The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-04-13
Wonderful Ne.merlc Ponsrs.

The Chicago Herald of q recent date
Is responsible for the following: A
wonderful exhibition of mesmerism, OF
at least what passed for that, took place
Yesterday afternoon at General Sheri-
dams headquarters. Anumber of officers,
q Herald reporter and several friends
were present, and they were all
astounded at what they saw. A Young
man, apparently twenty-five wears Of
age, who had nothing in particular TO
distinguish him from any other human
blped OF that age, was the mesmerist.
lie reJoiced in the name of johnson, and
was very weak about the eyes. Two
other gentlemen assisted him in the
manifestations. Several medical men
were on hand. and the room was com.
fortably TILED when he began opera.
tons. His first attempt was in the form
OF speech. in which he declared he
could mesmerize himself He said that
anyone Guild cut his flesh, stick needles
in him, or sew him up. and he would
not feel it in the slightest degree. He
claimed to be the only man living who
could do this.
He then stood ont in the center of the
room and commenced rubbing his eyes.
In few minutes he fell limp, with
closed eyes, into his assistants arms.
He was then laid out on the floor and his
arms rubbed violently into a state of
rigidity and placed at his side. His LEGS
were treated the same. He was lifted
and his neck placed on the back of a
chair and his feet an another, thus sus-
pending the rigid form in mid-air on two
chairs. He remained thus for two min
utes, and was then piled on the floor and
rubbed back into animation. He took a
young colored boy and put him into a
mesmerized state.
"Now," said he, ''you will observe,
gentlemen, that [ have this bow COM
pletely under control, and will make
him do whatever Iwant. Twill ask him
If he desires a glass of wine and he will
say he does. l have here very rank
sort OF cod liver oil, which | shall make
him drink, and he will think he's drink
ing the finest Catawba. Will any gem
tleman please take this oil to see that [
am not fooling them. All good. That's
right. Now George, doyou want a. glass
of wine? Of course you do. Here
George" And he made the negro toss
off the glass of cod liver oil as airily rs
though it were the most pleasant drink
He then rubbed his hands
across his eyes and brought him to, when
the negro had become rather unwell and
svinced desire to throw up his job.
'.Now, then, I'll take that taste away"
q "a 81 H. 4
hands tenderly across the boys black
visage. He made him eat portion of a
tallow candle, under the impression that
it was stick of candy, and swallow
few tablespoonfuls of cayenne pepper,
telling him it was sugar. Then came a
truly wonderful performance. He put
the negro boy into state of unconscious
ness, and taking common needle and
thread, sewed up the boys tongue. lips,
cheek and ear in one web, never bring
ing culver to the lad or causing drop
of blood to flow. He pulled the thread
through time and again and did some
very fine tailoring on the black hide.
When through he woke him up. Then
put him to sleep again and asked him if
he should repeat this performance, when
the coon" delightedly cried out .yes,
show many stitches shall |
use?" asked the mesmerist. -Four"
The audience was satisfied, however,
and requested that he ''spare the hide"
One old army officer declared that he
had had occasion one time to examine
the stomach of an ostrich and found |
powders, pieces of stone, metal and |
other queer substances therein, and had |
often heard of the digestive faculties OF |
the billy goat. with its surprising fond
ness for tin cans and hoopskirts; but he |
had never seen such organs as those pos
sessed by this negro lad. An attempt
was made to have the mesmerist put the !
''coon" under his influence again and
feed him with few Patent Office reports,
but it fell through.
After this show johnson went into
state bent in semi-circular
position on the floor, and then gently
rocked back and forth like cradle. His
lar was pierced with needle and sewed
through and through. The thread was
irawn out. but not drop of blood
lowed. 1t seemed impossible to cause
remor to pass over his form by any act
If torture they could devise. When he
vas brought out of this state, which was
always done by quick passes over the
limbs, throwing Off the current by snap
'ing the fingers. then by repeating this
m the face, he informed those present
hat he had mesmerized patient at the
Bellevue Hospital in New York, when
surgeon amputated a finger for man
md the latter felt no pain whatever.
lie offered to cause any one to be in
mesmerized state, but no one
ccepted the offer.
There was something decidedly won.
erful in all he did and it puzzled those
resent. One declared it simply great
ontrol OF the powers of the body, and
hat he was not mesmerized at all; while
gain, one of the veterans present
bought it the fairest case of actual mes
nerism that he had ever seen. During
ii the performance the young man
eemed cool and self-possessed, and went
t it in a singularly business-like way.
he part that most impressed the spec
ators was where he threw the negro into
trance and sewed his cheek, tongue
nd lips without causing any twitching
f the flesh while doing so. If the affair
Tas genuine, and there seems but little
how for doubling it, johnson possesses
cry wonderful mesmeric powers, as
here has never been any yet found who
Ould mesmerize themselves.