The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-17

I
ished Talking.
NEW CARLISLE, Ind, July REV.
John Kaufman, whose home is near Nap
aimee, Elkhart county, is endowed with
faculty which is of the most remarkable
order. He is gifted with the peculiar
power Of preaching while in an apparent
| state of somnambulism. This word does
not quite express the phenomena, for he
is semiconscious before he delivers him
self of his wonderful sermons. He is an
enigma to himself and his friends and
many physicians have studied his case
| without being able to account for the
| strange faculty which he possesses or of
reaching an understanding of it. He has
been in the ministry over twenty years,
being first a Baptist. But his strange
! power dates from the time when at a.
! great camp meeting held near Terre
! Raute some years ago he became a con-
vert to Methodism. He attended this
meeting regularly and toward its close
became wonderfully impressed with that
faith-so much so that he decided to toin
! the Methodists. He did so, but before the
close of the meeting his nervous system
gave way and he was laid on a bed of
sickness for several weeks.
When he arose from his bed his mental
condition had undergone an entire change.
He was transformed from a lively. ac-
tive, matter-Of-fact person to a man of
dreamy, ethereal cast of mentality He
would sit for hours silently over the Bible
without paying the slightest attention to
what might be happening around him.
During these periods it was impossible to
engage him in conversation Pulling him
by the arm or pushing up lightly against
| him would not draw his attention from
his dreamy study, and among his friends
it was soon understood that while these
spells were on him he was not to be in
terfered with.
During one of these reveries he aston
ished those about him by launching forth
in voice that was strange to them. He
repeated his text and then poured forth
a sermon of great power and beauty. His
naturally rough tones were changed to a
voice of the purest tenor musical and
flexible, and his words flowed with the
ease of a polished orator
This first sermon, preached to the mem
bers Of his household, was broken short
by his falling forward, as if shot. He
was assisted to his bed and a physician
was summoned, who, upon making an
examination, found Mr. Kaufman in a
deep sleep, with heart beating regularly.
| 1t was impossible to awaken him and he
| slept for several hours
Since that time his Sunday morning ser
mons have been delivered under these
| StraDPa circuro StapcaS IJa oooo.io,,, IL.
breaches through the week, but finds the
| strain too great and when he does so is
! compelled to forego the following Sun
! days sermon. A peculiar feature Of his
! case is that his power is exercised onlv
in the morning. In the evenings his SER
| mons are delivered in rather coarse
voice, and neither his manner nor matter
! Is then up to the average of country min
listers.
He is well aware of his amazing gift,
! but talks of it only when forced to do
| So He speaks of it with great reluctance,
as though 1t were something that should
not be discussed. He gives one the i'm
preston that his power is that of super
natural origin and that the human mind
cannot comprehend it.
When he rises to speak he stretches
forth his right arm and assumes a rigid
position. He remains thus with closed
! eyes for few minutes without uttering
! a sound Sometimes he prefaces his dis
courses by singing hymn. but usually
| he commences by repeating his text His
! delivery at first is in slow and distinct
! voice, but as he progresses his utterance
| is more rapid and his voice searches every
Granny Of the edifice like the notes of a
clarion. He electrif1es his congregation
and brings tears or smiles from his hear
ers at will.
The inspiration comes while he stands
| before the congregation with outstretch-
| cd arms, and he sometimes speaks upon
| the same subject consecutively, but never
| in the same terms A note of warning
| runs all through his discourses, and he
claims TO be able to see great calamities
ahead for the country unless the people
turn more sincerely to God. He is espe-
cially severe in his condemnation of di-
Vorceg. He likens the divorce laws of
| the country to great road smoothly
| paved over which an ever Increasing
throng is passing to destruction.
He claims to be able to see this road in
his inspired moments guarded by long
lines of demons, of horrible shape and
hideous aspect. He can hear their sa-
tanic shriel1s and view their mad Joy as
| they leap around the mouth of hell, where
| this smooth road lands It's victims; and
when he paints this scene the blood of
the bravest sinner curdles in his veins.
LII ldCl, Ills pictures are sometimes so
! terrible that many residents refuse to
! hear him at all. He has been known to
preach powerfully for three hours at q
! time, bus usually his sermons are from
an hour to an hour and half in length.
| Occasionally he breaches but ten or
| fifteen minutes, but his short talks are
J equally impressive with his more extend
| ed sermons. When in this trance-like
| condition he is entirely insensibIe to the
| things which take place about him Moth
| Ing can disturb him; nothing can wake
| him from it. He claims that the air ia
| peopled with good and bad spirits; that
he can see them doing battle for the pos
| session of human souls and at times he
| describes these battles as they take place
amid the congregation present These
pcrtrayals OF superhuman scene are so
wildly brought out that their realism Is
startling. 1t is not safe to go into his
presence during these inspired times har-
boring sinful thoughts or designs. He
clallns to be able to tell the lust from the
UNJUST, and he has been known to ev
pcsc the dark and evil intentions of HE
congregation so correctly that thew have
made confessions Of the facts to hin,
Above the Just he can see a niI1ar -
beautiful light which reaches from beav-
en- ana rests on the head of the righteous.
ABOVE the unjust he can see a tower Of
darkness. which overshadows them in
gloom "
Many thrilling scenes have taken place
at these sermons. At one time he was
preaching on his favorite theme divorce
he was denouncing the iniquity Of the
calculating scoundreI, who deliberately
planned the wicked and trumped-rD
charge that branded an innocent wife
| with shame, merely for the sake Of set
ting himself free in the eyes of the law
from his matrimonial obligations In the