The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-01-28
One Fire-Proof Man.
Baltimore American.

1 The Tckahoe Neck monstroSity is in many respects devil iucarnate, but is harmless and inoffensive. In mighty stature," in color and general makeup, he marks up to the ideal of his Satanic majesty, being six feet tall, as black as the hinges of hades, 8 giant in strength, and endowed with such salsmsndrine qualities that he can endure fire unharmed, and with little inconvenience,
 None of the thousands who mar veled at his unnatural powers ten or twenty years ago will say that the above is in the least an overdrawn picture of Nathan Coker, whose firo- eating exploits were tho wonder of this peninsula to generations past, Nathan ts now cighty-four years old, having long since quit the business of fire-eating, from the profits of which he saved fortune Of Sl ,000, He works only when he feels like it, though he is still in robust health lie occupies small csbinin Tuceahoe Neck, about three miles below Denton, and more inotlensive and kindlicr old colored man is not to be found anywhere
 1t was in Denton, where Nathan once lived, that he first discovered himself to be fire proof. In his youth he was a servant in the house of Law yer Purncll. Being in the Kitchen a great deal, his inclination was to taste some of all the choicest dishes when the housekceper's eye was turned, and one day he dipped his hand into a boiling pot to catch dumpling. He got the morsel. and rclished 1t so much that he grabbed for another, and found that his hand was not hurt in the least. This pilfering process went on for some time, with no injury to the hand The first public cxhibi- tion that Nathan made of himself took place in the bar room of the local hotel, when he took live coals from the stove and held them in the palm till they had expired. Then followed on different occasions, other more trying feats of endurance, such AS whetting hot poker on his hands, or licking it with his tongue and hold ing it in his mouth, walking barc- footed among live coals and hot tires. At the trial of Fred Lawrence in Den ton, carly in the seventies, after an ad d- | iourned session of court, Nathan greatly amused the judges and many spectators by his exploits, and at the hanging of Lawrence in Easton he 1 xyoo ,roea,f aud uax,.. a., ax hihltt.., which nctted him $7. On this oc- casion he repeatedly took mouth fu' of molten lead with no injury. Hundreds of colored men were pres ent Great was their consternation when they witnessed the performance, On all occasions Nathan turned his supernatural powers to profitable account. He would "eat fire" at any time, but never without hearing the jingle of money. Judge Stump once gave Nathan $5 for whetting red hot poker on his hand.
 At the zenith of his lre-cating ca reer, Nathan made an engagement with the manager at the Front street theatre, Baltimore, that greatly widened his reputation. He played "the devil" there for three weeks to crowded houses, being the sensation of the day. Then followed an engage ment of eight nights at Douglas insti- ute. At both plsces he would go through the role of the evil one with SO much reality that many in the Monumental city were turned from the ways of the wicked and brought 10 repentance. Nathan never used preparations to protect himself from injury, as some people might suppose. Hot lead was taken into his mouth and live coals into his hands, and he would stand barefootcd upon n red hot stove with no injurious results. His mouth was never known 10 be wadded with asbestos, nor were his feet or hands encased with such pro- lection. The human phenomenon was never by any one here explained.
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