The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-04-27
oLD-TINfE UNDERTAKING..
Talk With Man Who Says He Invented a
MentaI-Telegraph Machine.

s'What is now called mind-reading, or some
thing very similar to it, was known to me fully
forty years ago. said Mr.. John 5. Gallaher,
formerly patent attorney and an old-time
spiritualist, to q HERALD reporter the other day.
''No doubt Mr.. j. Randall Brown believes him
self to be the original mind-reader, but as long
ago as 1852 performed the feat which is called
mental telegraphing, and even perfected an in
vention by which persons distant from each
other could exchange thoughts. Years ago in
Baltimore / saw the magician who called him
self the 'Fakir of Ava perform similar feats
with a colored boy. The well-known Robert
Heller, of Washington, also gave exhibitions
of mind-reading, as many who are still living
will remember"
''What became of your mental-telegraph
invention % asked the reporter,
II never did anything with it," said Mr.. Gal
laher s'because of lack of money, and also be-
cause at the time invented it there was a strong
prejudice against everything Of that sort. All
the phenomena which are now comparatively
familiar under the names of mesmersm, hypno-
tism, and mind-reading were then popularly
called devils jugglery,' and those who under
took to investigate them or experiment in that
direction were looked upon with suspicion.
But | experimental quietly for years on the
mesmeric and magnetic powers or forces of the
human body, and out of these experiments
grew the idea of the mental-telegraph iHVen-
ton, or Psycho-Sympothine,' as | called it.
showed the drawings and explained the princi-
Piles Of the invention at the time to a number of
friends, among Others to the late well-known
patent attorney, John S. Brown. / still have
the drawings OF the invention and will be glad
TO show them to any one who feels enough in
teTest in the subject to care TO see them.
Ever since was boy have been very fond
of the wonderful, ," continued Mr., Galaher, land
have examined into mesmeric and spiritualistic
phenomena wherever / have encountered them.
Ny first experience with mesmerism was very
amusing 1t was away back in the early forties
! was then living in Charlestown, Jefferson
County, West Va. A man named Spencer came
10 the town giving exhibitions Of the then little
known phenomena OF mesmerism. Among those
who attended were our county surveyor, cult
ured gentleman, named Capt. James NJ. Brown,
and myself 4 few days later Capt Brown in
Yited party Of us to his house to witness some
mesmerc experiments which he proposed to try.
The subject was ten-yearold negro boy, igno-
rant, innocent, and thoroughly unsophisticated,
and as black as Erebus. Capt Brown seated
the boy in chair and had no difficulty in mes
merzing him, although but novice in the art
Then we were allowed TO pinch the boy, prick
him with needles, pull his ears and nose and
open his eyelids with our fingers, but TO all these
tests he gave every appearance of being totally
insensible. When we extended his arms and
legs they remained so rigid that by no reasonable
exertiOn could they be bent again. Capt Brown
would stand at a considerable distance and ask
the boy to describe articles which he held in his
hand. The boy did accurately in every in
stance Finally the boy was blindfOlded and
taken into another room, which was totally dark,
and placed with his back TO the door. Then he
was asked TO describe articles, such as pictures,
chairs, etc, held by couple OF gentlemen, who
stood at some distance from Capt. Brown in the