St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-03
MODERN NIAGICIANs.
A Description of Some OF Their
Wonderful Tricks.

Wonderful Tricks.
Cosmopolitan.
When Frederick Gerstaecker ac-
cOmpanied the Duke of COburg to East
ern Africa, the ineognitO of his SOW
ereign friend was dropped at Cairo.
where German banker treated them
to dinner of fatherland fare, followed
by an exhibition of local talent, fife con-
certs, Arabian dances and legerdemain.
The exponent of the latter accomplish
ment produced copper dice box and re-
peatedly emptied it on the carpet, alter
mating his throws with predictions that
were lost upon the foreigners; but after
a series of similar preliminaries invited
his audience to an open terrace, and in
the plain light of the evening sun flung
up number of transparent balls that
disappeared at an apparent height of
some eighty feet above the foot of the
eSp1anade. The globes were cOlOrless
and pellucid like white glass, but as
light as gum, and were repeatedly sub
United to the examination of the Specta-
tors. After passing from hand to hand
they were put i'm an open vessel, shaped
somewhat like a shOrt-handled dipper.
and, leaning back until his OutStretched
arm nearly touched the ground, the
up in the air, where they could
be seen glittering for moment like
icicles or large glass pearls. But no
body ever saw them fall down again,
though the scene of the experiment was
surrounded by large level lawn; the
air seemed to have swallowed them
like globes of dissolving vapOr. Could
they have evapOrated or exploded into
spray of minute particles (after the
manner of ''Prince Rupert's drOps'')?
A straightforward trick was clearly out of
the question, but more tenable eX-
PLANTATION of the phenomenon would
have puzzled chemist as much as an
Optician. Gerstaecker tried in vain to
bride the wizard into hint on the COM
position of his missiles and was not
much luckier i'm Batavia, where Par
see juggler treated the Dutch residents
to novel mantanZa or killing show, in
the circus of the old city bull ring.
His victims were number of worth
less ours which their owners or captOrs
had brought along with the distinct UNI
derStanding that their entries would not
survive the incidents of the perform
ance. With no weapon but light stick
0pOssibly a tube), some six feet long by
an inch in diameter, the performer en-
tered the arena, and then invited his
A lank hound, almost hairless with
mango, opened the festivities by max
ing rush round the ring, but stopped
short OH finding his way barred by the
still tanker professor, and retreated
after displaying his few remaining
teeth. The necrOmancer held his staff
alarms length, still facing the dog, who
presently began to stagger, and two min
utes after had died in convulsions.
Ascend cur managed to run the block
ade by leaping over the extended staff,
but soon after began to show signs of
distress, and before the end of the third
minute had shared the fate of his prede-
cessOr. Dog after dog entered the ring
in quick succession, some of them stop
ping in surprise and shifting at the
cOFpses of their doomed fOrerunners,
but all finally approached the pOssessOr
of the fatal secret, or even snapped at
his naked shins, and not one of the
thousand spectators saw him strike a
direct blow, or defend himself in any
way suggesting mechanical eXplana-
ton of the uniform result. He would
merely lift his staff with a menacing
gesture, or permit blockade run
ner to touch it i'm darting by, but
in no instance was there occasion for
repeating that touch. The victims had
the ring before their gait underwent
peculiar change; they would drag them
selves along and stagger, or start as
under a sudden blow, then roll over and
die in the commissions characteriZing the
effects of certain virulent drugs. They
had evidently been poisoned; but how?
A post norton inquest failed to reveal
much as scratch or puncture. A
poisoned arrow could not have
entirely disappeared, while case
Gus poison would have betrayed
itself by its Odor or by its
effects On the person of the performer.
After the conclusion of the matanZa Mr..
Gerstaecker secured a private interview
with the artist, and in vain offered him
a liberal inducement to explain the
mOdus Operandi of his trick. The Par
see seemed bribe-proof, but at last took
his tempter aside and in whisper guar
anteed the results of his professional
assistance if Mynheer should wish to try
the efficacy of his art by an experiment
on twO-legged SUBJECTIVE amount of
the proffered compensation having evil
IDENTIFY suggested conjecture that the
enterprising foreigner was contemplate
ing the removal of some obnoxious fel
low biped.