St. Paul daily globe., 1896-03-15
MEN WHO FEEL NO PAIN.
thsy Are The Subjects Searched for
by Hypnotic FaISirs.

by Hypnotic FalSirs.
Buffalo Express.
L Will tell you all 1 know about
fraudulent hypnotic subjects" said a
man VINO spends much of his time in
Vestlgatlng fadS, and 1 can promise
to astonish you.''
In the first place." ne said, there
IS never truth but some one treads
on 1t, and the fact that there is fraud
proves that the genuine exists. Fraud
ulent hypnotiSm is seen more in Eng
land and America than in any other
parts of the world.
The fact that France and Belgium
nave passed laws prohibiting it's prac-
tlce, except under medical safeguards,
prevents fraud in those countries. but
America is free land; man is free
to rob every one he can, if he keeps
within the letter of the law.
How is fraudulent hypnotism man
aged! Just as any stage business is.
The professional subject has his line of
business the same as a contortionist or
song-and-dance man.
When printed bills announce a. hyp-
notlc performance, the subjects apply
FOR work at the stage door of the thea
ter, and are engaged in the ordinary
way by the hypnotizer or his assistant.
Iaklng into consideration the work
they have to do, their business is not
particularly desirable. They must have
cast-lron stomachs and be able to swal-
low such delicacies as soapsuds, castor
oil. cayenne peper,, coal oil and. am
monia.
AS for their pay" continued the old
gentleman, 1T varies according to their
ability. In England the average sal
ary IS about $3.50 week, while in New
20 ork good cataleptic fakirs can make
.$25 to $50 week.
If a man is extraordinarily clever
and can stand red-hot cigars pressed
against his cheeks and remain perfect
iy quiet while pepper is put in his eyes,
he can command $35 week. There are
Iots OF men who can do this in New
\ ork You can See them at nearly
every hypnotic performance that is
given, and as for men who can stand
having their noses sewed up and their
ears seWed 10 their cheeks, they are
as common as water
1t must be a. dangerous calling,
them" 80
"It is. Nine subjects out Of every
ten eventually find their way to an in
sane asylum.S How they stand the
frightful pain attached to some of the
tests'I do not know, but they do, and
many or the experts make engagements
to travel with fraudulent hypnotists
Once the speaker asked one of these
subjects if he took any anaesthetic be-
fore going on the stage. He simply
strung his nerves to tension, fixed his
eyes into a kind of CLASSY stare. and.
as he described it, "let her 60"
This man." said the old gentleman.
was a wonder. He could make him
self as rigid as board. In London
1 saw him stretched out with his neck
and feet. resting on the backs of two
chairs, forming a sort of living bridge
The fake hypnotist made several passes
over him and announced that any one
who wished to stand on his subject
could do so. Three men, each weigh
ing about 1S0 pounds, mounted the
stage and sat on the unfortunate fell
low for over four minutes. He did not
move a muscle, though the rim of the
chair back was forced fully an inch in
the back of his neck.
''This fellow performed this feat
nightly for week. He then was sent
to the hospital" er'
The old gentleman said he after
wards learned that the man got e.
(about $1O a week.
1t is noticeable fact that women
rarely appear as hypnotic, subjects In
the various -exhi ibitibns held, and IL
by chance one a the fair sex is pre-
vailed upon to make her debut as a
hypnotic fakir 50 5never tested in a
painful manners rSs
The reason Isl clear Women could
not stand it .witaput Nincing. All wom-
en- ever do is. te eas raw potatoes or
blacken their races with SCOT when
told to wash themselves
These cataleptic' fakirs are almost
greater curiosties than the real hyp-
motto subjects. The opinions of sever
al prominent doctors who were asked
how the men stood such pain were
rather unsatisfactory.
One said that they must benumb
themselves with drugs, while another
said that there are some persons who
can stand almost anything. This
opinion was confirmed by an uptown
dentist, who said there were men
seemingly without nerves.
'In no business is this better exem-
plified than in ours" he said. "Some
persons can have a tooth out without
a murmuf, while to others the opera
tion is perfect torture. 1t must be a
matter of nervous construction"