The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-03
FANNIE HEsTERs POWER.
She Performs Feats which Are
Seemingly Inexplicable.

Seemingly Inexplicable.
Less than a month ago little Fannie
Hester seemed no different from the many
little girls with whom she played at the
country school in Greene county. She ran.
romped and played with her friends, but
in nothing that they did, in none of their
sports, did she show that she was physi-
cally the superior of any other Of the emil
dren.
One, who had seen her then, when, in
the grasp OF some larger playmate, she
was swung round and round at WILL would
not have recognized her in the little, iS-
year old child that yesterday, in the par
Tors Of the Pulaski house, made strong
men admit that they could not push her
from position she had taken in she
room.
Mr. RI J Hester is the father of the
child, a brief story of whose strange
powers was given in yesterdays Morning
News, says upon the invitation of Mr.. T.
f. Johnson, he came to Savannah to
consider the ACCESSIBILITY of putting his
child on the stage to show the wonderful
power she has of overcoming the inertia
of bodies and making the strength of men
as but that of babes.
Mr.. Hester, his daughter and Mrs. Mat
tie Thompson, arrived here night before
last from Harrington, Greene county, and
registered at Il he Pulaski. Mr.. johnson
invited a number OF well known gentle
men and prominent rnysiciaos of the city
TO -hJ present in the hotel
jarlors at noon yesterday, to wit
ness an exhibition of the girls powers and
a medical examination of the body that
was able to work such wonders. Those
who were present saw frail, little, light
haired girl, by no means large for her 10
years, who, they were told, was to resist
the strength of a powerful man. Seemingly
somewhat embarrassed by her unaccus-
toned surroundings and the presence of so
many strangers, the child began the exhi-
bition of her new-found power. Several
tests were tried One was with a billiard
cue, Withdwhich caught firmly in their
hands, two strong men were unable to
push her from her position, though she
stood unassisted and with but her hands
against the cue. tatu
large tin pan was placed in young
mans hands, with the request that he hold
it. Then Fannie placed her hands on it,
and, though she could not wrest it from
him, the power that comes from her hands
bent, twisted and broke the tin until it had
to be dropped for fear Of the sharp edges
cutting the hands.
A chair was taken in the grasp of two
gentlemen, who were to hold it against the
girls subtle force. The strong armchair
gave way under the strain and dropped
in pieces. The child placed one hand
against the wall and, stiffening the arm,
offered herself for the strongest man In the
room to force to the. wall 1t was tried
and Though the stiffened arm would bend
beneath the force that would seem to be
enough to break such tender bones and
sinews, the body could not be pushed
against the wall
With her thumbs against a chair rung,
the push. of a newspaper man was re-
sisted. The power, as shown by this, in the
thumbs was great, but that exerted when
the stick was placed against her palms
was greater. n otsss u
The inability to hold an object is one of
the most remarkable. features of the
girls strange power. Given an open UNI
brella, she could not raise 1t above her
head. In her efforts to do so, the umbrella
was thrashed up and down and finally
turned wrong side out, it fell from her
grasp.
When Fannie sits at the table, she can
not use her knife and fork unless she
takes particular care, to hold them away
from her thumbs and palms, the seat of
the greatest Forces The stem of a tum-
bier must be grasped with the same care,
or it is dropped. So it is with all the arti-
Giles she touches with her hands.
The girl does not have the appearance of
one unusually afflicted. No nervousness
is apparent. She. sits in a chair with per-
feet calm and quiet, and shows none of
the movements of one suffering from a
mental or other disorder. The physicians
present examined the child and found her
system to be in every respect normal
he story of the discovery of the young
girls possession of the inexplicabl power
is an interesting, one. AS Mr.. Hester
tells i, at the country home they
were all gathered on the evening of Nov
for seance with the spirit world. 1--WE
are all plain country people," he said
and had never heard of such things un-
til a young man named Williams who
had seea the performance, told us of
them, and we then decided we would try
We sat about the table with our hands
upon 1t, but 1t would not move Then
Fannie put her hands upon 1t and 1t mov-
ed all around the room"
Mr.. Hester says his daughter was amaz-
ed and frightened at the manifestation of
her power, and after the others had left
she placed her hands upon the table and
it moved away. Badly frightened and
saying the ''haunts" were there, she ran
into the next room.
Since the discovery of the power, the
child has been called upon many times to
display 1t. Several feats she has per-
formed have been. extraordinary. Among
them was the moving of a 1,300-pound
piano distance Of three feet.
Mr. Hester says that he and Mr.. john
son have decided to put the child on the
stage andi&bat he will return to Savannah
in about two weeks. The first exhibition
he says, will be in this city. The party
left last night for Harrington