The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1895-06-29
CAN WORK MIRACLES.
REMARKABLE POWERS ATTRIBUTED
TO A TEXAS NEGRO GIRL.


Texas. where there are ten negroes to
IL white person, there is a jet black
negro girl, about IS years Of age, who
is turning the world in which she lives
upside down.
The negroes claim that she performs
miracles every day, and white people
who have seen her and witnessed her
strange conduct and manifestations
come away shaking their heads and
lacking words to express their astonish-
ment.
No II ever noticed anything extraor-
binary about the girl until she "got
religion az the negroes say, at a big
revival one night last winter. Then she
began to prophesy, heal the sick and do
other wonderful things. During this re-
vival an old negro schoolteacher OF
more than average intelligence, who
had been going on two crutches for a
dozen years, put his faith in the new
wonder. She rubbed her hands over his
rheumatic, stiffened joints, and he in
stantly arose, threw away his crutches
and went home rejoicing. The girl has
been going about from schoolhouse to
schoolhouse and from church to church,
exhorting, prophesylng and healing the
sick. Great crowds Of negroes follow
her about almost worshiping her and as
afraid Of her as they are Of the devil
himself.
1t is positively asserted by hundreds
of people who have known her from
childhood that she never mastered the
alphabet, and yet she now reads as well
as If she had had the benefit of a col
leglate education. She is a living, walk
ing, electric battery. No man can hold
her hand for two minutes. Take hold
OF her, and you feel as if 10, 900 needles
were prlcking you. She will stand on
the floor of a room and successfully de.
fy a dozen men to move her. A few
days ago a half dozen hunters from Lou.
isiana, who happened to hear of her,
visited the cabin in which her people
live. Among other wonderful things
that they witnessed was this: The girl
stood up and placed the palms Of her
hands against the wall of the house.
Three or four strong men seized her
and, suspending her body in the air,
they failed to pull her loose from the
wall. The trouble is that in taking hold
OF her the average mortal receives such
a shock, it is said, that he is glad to let
loose.
The girl also astounds everybody by
her wonderful display of musical talent.
She had never seen a piano or an organ
in her life until after she began to man
lfest her strange powers last winter.
Now she will enter a parlor and seat
herself at the piano and improvise the
sweetest music that ever enraptured
mortals. She will sit with her eyes
closed and listen to a performance on
the piano and then take the seat and
initiate to perfection all that she has
heard. This is not the end Of her amaz-
ing musical talent, for she is equally
sklllful i'll producing music on any 9TH
err instrument.
All this caused the few white people
in the country to take some notice of
the strange girl. All agree that she pos
sesses some strange, mysterious powers
beyond the comprehension of ordinary
4 civ lS1AS tIIC uSSIOSS WISI0
they will find stray horses and cattle,
and they are ready to swear that she
never fails to find anything that has
been lost. She is a living barometer.
Whenever she says it is going to rain,
1t rains. and whenever she says there is
going to be a storm the storm comes.
"Dol be uneasy" she said to an old
lacy. your son is not lost or dead; he
has been away down i'll a hot country
with a dark people, who robbed him
and put him in prison. He is on his
road home and will be here next Sun
day The sol came. He had been in
Mexico, where he had been arrested and
suffered Imprisonment for many months.
1t is no wonder that the negroes regard
her with grave superstition.
She went down to Houston not long
ago, where she preached i'll the streets,
or rather delivered a commentary on
the morals of the people, which was
heard by an intelligent crowd in Won
der and admiration. She has received
some very tempting offers to enter the
lecture field and show business. Just
now there Is a shreWd fellow following
her about, trying to induce her to go to
Boston, and to him she seems inclined
to lend a willing ear. Ask her name,
and she will reply, "Ah. Shiel, Levinia
Tolsen, sir" sounding the ''sir" as if it
were a part of her name. Though Occa-
slOnally mixing some very ridiculous
things with the display Of her remark
able powers, she is not lacking in plain
common sense.-St. Louis Globe Demo-