The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-02-01
A WONDERFUL POWER,
Curious Manifestations of Georgia
Girl.
A Reporters account of Her Perform
anCeS,

! powers possessed by Miss Lula Hurst q girl
living with her parents near Cedartown, Ga.
the Atlanta Constitution sent one of its staff
to investigate the matter. The Constitution
representative saw the young lady at her
home and sent to his paper the following ex-
traordinary account of his visit:
Lula Hurst is one of the most singular
booking girls ever saw.
She has the strangest look in her dark
brown eyes that ! ever encountered. 1t
| needed no recollection of her mysterious
| power to completely awe me whenever those
| unfathomable orbs threw their weird fires
| into mine
In fact, / think | lost five pounds of flesh
every time caught that girl looking at me.
! The neighbors had told me she was an nm
sophisticated country girl.
j couldn't see it.
Away around in the corners of her ewes |
could see lurking just the strangest express
sion | ever saw
Her father told me she always took delight
in mNstlfytng folks. My opinion is that her
father doesn't understand her any more than
the alleged scientists understand the rose
tinted sunsets at West End
Freeman, of the Cedartown advertiser,
and Ponder, of the Rome Courier, have both
staked their sacred honor on Lulu Hurst's
beauty. 1t takes a rather gallant man TO
make up such verdict. She is fifteen wears
old, unusually large for her age, and her
wrists are as big as those of good-szed man.
Instead of a handsome and wilowy figure. |
found that she was inclined to be somewhat
round shouldered, and her frame seemed to be
remarkable more for its well-developed mus
cleS than for any statue-like beauties In
stead OF delicately-chiseled features and a
skin like alabaster, as the enthusiastic one
mad told me she pos ssed, | found high cheek
bones and a face with a considerable amount
/ n IIni.t 1,,,s,. i
unruIy, hung loosely from her head, its wild
freedom checked only by blue ribbon bow
fastened in some way on the top her head
Her hair reached slightly below her shout
ders, and heightened the awe-nspiring efTe t
OF her eyes and high cheek bones She was
dressed plainly to remarkab e degree-and
indeed, she seems to b. regardless of her per-
sonal appearance. She is five feet three
inches in height.
This is what Miss Lula told me about the
beginning of the mystery:
lone night about two months ago 1 was
sleeping with my mother in my room. We
had retired about nine and were Just get
ting of to sleep, when suddenly the bed at
up a cracking and popping, the like of
which had never heard before. The crack
ing was in all parts of the bad-all over it.
My mother scolded me for making noise
but | was innocent. | knew nothing OF it,
The noise, however, ceased, and we went to
bed
What was the next manifestation =
The next night was sleeping in the same
bed with my cousin, Miss Wimberlv, when
the same noises We're repeated with even
greater force My cousin called nv mother
into the room, and we took the bed-cothes
and bedding off the bed. We examined them
carefully. and found nothing the matter as
lar as we could see, although we noticed that
the pieces that took off continued to crack
as | was handling them. My mother said
the noises were eau ed by electricity. but !,
OF course. knew nothing of that lmme Ii
ately my father and the family ali decided
that some odd powers were at work in me.
Mother said, Lula, put your hands on this
chair | did so, and the chair began to move
around. 1t amused the little children, and
kept it up for half an hour. My father
thought it was a Joke we were PLAYING on
him. AMI took hold of the chair but he could
not hold it down although simply had the
weight of my fingers OH it,. Nv father then
began to experiment, and soon decided that
there was no limit to it. as five men could not
hold n chair upon which | simply laid my
hand. Finally the force became so great
that my father told my mother never to let
me experiment when h. wa, not there, as the
furniture was liable to move round at such a
rate as to do possibly great damage
1t was at Rome that | saw Miss Lulu. A
useless trip to Cedart lwn made me day late
i'll seeing her. but | turned uD at her hotel
at Rome to-day at noon, and in conn any
with Brother Ponder of the Courier had
private Seance for my own benefit. She
gives an entertainment at Rome tonight
There was no deception III what she did
for me ! watched her with nv eagle eve.
Her father and mother and Mr. Ponder
AMI myself We're in the room at the time
with the young lady.
Mr.. Hurst laid an ordinary chair upon
the floor on its back. Lulu. YOU put YOUR
hand on it, said he.
The young lady stopped down. put the tips
of two of her fingers to the back of the
chair and Immediately the piece of furni-
ture began to back around the room at "A
lively rate as if slid along by some unseen
power.
The chair was then stood up AMI Mr..
Ponder and | We're asked TO hold it on the
floor Ponder took one side and took the
other We put our whole force to work to
keep it still. Miss Hurst placed the palms
of her hands on the back of the chair, and
1t was soon flying around the room. over
poweling both of us, creating BIZ stir AMI
nearly knocking us down.
Miss Hurst then took the char and placed
both han!s under the perforated bottom with
her palms uppermoSt. She took no hold on
it, but simply let it ret on her hands as a
servant might nave carried waiter of flow
erS. Thus the legs of the chair were about
three feet from the floor and tie seat about
four and half. Pom Ter and | attempted TO
put II ON the floor using all our might and
down. 1t continued to ri,e and fly around in
the ar with the newspaper men swinging ON
at each side. Mr. Hurst, IA man weighing
near two hundred pounds, then got up into the
chair and sat there as calmly a. if lie were a
boy sitting ON gate post. Thus Miss Hurst
supported the combined weight of the three.
he total weight which she thus supported On
the palms of her hands was nearly five hun
dred pounds, or much more than the weight
of two barrels of flour 1t was indeed aston
ishing, especially in view of the fact that not
muscle twitche and the slightest flush did
not mantle her cheeks, She was as calm and
unconcerned as if she had been twirling a
summer hat by string.
docs it not tire YOU | asked.
Not at all, she replied.
Do you feel any peculiar sensations
"None whatever
Doesn't it strain YOU"
Indeed, if this Were a cane bottom chair.
you would not see the slightest strain on the
delicate canes.n
~ " " hat do you think about it,"
don't know anything about it,"
took heavy hi ,kory wliking-Stick and
caught it near one end. Mr.. j. n. Brown. of
Chattanooga, caught beside me Mr. j. W.