The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1883-05-10
Wonderful Mesmeric Powers.
The Chicago Herald of a recent ia

/ Inc Chlcag0 Herdtd OF recent date
is responsible for the following: A
wonderful exhibition of mesmerism, or
at least what passed for that, took place
| yesterday afternoon at General Sheri-
dan headquarters. A number of officers,
a Herald reporter and several friends
were present, and they were all
astounded at what they saw. A young
man, apparently twenty-five years Of
age, who had nothing in particular to
4 distinguish him from any other human
biped of that age, was the mesmerist.
He rejoiced in the name of johnson, and
was very weak about the ewes. 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
tions. His first attempt was in the form
of a 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 stT1-
He then stood out in the center OF the
room and commenced rubbing his eyes
In a few minutes he fell limp, with
Eclosed eyes, into his assistant. arms.
He was then laid out on the floor and his
arms rubbed violently into 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
mesmerized state, ry93 80 ES Fl
g Now" said he, 'tyou viii observe,
gentlemen, that | have this boy COM
pletely under control, and will make
him do whatever Iwant. Twill ask him
it he desires glass of wine and he will
say he does. have herea very rank
sort of cod liver. oil, which shall make
him drink, and he win think he's drink
ing the finest Catawba. Will any gem
tlenan please take this oil to see that I
am not fooling them. Ali good. That's
right Now George, do you want glass
of wine? OF course you do Here
IaGeorge." And he made the negro toss
off the glass of cod liver Oil as airily as
though it were the most pleasant drink
\ imaginable. He then rubbed his hands
across his eyes and brought him TO, when
the negro had become rather unwen and
evinced a adesire tothrow up his Job. s-l
Now, thea, Plltake that taste away"
said the mesmerist, and he passed both
hands tenderly across the boys black
4 Visage. He made him eat portion of a
! "a fh1s &I
it was q stick of candy, and swallow q
few tablespoonfuls of cayenne pepper,
telling him it was sugar. Then came q
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 a quiyer to the lad or causing drop
of blood to flow. He epulled the thread
through time and again and did some
4 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 '.eoon'i delightedly cried out yves,
massa." chow many stitches shall [
usep' asked the mesmerist. -Four"
The audience was satisfied, however,
and requested that he ''spare the hide. "
r. 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 It's surprising fond
ness for tin cans anil hoopskirts; but he
Al,
sessed by this negro lad. An attempt
was made to have the mesmerist put the
: ''coon'i under his influence again and
feed him with afew Patent Office reports,
4 but it fell through.
After this show johnson went into
comatose state bent in semi-cire liar
4 position on the. floor, and then gently
rocked back and forth like a cradle. His
ear was pierced with needle and sewed
through and through, The thread was
drawn out but not Q drop of blood
flowed. 1t seemed impossible to cause
tremor to pass over his form by any act
OF torture they could devise. When he
was brought out of this state, which was
always done. by quick passes over the
limbs, throwing off the current by snap
ping the fingers. then BY repeating this
on the face, he informed those present
that he had nesmerized a patient st the
Bellevue Hospital in New York, when.
a surgeon amputated a finger for man
and the latter felt no pain whatever.
4 He offered to cause any one to be in a
perfectly mesmerized state, but no one
4 accepted the offer. e 'cA rR b
| There was, something decidedly won
derful in all he did and it puzzled those
present. One declared it simply a great
control OF the. powers of the body, and
that he was not mesmerized at all; while
again, one of the veterans present
thought it the fairest ease of-aetual mes
merism that he had ever seen. During
all the performance the Young man
seemed cool and possessed, and went
att in a singalariy business like way.
| The part that most impressed the spec
tators was whers he threwlthe negrointo
a trance and sewed his cheek, tongue
and lips without. causing any twitching
of the flesh while doing SO. If the affair
was genuine, and there. seems but little
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