The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-11
MR.. JOHNSON TESTED
HE IMPROVED on IRVING BISHOPS
FAMOUS MIND-READING TRICK.
Neck Speed and Finds a Hid
den Article.


nois and Washington streets been sudden
ly confronted by Lady Godiva he would
not have been in a more perpiexing frame
of mind than when he spied a plindfolded
nan yesterday afternoon driving car
rage at dangerous speed down Washington
street. If the man the box had been
without bandage over his eyes, the police
man would have clearly seen his, duty in
the premises, but he hesitated for mo-
ment, doubling the actuality of what he
supposed he saw. He pondered just the mo-
ment and then numbered in pursuit of the
carriage, yelling for the driver to stop. The
regular liveried functionary had been super
seeded for the time, although he still re-
manned on the box, shouting back to the
occupants Of the carriage that he would
'be damned if they didn't have to pay
all fines and damages" The four gentle
men vowed that he would have to bravely
stand under this self-invoked eternal con-
demnation; it wasn't any of their funeral,
and they would be glad indeed if they could
gracefully tumble out of the vehicle. The
policeman was distanced presently and
there was little hope for the occupants,
who ceased praying and began calculating
as to the number of little lives that were
to be sacrificed in juggernaut fashion, for
children seemed to spring up in the center
of the street. A few fashionable equipages
were put to rout, contraband banana
wagon was driven to the leeway of an
alley, shoppers clambered to the sidewalks
and one sprightly young fellow saved his
life by circling an electric center pole. But
the blindfolded man had neither fear nor
sympathy, and his ears were walled to all
entreaties. Paul Alexander Johnson,
thought reader, was out for a test.
-Four gullible men, selected from news
paper ranks, had in the largeness of their
hearts and with inherent curiosity, con-
scented to pass judgment on the blown-in-
the-bottle genuineness of Mr.. Johnson's
thought reading. They hadn't the fairtest
idea that mad Roman chariot race was
an stta tion INV, 70 1nlS psycnoogiea
his mysterious inspiration in this fashion
The rest of the party wisned they had let
him take aboard his inspiration by himself
Not man in the vehicle felt proud, as
some men do feel paraulng behind a livery
stable team. After it was all over, and
the thought reader had accomplished what
he promised to do the reassuring remark
was dropped that johnson mad driven in
the same manner through the most crowd
ed streets of Chicago without accident
The test was the one which made Wash
ington Irving Bishop famous that of driv-
ing an article which had been hidden by
a committee. MIR. Johnson did more; he
compounded a prescription in a remarkable
who held the little slip of paper.
Mr. Johnson was met at the Bates House
by a dozen people well known in the city
and there the plan was unfolded. He had
before him a large map of the city. -Four
men were to drive in carriage to the
office of a. physician, who was to prepare
a prescription and seal 1t in an envelope
This envelope was TO be taken to the post
ONCE and put away In a iock-box; The r., Key
the party was to drive back to the hotel
where Mr.. johnson was under the guard OF
a committee of a half dozen people All
this was carried out: The committee first
drove to the office of DIR. w. N. Wishard
who kindly wrote out a prescription, the
component parts of which were two pow
ders. Chemist Hurry consented to allow the
thought reader to work back of his pre-
scription counter and Postmaster Sahm fur
nished the lock-box and key. The key was
HAWKINS in the next building When the
Mr. johnson was blindfolded, and with a
pencil he traced out on the map the route
taken by the carriage, net, however, with
out two attempts. The carriage had been
taken over a circuitous route in order to
fool him. The next procedure was to have
the gentleman. while blindfolded, drive over
a route he laid out to the place where the
key was hid, find it, unlock the box, OBJ
tain the sealed envelope and drive to DIR;
Hurtys place of business at Ohio and
Pennsylvania streets. There Dr. Hurry was
to open the envelope, commit the prescrip-
ton to memory. Mr.. Johnson was to read
the Doctors mind and in accordance there
with prepare the prescription being blind
folded ali the while The disinterested gen.
tleman who sat on the box with Wi. =. Johnson ,;t,1
reader used the wire for thinking purposes.
Alighting from the carriage at the post
office. corner, the man with the. the strange
and then bolted out of the doors to the
next building, dragging his subject with n
around a stairway and in less time than 1T
takes to mention the proverbial Jack Rob
inson's name he had made his way to the
o1tr he kpU a -D0
of envelopes Rushing down to the post
office again, towing the. man tied to the
WIRE Mr. Johnson, with remarkable pre-
cision, selected the right box. No: 40, and
opened it. With the envelope in his teeth
he jumped on to the carriage Don ana set
out in a mad pace for DR.. Hurty's: He
missed calculations about one inch on a
center pole, and few minutes were lost
in making repairs to harness. "A crowd OF
several hundred was in the wake of the
vehicle.
Dr. Hurry opened the envelope according
to the plan A number of physicians had
gathered there awaiting the arrival OF the
thought reader who threaded his way
through the crowd till he stood in front
of the prescription counter where big
array of bottles, big and little, confronted
the blindfolded man. DR.. Hurry commit
ted the Of the be 6e %
hand After a few minutes he told the
Doctor that he was baff1ed. He wanted
and offered no better results than the
chemist 'You are Doctor, remarked
the mind reader in disgust and he grabbed
one of the others who furnished an easy
victim In jiffy Mr.. Johnson lifted down
the bottle. that read .,puivis doreii." In
the second jiffy he had his hands on the
ssuuinine suph'' glassware. He carefully
weighed the exact quantity of each drug,
as called for in the prescription, and sep
arated the mixture into four parts. The pre-
scription was correct, and the bandage was
taken from Mr.. Johnson's eyes. He was
apparently very weak from the exertion.
DR. Hurry was positive it was all muscle
reading and not mind reading. The man
who held the prescription, however. was
unacuuainted with the meaning of the Pc
culiar authorizations which adorn a pre-
scription. and this makes it the more re-
markable.
II think it is merely muscle reading, y
said DIR. Hurry II believe that he has so
perfected his sense of touch that he gath
ers his clews from the involuntary move
ments of the subjects muscles
The most skeptical We're willing to con-