The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-23
TINT STRANGE GEORGIA GIRL.
CoaXing Things Across the Floor in Spite of
the Resistance of Strong Men.

CoaXing Things Across the Floor in Spite of
the Resistance of Strong Men.
GAINESVILLE Ca Letter.
Miss Lula Hurst, of Cedartown, Ga, has given
one of her remarkable entertainments in our
town. 1t was performance that she had pre-
viouSly given il public on several occasions. and
that has everywhere been witnessed with the
greatest establishment
She first held the handle of an umbrella while
four citizens held cords that were tied to the
brea suspendng 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 broken to pieces. Then Mr..
Middebrooks, weighing over tw hundred pounds,
sat down in in chair on the stage. She placed
her open hands upon the back of the chair, and
presently the chair began to move. and soon MIR.
Middlebrooks was thrown upon the floor. Anoth-
ell chair was then placed upon the stage. and Col.
Murphy, of our town, attempted to hold 1t 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. Murphy
grasp and fell on the floor. The same feat was
repeated with two men, then with three, and
finally with five, with the same result each
time
A rod about six feet long was placed in the
hands of a strong man, who was skeptcal as to
the powers of Miss Hurst Soon the rod began
to move in spite of al his efforts to keep it still
1t hustled him acl oss the stage in a ludlcrous
manner. After several similar performances
with different men, who tried in vain to hold the
chairs and rods still. the exercises closed About
500 of our best citizens witnessed the perform
ance. and they were convinced that there was
no sleight of hand in what Miss Hurst did
Miss Hurst was born in 1865, in McMinn
county, Tenn. When she was year old her
parents removed to Cedar Valley, Polk county,
Ga. where they have since resided. She has
gone to school but ten months in her life. but
was a remarkably apt scholar while in school
She united with the Missionary Baptist Church
when she was twelve years old, and is devout
Christian. She succeeds best i'll her perform
ances when everything around her is quiet She
cannot bear unkind treatment on the stage, and
her strange powers desert her when the specta-
tors appear to be unfriendly. When exerting her
peculiar gifts she does not know what is happen
ing around her and blndly follows the object
moving from her She often has to be caught
to prevent her from running off at the front Of
the stage against wall. She is a brunette
with long black hair and brown eyes, weighs
125 pounds, and is modest girl of retiring dis
position.
Her unnatural powers were developed last
August. One day she heard peculiar rafting
noise about the head of her bed and told her
mother about it. Mrs. Hurst went to the room,
heard the noise, and concluded that there were
rats inside the bed. She ripped open the bed
but found noJhing in it, Miss Hurst became so
frightened one night at the noise in her apart
ment that she left her room and slept elsewhere,
A few nights later young friend of Miss Hurst
was spending the night with her. and both of
the girls became considerably frightened. Mr..
Hurst and his wife concluded that the cause of
the phenomena must inhere in their daughter.
Lula was asked on one occasion to sit down on
a trunk at one end of the ROOM and soon the
noise was heard about the trunk. Soon after
pebbles and specimens of iron ore on the mantel
began to move about, and some of them would
fall off on the floor when she entered the ROOM
Articles of clothing would disappear for
two or three days, and then suddenly be
found hanging on a nail or picture in the
family room The dishes and cutlery were
greatly disturbed when she went into the dining
ROOM She would lie down on bed and soon it
! would move about the room, as she willed. Or
she could think of some tune. going over the
notes mentally, and the music would be heard
from the head of her bed, as if from some music
al instrument.
These and other wonderful performances were
noised abroad, and people began to assemble
in crowds to witness the strange phe-
nomena. The Atlanta Constitution sent a re-
porter to her home to learn if the reports were
true. The reporter was convinced, wrote an ac-
count of the affair, and after much persuasion,
prevailed on Mr. Hurst to take his daughter to
Atlanta and give public exhibition of her
powers Three successful exhibitions were given
in Atlanta.
Lulu Hurst and her parents plain coun-
try people, and they are as much astonishcd as
any one else. They do not believe that il is the
result of spiritualstic influences. Spiritualists
have written to Miss Hurst, insisting that her
strange powers are the results of spiritualism,
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 between hers and the chair to be
moved, so that only the tips of her fingers
touched the chair but the results were not
changed Others have held her arm tightly
above the elbow, to ascertain if there was mus
cular action but not any was perceptible.
Some people believe she is strongly magnetic,
and that the objects she touches become magnet
lied by her touch, and are then repealed from
her, on the principle that like electricity repes
like" But a stick placed i'll glass bottle, which
! is a non-conductor, will writhe and twist in the
bottle when she holds it.
The physicians of Cedartown sent this certif-
cate to Mr.. Hurst without his solicitations
CEDARTowN, Feb 4, 1884.
Concerning Miss Hurst it gives us pleasure to state
that she is pure simple child of nature the embodi-
ment of truth and honor, without guile deception.
OF her wonderful performances, we assert that she
has done and is capable of doing without ply steal
muscular power all that her father who is honor
able gentleman claims
NJ. f. LIDDELL, M. D.,
E. II. RICHARDSON. NJ. D.,
G. H HARRIS NJ. D.,
H. PRYOR NJ. D..