Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1886-06-25
GLASS-EATlNG.
Men who Pretend to to CheW
and Swallow Glass.
A Probable Explanation Of the Manner III
which it is Done.

chimneys and other kinds of glass as an |
article of dict. The doctors advertiser
the thing quite extensively at the time
by declaring that the man would surely
die lie did not, however, to their
amazement, and still continues to dupe
credulous people into the belief that &c
consumes 'fuscd sand" Ills pose as the
''orignal and only" glass-eater was soon
spoiled 10y the appearance Of numerous
other applicants for glass-eating glory
and now dime museum is poor indeed
that cannot support one Of these "human
ostriches." They are the Legitimate sue
cessors of the swordswallowers and
caters Of fire, who were at one time the
standard "wonder" at circuses and mu-
seums. The sword-swallower is Obliged
to educate his throat so as to allow for
eign substance to remain in it for an IN
definite period. That this is difficult
task let any one who believes to the con-
trary run even his finger down his throat
and mark the result The fire eater
toughens 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
does this glass-eater dispose Of his tlinty
lunch, which, if taken into his stomach,
would produce the same effect as score
of lancets or a dose of cyanide of potas-
sium-a most agonizing death9 Pow
dered glass has long been used as a SOW
ereign but cruel remedy for superiluous
cats, dogs, &c. Now, if the stomach Of
a dog or cat, which so easily digests
bones and other hard substances, cannot
dispose of little powdered glass, how,
then, do the interior organs Of the
colored "professor" at a neighboring
dime museum stand the strain Of dozen,
more or less, meals of this kind a day2
iii sria,ls q dis. IS tha.,z
the eater OF glass never eats glass, in fact,
although those who witness the edifyina
spectacle and are afforded the opportu-
nifty of exploring the dark recesses 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 dyspepric load
is ludicrous in the extreme when one be-
gins to think Of the absurdity of it. lie
says: 'From personal examination of
the mans stomach, 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 a re-faced-romance. In fact,
about the only acid that will dissolve
glass-hydrohuoric--is so powerful that
should it get into this pretentious ind-
viduaPs interior it would eat its way out,
in less time than Il 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 pinch of
SALT probably to take off the excessive
freshness of his meal, and a 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 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-
ishing. Another theory is that the per
former had pre- siously 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 glass
does not stay in his mouth, and being
equally certain that it cannot 80 into the
stomach, there is but one conclusion to
be drawn that the glass is intercepted
before reaching its destination. But how
can this be done2 Very easily. The
sword-swallower cducatcs his throat TO
allow the presence of the sword; the
glass-eater prepares his to receive a tube
of some description, which probably has
a strainer in the end to allow the water
which he drinks to filter through, but
retains the glass until such time as he !
can dispose of it without being observed.
That silver tubes can be worn in the
throat we all know from the numerous
instances in which they have been used t
in surgical operations Meanwhile gas b
eating is becoming one of the crowded E
professions, and it behooves the mana, b
gers of dime museums to be on the hunt t
for some new dietetical curiosity Glass d
eating is already a chestnut "-B9sto'
transcript.