited Philadelphia at the request
OF his government, to arrange the prelimina-
ries Of the Russian department of the Centen-
NAL exhibition. One day, reading a newspa-
per, the following arrested his attention:
In New Westminster an occurrence recent
ly took place, which caused great sensation
o IA Uhnl nrrifo or Prit, ohN ~
umbia. On the 22d day of September, 1874, a
for-dealer of said city was in a dying condition,
suffering from typhoid fevor, and ne one, not
even his physician, seemed to entertain any
hope as to the possibility of his recovery. New
ertheless the patient rallied and fully reco ered
But wonderful tie relate, the patient, who was
an Intelligent Engshman, had forgotten his
mother tongue and speaks language which
is understood by no one around him, but which
at last is recognized by an inhabtant of the
city to be jargon of bad Jewish-German. The
patient, before his sickness short stout fellow
and blonde, is now thin and lean like
stick, refuses to recognise wife and
child, but insists that he has a wife
and several children somewhere else; the man
is believed to be insane. All at once Euro
pean traveller arrives, marked with genuine
Hebrew face, aud claims to be the husband of
the wife of the fur-dealer. He speaks to the
woman in the same language her husband was
wont to speak to her, be gives her and even his
parents VINO i've IN SAID city, but who, of
course, do not recognize him as their son, the
most detailed and minutest descriptions of BY
gone events, and insists upon being the wo-
mans husband and the parents son. The poor
woman is almost in peril of her reason, the eff
feet of the trying ordeal. She necessarily
asks: who is this fellow, how does he come to
claim to be my husbandd?' When she hears
him speak and does'not look at his figure. she
is ready to think that he is her husband, but
as soon as she looks at him, the spell is broken,
for, surely, this stranger with the Jewish face
can not be her husband whom she had lust
nursed in his sickness. But the man continues
to press his claim, and tells her the most deli
cate and secret facts, evidently known only
to husband and wife,
Professor Orlow recollected now all about
the occurance last fall and to solve this '.psy-
phenomenon" He decided upon 90
ing to New Westminster. To his great sur
prise he really found there the same black
Abraham, whom half year ago he had seen
in st. Petersburg. He asked the blonde fur-
dealer in the Russian language whence he
came, and was answered. from Orenburg: and
when asked for the name of his wife, be gave
the name of a Jewish woman who had called
upon him with her husband, now before him.
in st, Petersburg. When asked what his
name was, he answered: "They call me here
Abraham Durham. but my right name is
Chorkov"
Professor Orlow was struck with a strange
dea. He reasoned this way. A man ab11c-
lion could not have taken place. the bodies
have not been changed, one ia short stont