The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-03-30
A FIERY BREATH.
A Man Who Can Ignite Paper and other
Combustible Material by BREATH
ing Upon It.

tbE upon II.
A Pau Pau Mich correspondent
of the Detroit Post writes: ] notice
that in an interview with Post report
er, DIR. John E. Clark, of your city,
professor of chemistry at the Michigan
college of medicine, attempts to explain
the wonderful phenomena of the young
man Underwood, of this village, in
igniting paper and other combustible
material by blowing upon it. The
doctor says: "Anyone having chemical
knowledge of certain ingredients can
perform the trick with perhaps a little
legerdemain."
Having never witnessed an exhibit
ton of this wonderful feat, besides it
being so at variance with all of the
well-recognized theories of the human
functions, it is not to be wondered at
that the professor should endeavor to
account for it as "trick" made posi-
BILE by "having chemical knowledge of
certain ingredients, etc." Now as a
matter of fact this man can barely
read and write, and, though twenty
seven years old, has not the faintest
idea Of the first principles of chemistry,
but is what may be properly termed an
ignorant and superstitious young
mulatto. 1t is not new thing with
him. Ever since he was fourteen
years old he has given frequent proofs
Of the possession of this wonderful
power. When cold and wet in the
woods hunting, he has been known to
Kindle fire by simply gathering to
gether quantity Of dry leaves and
sticks and blowing upon them. He
has been suddenly awakened from
sound sleep in the night and asked to
rinse his mouth and burn a hand
kerchief handed to him, not by those
in league with him in the successful
performance of some "trick' or leger-
demain, but by the incredulous. He
has been repeatedly called from the
billiard room of the Dyckman house
into the office and handed paper torn
from posters hanging upon the wall,
and, to the wonder and absolute aston
ishment of spectators, soon set it ablaze.
In fact, though tested under every con-
ceivable condition and surroundings,
he has never been known to fail in
showing that he possessed this wonder
full power. He recently, by special
request, visited Chicago, and was put
to the severest test before the eminent
doctors of medicine and of chemistry
at Rush medical college. He offered
to be stripped, but while they didn't
ask that, they took the precaution to
wash him thoroughly and require him
to put on an entirely new suit of
clothes prepared for the occasion, and
then, after eating a stew and rinsing
out his mouth, in just one minute and
twenty seconds he set on fire a hand
kerchief furnished him by one of the
members; and this was done in the
presence of more than fifty of the ablest
medical and scientific gentlemen of
Chicago. not one of whom was able to
detect the least indication of its being
"trick." On the contrary they adj
mitted the genuineness of the per-
Torrance, but confessed, just as Prof.
Clark will do after witnessing it as
they did, their inability to explain the
mystery. They thought they might
possibly do so if they had him on the
dissecting table. On this occasion the
doctors asked him to produce his hand
kerchief, but he told them that he
never burned his own handkerchief,
and no less than seven were produced
by the professors, from which one was
chosen. Mr.. Underwood is absolutely
ignorant of the real cause or secret of
his wonderful power, but is ready to
ouDullC ululStll W tLC ocNtltSU ltSU
known to science, excepting that
suggested by the Chicago doctors
dissecting table"
The time usually required by him is
from thirty seconds to two minutes.
During the effort his pulse always goes
up from seventy to one hundred and
twenty-five, quickly resuming its nor
NAL condition after accomplishing the
feat. The effort is followed by brief
period of great exhaustion. So strong
is the belief here of the genuineness
of his wonderful power that parties
have authorized me to say that they
will wager $1,000 that Underwood
will place himself under the severest
test that DR.. Clark or any other man