Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-17
CATCHING RIFLE BULLETS
Explanation of a Sensational Exhibition
Made by Hermann.
A Squad of Soldiers Apparently Fires
a Deadly Charge, but the Magi-
clan Escapes Unframed.

The public at large. as well as people who
are experts at legerdemain universally ac-
knowledge that 1.-The shooting trick" is the
most sensational and the most wonderful
of any Of the performances given by our
modern magicians. 1t is equaled only by
some of the marvellous tricks Of the Indian
fakirs.
Two years ago Prof A. Hermann did it
for the first time in this country in the
Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
1t was on the occasion of an entertainment
for charity. The vast auditorium was
crowded to the doors. The shooting was to
close the evenings entertainment. When the
time came, six soldiers from the United
States troops, stationed at Governors Is
land, were marched on the stage under
command Of a sergeant. The soldiers had
been selected that afternoon by the COM
mandant of the post. They were the crack
marksmen of the battalion. Hermann had
never seen them or held any communica ton
with them. He did not even know their
names. Following the soldiers came COM
mittee of three prominent New Workers aid
surgeon, who stood in the wings. Nobody
else was on the stage but Hermann. The
firing party was drawn up IN line. Herr
mann passed along the line, looking through
the barrel Of each mans rifle to see that
there was no cartridge in it. Then he re-
tired to one side.
The sergeant took SIX regulation United
States army rifle cartridges, with fixed
balls. from his pouch and placed them on
salver handed to him from the wings.
These he then passed to the committee for
examination. After the committee was sat
isfied that the cartridges were what they
purported to be. the sergeant went among
the audience and allowed any one who
pleased to examine them and put identifi-
cation marks on the bullets. At least fifty
people inspected them. When all were sat
isfied OF the genuineness Of the deadly
missiles he returned to the stage, gave a
cartridge to each soldier. and uttered the
command "Loadr' The locks clicked, the
rifles were brought to a carry and the
squad was marched down on an inprovised
platform over the heads of the audience
about twenty feet from the stage. They
faced about and were ready for the volley,
three kneeling and three standing
The Critical Moment.
Meanwhile Hermann had stepped to the
wings and taken from a table there china
plate. This he placed on the stage floor
at his feet. Then he braced himself MS
though to meet a shock ard held his hands,
palms out, in front Of his chest.
II am ready" he said. in voice hardly
above d whisper.
AS he stood there, his pale face set and
his black eyes looking into the muzzes OF
the six loaded muskets, the audience gave
one mighty gasp and held it's breath.
"Fire!" commanded the sergeant.
There was crash, a>sheet of flame. and
through the wreath of blue powder smoke
Hermann could be seen bending over and
dropping the bullets upon the plate. Some
women had screamed, others had tainted
Then came tumult of cheers. Hermann
was unhurt except for some burns on his
fingers made by the hot bullets. Yes, they
were the same bullets. They were posi-
lively identified by the people who had
marked them.
I'll
real effect. AS matter of fact, Hermann
was not in danger for one second and no
bullets were fired at him. He himself has
never explained the trick, but from an au-
thoritative inside source it Is possible to
tell exactly how it is done.
The sergeant is confederate. The SOL
clerS are not, and are much surprised
as anybody that their shots do not take
erect. The sergeant is the man who really
performs the trick, although he has very
little to do. So simple is it that he requires
no rehearsal, and is not even told what to
do until he comes to the theater with his
men. Ten dollars is liberal pay for what
he does.
Several days before the performa nee
Hermann secures six ball cartridges ex-
actly like those to be given the sergeant
Tor use in the performance. He extracts
the balls from these cartridges and sub
stitutes in their place bullets made of a
composition of mercury and black lead
This composition can be nodded into any
. looks
exactly like genuine leaden bullet. The
mercury Is SO heavy THAT the weight of the
fake cartridge is alsoAhe same as the real
article. The soldiers In handling them can
not detect the difference without feeling of
the bullet end of the cartridge, and that
they have no opportunity to do When
fired the mercury and plumbago fly into
dust and do no harm. 1t cannot even be
felt few feet away from the muzzles.
A Trick Snlver.
The next thing the trickster does is to
prepare a trick salver. All that's required
is a salver with a double bottom worked
by a button underneath. This is a very
simple device, used by all magicians 1t
is as common in sleight-of-hanl work as
trick tumblers or trick eggs.
With these props" and an intelligent
sergeant the magician is all ready to be
shot at.
When the sergeant places the real car
tridges on the salver and passes them to
the committee and the audience to ex-
anime, the fake cartridges are already in
it, concealed in the false bottom. OF course
it is the real cartridges that are examined
and marked. As he walks back from the
audience to the stage he holds the salrer
at arms length, with a hand grasping il
on each side to show that he is not touch
ing the cartridges or trying to change
them. His fingers are under the salver and
his thumbs bent over it's edge. With one
OF his fingers he RlNeS the button a Sentl6
touch. Presto! the button changes. The
fake cartridges come on top. the real ones
go out of sight underneath. He quickly
hands out these fake cartridges TO the men
one by one and gives the command to load.
Before any one has had u chance to ex-
anime them they are in the guns and safe
from prying eyes.
Where the Bullets Come From.
The sergeant then walks to the wings
to put down the seemingly empty salver
on table just out of sight Hid behind
this table is the magician's assistant. AS
soon as the salver is put down he touches
the spring and brings the real cartridges
up. With a pair of pincers he rapidly pulls
the bullets out of the shells and drops
them into hot dish. He has time to do
all this easily enough while the soldiers are
being marched down to the platform and
faced about.
Then Hermann comes to the wings to get
the plate on which to drop the bullets. But
before he picks up the plate he gathers in
the bullets which by this time have become
slightly heated, and palms them between
his fingers or up his sleeves. Then knowing
that the only bullets on the stage are in his
possession he can face the rifles without
fear and drop the marked leaden balls on
the plate as soon as the volley is fired.
Simple, isn't it? And yet of such ma
terial are marvels made