Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-10-27
SWORD SWALLOWERs.
How Professionals Train Themselves
for These Daring Eeats.

From La Nature
When a.physician introduces his finger, the
handle of spoon, or pencil into the throat of
patient, the latter experiences an extremely
disagreeable sensation Any touching, however
slight it may be, uf the pharynx causes strang-
ling. pain and nausea. and the organ reacts with
violence against the obstacle that presents itself
to free respiration. There is no one who has not
more than once experienced the disagreable i'm
preston, and for this reason we are Justly sur
prised when we meet with people who seem to
be proof against it, and who. for example, intro
duce into their pharnyx large, solid and stiff OBJ
jeCts like sword blades. and cause these to pen
citrate to depth that appears Incredible. 1t is
experiments Of this kind that constitute the
tricks OF sword swauowers.
These experiments are nearly always the same.
The individual comes out dressed in brilliant
costume. At one side of him there are flags of
different DatiOnalities surrounding panoply OF
SiberS. swords and yatagans, and. at the other
stack OF guns provided with bayOnets. Taking
a fiat saber, whose blade and hilt have been cut
! out of the same sheet of metal. the blade being
from 55 to 60 centimeters in length, he intro
duces it's extremity into his throat. taps the
hiit gently. and the blade at length entirely dis
appears. He then repeats the experiment in
swallowing the blade at single gup Suisse
Quently. after swallowing and disgOrging two
OF these same swords. he causes one to penetrate
up to its guard, a second not quite so far. a
third little less STILL and fourth I'D to about
half its length
Pressing, now. on the hits. he swallows the
four blades at gulp; and then he takes them
| out leisurely. ore by one. The effect is quite
surprising After swallowing several different
swords and sabers. he takes an old musket
| armed with triangular bayonet. and swallows
the latter. the gun remaining vertical over his
head. Finally, he borrOws a large saber from
dragon who is present for the purpose. and
causes two-thirds of it to disappear AS a trick,
on being encOred. the swOrd-swallOwer bOrrOws
cane from person in the audience and swal-
lows it almost entirely
certain number of spectators usually think
| that the performer produces an illusion through
the aid OF some trick. and that it is impossible
to swallow sword blade. But this is a mistake,
Tor swOrd-swallOwers who employ articles arc
few in number and their experiments but slightly
varied, while the majority really do introduce
into their mouth and TODD passage the blades
that they cause to disappear. They attain this
result as follows:
The back parts of the mouth, despite their
constituencies and their rebellion against contact
with solid bodies, are capable of becoming so
changed through habit that they gradually get
used to abnormal contacts. This fact is taken
advantage of in medicine 1t daily happens
that persons afflicted with disorders of the
throat or stomach can no longer swallow or
take nOurishment. and would die of eXhaus-
tioh "Clc lhey HUI leu Ill by IUedUS VI
the 9sophageal tube This latter is vulcan
lied rubber tube which the patient swallows
after the manner of sword swalIowers. and
through the extremity of which an aid intro
duces milk or bOuillOn. But the patient before
being able to make daily use of this apparatus,
must serve genuine apprenticeship. The trst
! introduction CT the end Of the tube into the
pharnyx is extremely painful. the second is a
little less so, and it is only after large num-
Der of trials, more or less prolonged, that the
patient succeeds in swallowing so or 40 cen
tmeters Of the tubing without a disagreeable
sensation.
The washing out Of the stomach. performed
by means OF long flexible tube which the pa
tient partially swallows, and with which he in
jects into and removes from his stomach a
quantity of tepid water by raising the tube or
;tting it hang down to form siphon, likewise
necessitates an apprenticeship or some days;
but the patient succeeds in accuStOming his
organs to contact with the tube and is finally
able. after short time, to swallow the latter
with Indifference at least. if not satisfaction.
With these sword swallOwers it is absolutely
the same; tor. with them, it is only as a con-
sequence of repeated trial, that the pharnyx be-
comes sufficiently accustomed to it to permit
them to finally swallow objects as large and
rigid as swords, sabers canes and even billiard
cues.