St. Paul daily globe., 1888-02-10
A HUMAN sALAMANDER.
Nathan COker, OF the Easter
Shore, and His Wonderful Skill

Nathan COker, OF the Eastern
Shore, and His Wonderful Skill.
The TuckahOe Neck monstrosity is in
many respects devil incarnate, 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, a giant in
strength, and endowed with such sal
amandrine qualities that he can endure
fire unharmed, and with little incon-
venience. None of the thousands who
marveled 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 tire-eating exploits
were the wonder of this peninsula two
generations past. Nathan is now "a
years old, having long since quit the
business of fire-eating, from the profits
of which he saved a fortune of 1000.
He works only when he feels like it,
though he is still in robust health. He
occupies small cabin in Tuckahoe
Neck. about three miles below Denton,
and more inoffensive and kindlier old
cOlOred man is not to be found any,
where, says the Baltimore American.
1t was in Denton, where Nathan once
lived, that he first discovered himself to
be flre-prOof. In his youth he was ser
want in the house of Lawyer Purnell.
Being in the kitchen great deal, his
inclination was to taste some of all the
choicest dishes when the housekeeper'S
eye was turned. and one day he dipped
his hand into boiling pot to catch a
dumping. He got the morsel and rel
lshed it so much that he grabbed for an
other 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 exhibition
that Nathan made of himself took place
in the bar-rOom of the local hotel, when
he took five Goals from the stove and
held them in the palm till they had eX-
pired. Then followed on different oc-
caSiOnS, other more trying feats OF en-
durance, such as Whetting a hot poker
on his hands, or licking it with his
tongue and holding it in his mouth,
walking barefOOted among live Goals
and Oh hot tires. At the trial of Fred
Lawrence in Denton. early in the seven
ties, after an adjourned SeSSOn of court,
Nathan greatly amused the the Judges
and many spectators by his exploits, and
at the hanging of Lawrence in EaSton
he was present and gave an exhibition
which netJed him S67. On this occasion
uO CpOfttCOly GOOh q VI
lead with no injury. Hundreds of col
Ored men were present. Great was
their CONSERVATION when they witnessed
the performance. On all occasions Ma
than 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 IS tor whetting red-hot
poker on his hand.
At the zenith of his fire-eating car
eer Nathan made an engagement with
the manager of the Front Street Thea
ter, Baltimore, that greatly widened his
reputation. He played 1.-The devir'
there for three weeks to crowded houses.
being the sensation of the day. Then
followed an engagement of eight nights
at Douglas Institute. At both places 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 to
repentance. Nathan never used prep
aratlOns to protect himself from injury,
as some people might suppose. Hot
lead was taken into his mouth and live
Goals into his hands, and he would
stand barefOOted upon a red-hOt stove
with no injurious results. His mouth
was never known to be wadded with
asbestos, nor were his feet or hands in
cased with such protection. The hu-
man phenomenon was never by any one
here explained.