, 1889-01-30
a HUMAN STORAGE BATTERY.
PeculiAritiPs of a Resident Of JoPlIn-How
He Locates Mineral.

He Locates Mineral.
The Hon. Fred w. Mott and Col. o. A.
Haines, who have just returned from a
visit TO Joplin and the southeast, relate a
peculiar story of n human phenomenon,
n Mr.. McKinstry, who is astonishing tho
natives there. McKinstry is @ feet Q
inches tall, of somewh hat angular and
awkward build, though 1.-the and muscu-
lar. His popularity is the wonderful
affinity he has for the earth and the vast
mount of electricity in his system-he
being, in short, n sort of an immense hui
man Leyden jar. They say that when he
walks over the ground a few hours he
becomes thoroughly exhausted and so
limp and helpless that he has TO be Us
sisted homo. But he has to keep walk
ing, for When he stand firmly on one
spot of ground for u few seconds he be-
comes as if rooted, and has to have one
foot insisted loose, when the other can
be moved, and then, by treading up and
down for q minute, the electric current
becomes broken, in the course Of which,
however, the peculiar sparkling incident,
for instance, to brushing a black cats
hair backward, is developed.
But what Is causing n sensation there
is his claim of being able TO locate min
eral. Most every one Is familiar with n
part of the process-walking over the
ground with a forked peach switch, held
horizontally in front of the waist, either
extremity graspcd in the hand, and the
stem from which the two branches issue
pointing frontward. McKinstry has
adopted this plan, and improved on II to
locate mineral. Four months ago he
fitted up his simple machinc and asserted
his ability, not only to tell where mineral
wns, but Just at what depth 1t could be
strAck and the value of IL. To search
for u~0far ha ginnnlH fnlrna Nh. Y.r,I,
switch. In quest of lead he caps the
knob by u ~ferrulc of composition, in
which aluminium Ia n large factor.
To discover q zinc deposit this gives
place TO "A large one, in which platinum
predominntcs. II is stated that when
ever n man has delved In tho earth at a
point marked by him, mineral has been
found at about the depth the witch"
had promised. Superintendent j.. ID.
Vincil, Of the Viroqud mine, so Mr..
Mott says, offered the human battery S25
to point out n pocket for him. On the
other hand Vincil warned tho witch
that in the event Of n failure no WinciD
would kill him. So confident WINS
McKinstry in tho virtue of his charm
that he accepted, and going over the
ground stated that zinc would be found
~twenty-six feet below the surface at n
given point. Work was begun and the
SHAFT Is now eighteen feet, MCkinstry
still hangs ~nonchalantly around. He
has not ordered n coffin to date.
Mr.. Mott and the colonel wero so i'm
bued with faith in the potency of tho
trick that they invested on the strength
of what the miners believe necromancy,
but which they, somewhat familiar with
science, account for by the popular phil
osopher's stone-electricity. Mr.. Mott
states that each n of them grasped an
end of the magic stick as it turned, thus
experimenting the hold of the operator,
but that the attraction was so strong
that it turned, despite their combined
efforts to prevent it, even twisting the
bark off the branch. Every one is watch
ing for the development of Vincil's test.
If 1t succeeds they will bo elnted by tho
confidence that mt last they have an open
sesame to tho treasures hidden away in
the subterranean recesses of tho GARTH
st. Louis Globe-D Democrat.