The Opelousas courier., 1889-01-19
HUMAN
The Superhuman Qualities Of a
Maryland Monstrosity,
Eating Fiery Morsels--Walking
Unscathed Through Flames.

The Tuckahoe Neck monstrosity il
harmless and inoffensive. In ''mightJ
| stature" in color and general makeup,
he marks up to the ideal of his Satanic
majesty, being six feet tall, as black az
the ace of spades, a giant in strength,
and endowed with such salamanderine
qualities that no can endure fire I'm,
harmed, and with little inconvenience.
None of the thousands who marveled at
his unnatural powers ten or twenty
years ago will say that the above is Ii
the least an overdrawn picture o,
Nathan Coker, whose fre.eating exploits
were tho wonder of this peninsula two
generations past. Nathan is now 81
years old, having long since quit thu
business of ire-eating, from the profit:
of which he saved a fortune of $1,000,
He works only when he feels lie it,
though he is still IN robust health. Ell.
| occupies a small cabin in Tuckahoe
| Neck, about three miles below Denton,
and a more inoffensive and kindlier ole
colored man is not to be found any.
where.
1t was in Denton, where Nathan onc'
lived, that he first discovered himself tt
be fire-proof. In his youth he was 1
servant in the house Of Lawyer Purnell
Bling in the kitchen a great deal, hi
inclination was to taste some of al the
choicest dishes when the housekeepcr'l
eye was turned, aud one day he dipped
his haFa into a boiling pot to catch {
dumping. He got the morsel anc
erelished it SO much that he grabbed fol
another aud found that his hand wa
not hurt in the least. This pilferins
process went on for some time, with nj
injury to the hand, The first public OK
hibition that Nathan made of himself.
took place in the bar-room of the loca
hotel, when he took live Goals from thu
stove and held them in the palm till they
had expired. Then followed, on differ
emit occasions, other more trying feats o
endurance, such as whettlng {
| hot poker on his hands, or licking i
with his tongue and holding it in hi
mouth, walking barefooted amoag live
| Goals and ON hot tires. At the trial o
Fred Lawrence in Denton, early in thu
seventies, after an adjourned session oil
court. Nathan greatly amused the judges
and many spectators by his exploits, ano
at the hanging Of Lawrence in Easton hi
was present and gave a. exhibition
which Melted him $87. On this coca
sion he repeatedly took a mouthful Of
molten lead with no injury. Hundreds
of colored men were lSesent.@ Great
was their constern alton when they wit
messed the performance. On all occa-
sions Nathan turned his supernatural
powers to profitable account. He wou'6
'eat fire" at any time, but never with
out hearing the jingle of money. Judge
Stump once gave Nathan $5 for whet.
ting a red-hot poker on his hand.
At the zenith of his fire-eating career
Nathan made an engagement with the
manager of the Front Street Theatre,
Baltimore, that greatly widened his rep
u~tation. He played ''the DeviW there
for three weeks to crowded houses, be.
ing the sensation of the day. Then fol-
lowed an engagement of eight nights al
Douglas Institute. At both places he
would go through the role of tho evil
one with so much reality that many in
the Monumental City were turned from
the ways of the wicked and brought tc
repentance. Nathan never used pr
rations to protect himself from injury,
as some people might suppose. HoI
lead was taken into his mouth and live
Goals into his hands, and he would stand
barefooted upon a red hot stove with nc
injurious results. His mouth wa:
never known to be waddled with ashes
tos, nor were his feet or hands incased
with such protection. The human phe-
nomenon was never by any one here ex.
l. -1nS,nl - DAIS5ra own A -. now