Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-03-20
TIE GEORGIA GIRLS.
Again COaxfng Things Across the Floor in
Spite OF the Resistance OF Strong Men.
GAINESVILLE gal Correspondence n. Y. Sun.

Again COaxfng Things Across the Floor in
spite OF the Resistance OF Strong Men.
Gainesville (Ga.) Correspondence n. Y. Sun
Miss Lulu Hurst of CedartoWn, Ga, has
given one of her remarkable entertain
ments in our town.
She first held the handle of an umbrel-
la while four citizens held cords that were
tied to the umbrella, suspending it in the
air. In about two minutes the umbrella
began to squirm and twist, and soon the
staff was wrenched into two parts, and
the umbrella was broken to pieces. Then
MIR. MiddlebrOOks, weighing over 200
pounds, sat down in a chair on the stage.
She placed her open hands upon the back
of the chair, and presently the chair be-
gan to move, and soon Mr.. MiddlebroOks
was thrown upon the floor. Another
chair was then placed on the stage, and
Col. Murphey of our town attempted to
hold it still. She placed the palms of her
hands on the seat of the chair, and soon
it began moving across the stage, and
finally escaped from Col. Murphey's grasp
and fell on the floor. The same feat was
repeated with two men, then with three,
and finally with five, with the same re-
suit each time.
A rod about six feet long was placed in
the hands of a strong man, who was
sceptical as to the powers of Miss Hurst.
Soon the rod began to move in spite Of
all his efforts to keep it still. It hustled
him across the stage in ludicrOus man
ner. After several similar performances
with different men, who tied in vain to
hold the chairs and rod still, the exer-
cises closed. About 500 of our best cit
liens witnessed the performance, and
they were convinced that there was no
sleight of hand in what Miss Hurst did.
10
MINI county, Tenn, When she was a
year old her parents removed to Cedar
| Valley, Polk county, Ca, where they
have since resided. She has gone to
school but ten months in her life, but
| was a remarkably apt scholar while at
/ school. She united with the Missionary
Baptist church when she was twelve
years old, and is devOut Christian. She
succeeds best in her performances when
everything around her is quiet. She can
not bear unkind treatment on the stage,
and her strange powers desert her when
the spectators appear to be unfrlendly.
| When exerting her peculiar gifts she
does not know what is happening around
| her, and blindly follows the object NOV
ing from her. She often has to be caught
to prevent her from running off at the
! front of the stage or against wall. She
/
brown eyes, weighs 125 pounds, and is a
modest girl of retiring disposition.
Her unnatural powers were developed
last August.
Lula Hurst and her parents are plain
country people, and they are as much as
tonished as anyone else. They do not
| believe that it is the result of spiritual
istic influences Spiritualists have writ
! ten to Miss Hurst, insisting that her
strange powers are the results of spirit
ualism, but she treats their letters with
contempt. The phenomena, it was said
at first, were produced by her muscular
powers, but physicians at Atlanta and
elsewhere have placed their hands be-
tween hers and tina chair to be moved,
so that only the tips of her fingers
| touched the chair, but the results were
unchanged. Others have held her arm
tightly above the elbow to ascertain if
there was muscular action, but not any
was perceptible.
Some people believe she is strongly
magnetic, and that the objects she
touches are magnetiZed by her touch, and
are then repealed from her, on the prin
ciple that "like electricity repels like
But a stick placed in a glass bottle
which is a non-conductor, will writhe
and twist in the bottle, when she holds
it.
The physicians of Cedartown sent this
certificate to Mr.. Hurst, without his so
licitation:
CEDARTowN, February 4, 1884.
Concerning Miss Hurst, it gives III
pleasure to state that she is pure, sim
pie child of nature, the embodiment O.
truth and honesty, without guile or de
ception. Of her wonderful performance
we assert that she has done, and is capa
BILE of doing, without physical or muscu
lar power, all that her father, who is al
honorable gentleman claims.
M. F. LIDDELL, NJ D.
E. H. RICHARDSON, M. D.
G.. H. HARRIS. M. d.
=. PRYOR, M. D.
w. G. ENGLAND, M. D.