The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-08
SCHLATTER, THE HEALER.
CENTRAL FIGURE IN a STRANGE
I1TTER-DAY PHENoMENoN ON.

In tho death OF Francis Schlatter, solf.stylod
"the Healer" there Is lost the central figure Of
n remarkable latter day phenomenon. This
phcnomenon was the p~ilgrimage-for IL was
nothing clse-of thousands of people Of all de-
Vrces OF position and intelligence to be cured by
an ignorant German cobblcr, of whom probably
not ono OF the thousands had ever heard six
months previous TO the beginning Of his mis-
sion" That the man had a wonderful power of
influencing and controlling his followmcn there
can be no doubt, and it Is to this faculty
that such Of his curos as were anthem
ticated can be traced. Had he willcd
e. no might have had q crusade like
Petcr the Hermit, or buildod q religion 90 Mo
BANNED did, or q state as Brigham Young did,
or a fortune us-well. as moro than one preacher
hns done. But no had neither the ambition Of
the crusader, the prophet, the autocrat, or tho
money getter, and his death by starvation In q
desert is as characteristic as his life OF what the
man was, n fanatic, pure and simple, . mono
maniac whose faith In himself and his mission
was overwhelming.
Perhaps he would have achieved nothing more
than local fame as q peculiar religious maniac
had not his faco borne n strong resemblance TO
the classic pictures OF Christ. His first appear
snce was among the intensely religious and
superstitious Mexicans Of New Mexico In July,
.sa5. Inspiration itself could have hit upon no
w httaahe ktNtS VI tAS " ~ a. eAS W
which he had been called by Father" To him
the Deity was Father" A Mexican girl In
one OF the villages. crippled, deformed. sickly.
had been nut aside by her family to die.
To tho mother Of tho girl came q strange
man with a spreading board, long hair.
and kindly eyes; n man Of 90 benign and
rentlc an aspect that the woman thought the
picture Of the Christ in tho village church
bad been viyified and had stepped forth. There
fore when the stranger offered to cure her little
girl she fell upon her. knees and worshipped
power S%; F'' For = a few momeats tie .I man NJ held "id the
bands Of the criPRled child in his, closing his
Walking IN Upright, cured Of her aalictioS. !" ""'
so AT Least % bo s"ss among wSS the The M sfeTE that 1n 1sT f h19t1
It ray OF hope. Others came to sehlatter. and
many T ,bs came we're W ,h maze Hs,i S0nvs pi..n to s pred
der the exorcism Of this strange person, People
cases Of illness submitted to the simple prayer
When sehlatter went to Albuquerque his fame
had preceded him. Up to this time most Of his
began TO come seeking his aid, among them Ed
ward Fox.a business man OF Denver, who was
tTH%dtaiess sh latte t treatmsen %tSSs he improved "sT'n and.
After returning home. secured q promise from
BIZ nsal0 ss shHs as T iss.sa T for te shs F Ssys home a i. is
sufficiently well authenticated, and went on to
Denver, where, after two weeks rest, he began
his remarkable series of cures.
the fame. Of the Healer over the length and
S SFsaSth Of Of th the so soangig and sls SySf she , lsasth w Sns
finding no hope elsewhere, staEed their last
81 bT'' tho os aGS.es as then sto oa no Of the m inse
a ansii 4 f :. n. the iins p passed f by s 5e I Z a on M a
barrow sidewalk built for that purpose. and he.
the hands Of the patients while he prayed with
each one. He also blessed handkerchief. caps,
and other articles, to be used 40 Instruments Of
ut Is as the Father yills" vas his unvarying
ee ~ ali IL eRer sppeais, of I thanss f ss saia simp,,:
lit Is not me that does It Thank rather"
w n the it w same Ysn spirit RI b he refused bu edit e It tt bos9 money HG:
corduroy suit which be wore while receiving his
SSs sins Worm 1he o sa.' T Il Ma. IL this SG ssso ON ei in siTsSa.
ence to money that settled, any doubts as TO the
NJ %as eSss y had a1' a M more certain Sslsi Y 9Ai IL h IN hi%:
seLf. That Is the almost unanimous opin-
From Sept 10 to Nov. 10, 1895. he held audi.
standing in the rain for hours Without Com:
plant OF apparent weariness. At first in urgent
through the crowd to a carriage, where some
person unable to come TO him was eagerly wait
amy ans. SSs c,nisr p Peo 5efss took 70 their bsfy9 pl h.s plf Ssso Sn
sunrise and stood in line for hours waiting for
n ai% to TO- ap pDSnts and "a. these sSnd mot strong ron people well
eripples, neurotics, c~onsumptives, and sufferers
from all varieties Of ills.
man it Is impossible to say. Impartial inyesti,
gators tried to trace out cases, and found them
scene Of schlattcr's audiences. and, as d rule.
stIf HS or e s,1Rfn ssdfp ef tho q i Hsaief PSn po sxsP.
Thousands OF cases that were told of could
NE other hand, where tho %s1ferers them.
tsives testified to the relief afforded by
It was as''1 relief a aaa01 not 'V cure. e"s One hO OF th:;
most remarkable OF the well-authenticated
s safss w1s t- that o Of a wo%an ., yhS for years had
rendered her unable to AXE solid food and
caused extreme weakness. For two years she
ssnh &c WAS Ssn almost 6 ShGashs 4 n fe l%sid days s sRs1is soh aiso
tack Of heart failure. Her friends drove up as
toeome out to the suffering woman. Which he
did. Her description OF her sensations under
nAll looked black to me and ! saw no hope.
, mhen he tool my hands tels that something
never before had experienced pain. II seemed
sAthat point. As the pain Vent the Healer said.
ha hands T be to S.t the hss Father: ,S Snd dropped my
snced and for six days now l have had no balm.
tSaay read the newspapers for an hour. Yes
NTnay walked a mile with ease. / eat with
relish, and know / am on the road to health
and strength
Scores OF cases OF relief from suffering through
e~ehlatter could be cited, but there Is no proof OF
any cures OF absolute blindness or deafness or
ttimliar ailments. Nearly the entire popula-
uoh OF Denver were his adherents, however, and
those who did not believe In his power had this
n,sument In bis favor. that he had done good TO
many men and harm TO none. Ministers held
manhood, and where, he was not loved and
"SSsshlpped he was at least respected.
Q nlhtterS departure from DenyaP might
nirly be called sensational. Originally he had
announced his intention of staying until Nov.
Soihg TO Chicago: On the night of Nov. 10 he
disappeared. All that he left was q note in his
"Mr. For:
My mission Is finished. The Father takes
me- Away. Good-by.
FRANCIS ~ScHLArTER."
on the previous day he had treated about
mai persons, Not less than 10000 pieces OF
man, mostly handkerchiefs sent for his bless
.M.. MGLE ~