The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-07-20

Men who Pretend to to Chew
and Swallo w Glass.
A Probable Explanation of the Manner in
which it is Done.

No matter how absurd anything is,
the great ma iority of people arc willing,
If they cannot understand it, to accept
any explanation offered md be satisfied
with it. This has been especially true of
the alleged glass-cating, which has now
become Il regular profession" with a
number of mcn-a woman has never yet
tried it.. The feat originated in Phila-
%delphia, where, it seems, q negro appear
ed to develop n peculiar fancy for lamp
chimncys and other kinds of glass as an
article of dict. The doctors advertised
the thing quite extensively ut the time
by declaring that the man would surely
die. He did not, however, to their
amazcment, and still continues to dupe
crcdulous people into the belief that he
consumes ''fuscd sand" His pose as the
'original and only" glass-catcr was soon
spoiled by the appearance of numerous
other applicants for glass-cating glory,
and now a dime museum is poor indeed
that cannot support one of these ''human
ostrichcs-" They are the legitimate Sue
ccssors of the sword-swallowcrs and
eaters of fire, who were at one time the
standard "wondcr'' at circuscs and mu-
scums. The sword-swallower is obliged
to educate his throat so rs to allow a for
eign substance to remain in it for an in
definite period. That this is a difficult
task let any one who believes to the con-
trary even his finger down his throat
and mark the result. The fire = eater
toughcns his mouth with astringent
washes, and then uses for fire volatile
substances, which produce a great deal
of flame with but little heat. But how
docs this glass-eatcr dispose of his flinty
lunch, which, if taken into his stomach,
would produce the same effect as a score
of lancets or n dose Of cyanide of potas-
sium-a most agonizing dcath2 Pow
dered glass has long been used as a SOW
ercign but cruel remedy for supcrfuous
cats, dogs, &c. Now, if the stomach of
n dog or cat, which so easily digests
bones and other hard substances, cannot
dispose of a little powdered glass, how,
then, do the interior organs of the
colored professor" at a ncighboring
dime museum stand the strain of a dozen,
more or less, meals of this kind q day?
The most obvious answer to this is that
the eater of glass never eats glass, in fact,
although those who witness the edifying
spectacle and are afforded the opportu-
nifty of exploring the dark reccsscs of the
Ethiopian's gullet, may be unable to fully
understand what he does with the pieces
In his mouth. The explanation by the
medical man whose certificate is printed
on the bills, of the manner in which the
performer disposes of his dyspeptic load
is ludicrous in the extreme when one be-
gins to think of the absurdity of it. He
says: "From O personal examination of
the mans stomach, I have found that the
gastric juices and alkalies contained
therein are just what will dissolve glass,
iron or stone" ANY one who has dab
bled in chemistry knows that the state
ment is q bare-faced-romance. In fact,
about the only acid that will dissolve
Observation-Disclosures so powerful that
should it get into this p%retentious indi-
vidual's interior it would eat its way out,
in less time than it takes to record the
fact. But the man really does take
glass-not bites out of tumblers, but thin
glass such as lamp chlmneys are made
of-into his mouth, and, with a pinch of
salt, probably to take off the excessive
freshness of his meal, and q glass of water
to wash it down, chews it up and appar-
emily swallows it. At any rate, the glass
does not remain in the performers mouth
as an examination by the writer's fingers
proved. And it was real everyday glass,
as several pieces taken from the mouth
just as he was on the point of swallowing
them are now in the reporters pocket
book-that is, if the sharp fragments
have not cut their way out. So this dis
proves one theory, that the alleged glass
Gas a clever imitation, manufactured out
of gelatine, clarified and made brittle, to
represent the real article. The gelatine
would, of course, do the man no harm;
but would, in fact, prove rather nour-
fishing. Another theory is that the per-
former had previously been a sword
swallower, thereby having made his
throat SO callous that the glass would not
cut it on its passage to the stomach; but
this does not explain how it is digested.
From all this, knowing that the plass