The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-10-03
NO. 161.
WONDERFUL EXPERIMENTS
Official Testimony Concerning Mollie
Fancher's Clairvoysnce.


Fancher of Brooklyn, the woman who
tor twenty seven years has been a help.
less cripple and totally blind, and who
tor many years was deprived of the
powers Of hearing and speech. was
detailed by Judge A. H. Daley of
Brooklyn, near neighbor of Miss
Fancher. Although the press of the
country had published detailed &C.
counts of Miss Fancher's wonderful
experiments, Judge Dsiley's statements
made before the congress yesterday
were the first ever authorized by Miss
fancher herself. Although Miss
fancher is not spiritualist, she de.
veloped the power of clairvoyance
more than a quarter of a century ago
and is able to discern objects and
people and do many wonderful things
without the use of her eyes. Her
vision penetrates partitions and
walls, and sees things clearly that
are going on at distance Of hundreds
of miles
Miss Fancher was born in Massa.
chusetts in IS4S and was one of the
brightest students in the BROOKLYN
Heights Seminary. When about 16
years old she was thrown from a horse
and her head was seriously injured.
The following year she was thrown
from a car and dragged by her skirts
quite a distance and her head was
again injured and some of her ribs
were broken. Her spine was also in.
Jured. These injuries resulted in
spasmodlc action of her muscles, in
the contraction of her limbs, in violent
contort'ons of her body and in the
loss of her eyesight, so that she has
ever since early in 1866 been blind.
For time she was deaf and unable to
speak or move. For many months at
time she took no food. Her hearing
and power OF speech returned, but her
eyeslght never came back She then
developed the power of second sight
or clalrvoyance, so that for the last
twenty-seven years she has been able
to discern objects and do various kinds
OF fine work without the use of her
| eyes. Numerous instances of this kind
are vouched for by prominent persons
who haye made these tests, among them
her physicians, Drs. Robert Ormiston
and S. Fleet Spier. :
She has repeatedly read the contents
OF sealed letters without even taking
them in her hands. Dr. E. w. Wright
graduate of Queens University, a
member of the Ophthalma logical
Society OF Great Britain, made a
thorough examination Of her eyes and
reported the facts in an elaborate pager
which was attached to the paper of
Judge Daley. He concludes that her
eyes are sightless. In the concluding
part OF his report DR.. Wright says
"ln an inner coat pocket had a
score or more of assorted colored
skeins OF wool yarn. Gathering one at
time in my closed hand still in nv
pocket | asked her to name that color.
This she readily did with marked
promptness for the primary colors, but
for the shades and tints she was less
prompt, but always correct. | did not
know the color until after the test was
made and looked at it. Covering at
random a paragraph of a newspaper
asked her what it was about. She told
me the main points of the article, which
found true on reading it. en-
deavored to detect feigned blindness
by watching her behavior and surpris-
ing her off her guard, but | did not
succeed in finding any fraud. After
the opportunities presented we are of
the opinion that she does not see as we
see, bet sees as we don't. Though
blind, yet she Sees"
Instances are cited where she, lying
in her bed, where she has been for
twenty seven years, has described
friends or persons in the street blocks
away from her house and infinitely de.
tailed all her movements and approach
until they were at her door. Among
those cited as authority for her exer.
else OF this remarkable power is Rev.
Dr. Joseph /. Duryea In June, 1866,
Miss Fancher went into a trance which
lasted nearly a month. From that
time for nine years following she had
no recollection OF anything which hap
lpened IN her life. During that time
her right arm was in rigid condition
and raised SO that her right hand wa.
above her head. Her fingers of botf
hands were closed in the palms, the
tips of her index fingers and thumb,
she could use. During this time sh,
wrote with her pen in the fist of he
lett hand $500 letters, kept a diary
worked up Ioo,ooo ounces of worsted
made many beautiful wax flowers an,
made the acquaintance of thousands O
people. She threaded her needle, an,
the work requiring the use of botl
hands was all done above her head
For years her eyes were never closed
AT the end of nine years she went int,
trance which lasted nearly month
Wnen she came out she remembered
nothing which had taken place durin.
lsE