The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-28
THE FLIGHT OF A SOUL.
A Nebraska Man Lays Bare a Secret of Ma
ture, and Tells How 1t Was Done.
Lincoln (Neb. } S pecial to Chicago Tribune.

A Nebraska Man Lays Bare a Secret of Ma
ture, and Tells How 1t Was Done.
Lincoln (Neb pecia1 to Chicago Tribune.
A most remarkable discovery was recently
developed in this city. 1t is of such an astound-
ING nature that the correspondent hesitates to
give the circumstance to the public on account of
being barred at present from giving names,
although there is no good reason why it should
not be done. However, the gentleman who has
made the discovery requests it. This disclosure
consists in proving beyond the possibility of a
doubt by scientific means the existence of the
human soul, laying bare the greatestsecret of
nature, and proving the doctrine of eternal faith,
that the soul of man doth live" the disclosures
and proofs of which will shortly startle and as
tonlSh the entire world.
For the sake of convenience the gentleman
alluded TO will be called Mr.. Holland, a man of
small stature, a mild eye and thoughtful counte-
nance, a devOut Christian, possessing a peculiar
belief that the soul of man is a counterpart of
the body itself; and in this theory of the dual
man he sought the key of life and death. He
reasoned that within this body of bone and sinew
was yet another body existing in vapory form
which death alone should free, and that by a
simple microscopic device the dull sight of
human eyes might penetrate the minutest par
ticles of the air we breathe, and see the soul
take form and fight to the boundaries of another
world.
His attention was first attracted to this, he
says, by a man lying upon a sofa suffering with
a pain in his foot, and yet there was no foot there
to suffer, the leg having been amputated nearly
to the hip. "For years." says MI. Holland, this
incident ran through my mind, until at last l
resolved upon an experiment. l procured the
most powerful lenses L could find, and completed
an invention of my own, and when | had my
light arranged perfectly. SO l could examine the
microbes Of the air, | called upon a friend who
had lost his arm, and explained that | wanted
him TO put his imaginary hand where l directed.
He laughingly accompanied me to my rooms and
did as l desired. The moment l adjusted the
glass a world of revelation broke upon me. The
dual hand lay beneath my glass! l asked him to
make letters with his imaginary finger. He did
so, and to his wonder and establishment / spelled
out the sentences he wrote. That was conclusive
evidence to me-" continued Mr.. Holland, and
you know the rest"
The second experiment was one of the great
est diffculty-that of watching the soul itself
take flight. The friends of dying men would
not allow experiments, and, indeed, it would
have been a delicate matter to ask it. Hospitals
afforded opportunities, but physicians and at
tendants had no faith in the experiments of the
quiet gentleman. whom theyno doubt alluded to
as a "crank," SO for nearly a year he was waiting
and watching for a man ready to die.
The opportunity came at last; a c~onsumptive
wanderer from the East sought relief in the
Western air. He fell penniless, and was about
to be taken by the authorities to the county
poor-house when Mr.. Holland interposed and had
him removed to his own home, to nurse and
watch him die. Through many long hours of
the night Mr.. Holland sat by the bedside of his
charge, tanning the spark of life lest it should
go out in the night, when all efforts at the ex-
pertinent would be lost, and leaving orders by
day with his wife to call him the moment the
patient seemed to be sinking.
The fatal moment came about 10 o'clock yes
terday morning. Stretched upon a low bed
stead, with the death rattle sounding in his
three years of age. Mr.. Holland quietly mo-
toned the correspondent to a seat, and con-
tinued watching the features of the dying man
with silent interest. Presently he arose and
J.-nAo l. 10: sc 49, A.
flood of light fell aslant the dying man. He
wheeled from a corner of the room what looked
like a photographers camera, arranged the
lenses to a focus, and then produced a large lens
of some twelve inches in diameter and placed it
in grooves made to fit behind the apparatus.
The back part was then covered with q black
cloth so as TO obscure the light. and from time
to time, as the breathing of the man grew
heavier, Mr.. Holland made inspections of the
instrument.
At precisely 1870 o'clock a sudden tremor
passed through the body. and he had ceased to
breathe. Mr.. Holland arose from the bedside.
and said in a whisper:
Nov is the time!"
Together Mr.. Holland and the correspondent
passed their heads under the black cloth and
bent their eyes intently upon the glass. Particles
of dust in the air were magnified several thou
sand times, and for a time their motion kept a
perfect dazzle upon the glass.
Then as the vapor gathers into clouds, SO an
object appeared 20 be forming a foot above the
b0dy upon the bed. PARTICLE seemed to seek
particle, as by some molecular attraction, until
an object was clearly distinguishable. 1t seemed
the vapory form of a man rapidly assuming a
more perfect shape, pure and colorless as the
most delicate crystal. There was a moment of
awful stiffness, and a feeling came over me
which | can never describe. We bent our eyes
i%ntently upon the glass until, particle by particle,
the shapely form Of a man had formed and lay
floating a foot above, moored to the body by a
slender cord of it's own formation. The face
took the shape of the dead man, but was beauti-
full in expression; the eyes were closed and the
newformed being seemed as if it were asleep.
Presently the cord that held it to the clay
parted, and a gentle trenor passed through the
beautiful form-beautiful, indeed, for every
limb was of the most perfect mold, such as earth
has never beheld. The eyes of the spirit opened,
and a ray of intelligence and of unspeakable JOY
passed over its face. 1t arose to a standing po-
sition, and cast one sorrowful look at the tenant
less clay that lay so still.
l stepped from behind the darkened apparatus
and looked toward the spot where l knew the
form was standing. but l beheld nothing. The
earth reeled beneath me; I cried aloud and fell
~tainting TO the floor. When l again became con-
scious Mr.. Holland was bending over me; his
face was of an ashen paleness.
Il mistook your strength" he said; perhaps
should not have called you here. We have seen
natural causes and effects. Death is but the
beginning of life. Be careful, though, to whom
you tell the story of this day; the world is in
credulous. and to that is mainly due its ignor-
ance."