The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1900-12-27


merist. remains IN a state
OF mesmeric suggesubiity,
and there Is great concern lest his mind
eventually weakens under the strain. II
is also feared that he win die, because
ne viii neither sleep nor eat.
Spinney IS seventeen years old, the son
OF Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. sDinney Of
FItchburg, Mass Prof Flint IS Mas
sachusetts physician. who has been IN
tereated IN hypnotism for several years.
He went 70 Fltchburg four weeks ago
and gave exhibitions in Whitney's opera
house The meetings were crowded. The
young people went wild over some Of his
remarkable performances. A dozen boys
offered themselves as subjects for hyp-
notic suggestion. and among them was
spinney Prof. Flint tried IN vain TO mes
merize him He could not impress him
for more than a minute al a time. He
could lock his hands together-the phys
ical test generally tried hrst-but they
would break away in a little while.
spinney was interested in hypnotism
from the first. and felt badly because he
was not a subject" He attended every
gathering and spent most Of his time
during the day I'm practising on his boy
ing several and was elated. one Of the
boys went to sleep IN a doorway under
the influence OF his fixed gaze and the
waving Of his hand. Then spinney told
the boy that he was a ball, and the boy
curled himself up in a wad and rolled
along the ground.
HIS success IN this and other cases
caused him 10 procure books and spend
-f sfs Hnfnmrn
IIe talked mesmerism to his mother and
elder brother constantly and tried 70 IN
fuence them
on rhe day that Prof. Flint went away
from Fitchburg. spinney had a bad head
ache and asked him to try TO cure IT,
They were together In the opera house
ana Prof Flint passed his hands over
the lads forehead and told him that his
head had stopped aching.
And It had.
But when ne went out Of the building
ana down the street It was noticed that
he acted strangely. He stopped and tried
to mesmerfze every one he met stop
ping a young boy on the walk, says the
Fitchburg correspondent Of the New
York World. he seized his head and
rubbed It. saying You are Blind" The
lad began to stagger and grope along the
street. spinney laughed wildly and, snap
ping his fingers. brought him out Of e.
That night al bis brothers house Spin
ney conceived the idea that he could hyp-
notlze himself He Is a falr-akinned, blue
eyed. brown-haired lad and intensely
nervous and energetic. Placing himself
"A front OF a looking glass be gazed into
his own eyes and rubbed his forehead, re-
peating. you can bend over backward
and Il viii not hurt you" Then he tried
a.. and sure enough he bent backward till
he toucned the floor with his hands. Then
he stood up and deliberately fell over
backward and struck his head on the
floor. HIS mother and father were IN the
room and tried 10 stop him They could
not hold him, and the heavy blows on his
head did not seem 10 hurt him. Then he
would suggest that one 81 his legs was
made Of wood, and would stick pins "a Il
10 show that Il was numb, and would
walk stln-legged.
in the following few days the family
became alarmed. He was not quiet for a
second Whatever thought came into his
mind he would Instantly start TO put &
In action. showing, as Prof. Flint said
afterward. that he had hypnotized himself
ana that he made his own suggestions. .
One Of the books he had procured told
how 70 hypnotic ones self and how no
one else could bring him out Of Il. He
was sitting IN the kitchen reading and
making passes al himself when his moth
er became exasperated and put the books
IN the fire. She Is sorry now. Perhaps the
books would have told how to bring him
out
He sat stn for a while and then dis
appeared It was 10 o'clock that night,
after every one had retired. that Mrs.
spinney discovered he was not ~ the
house. The family turned out and hunt
ed the house and the barn. but did not
hnd him. At - o'clock Alexander King
Of Cieghorn. two miles from West Fitch-
burg. brought the boy home. He had
been found al that village IN an excited
state Of mind. He had gone into a front
yard and broken a pane Of glass from a
window and was saving his right index
finger on on the broken glass 70 show
THAI Ct did not hurt him.
when surrounded and captured be could
not give bis name. but said that he was
Jesus. and had come 70 that village 70
see his father God. kindly people took
the lad in and finally Mr. King walked
with him 20 this city the boy showing
him where he lived. when the door %
the kitchen was opened spinney threw
himseif upon the floor and began to pray.
Two days he was POSSESSED of the idea
that he was the Savior. Then the idea
left him altogether.
But the strangost thing about this self
hypnotic was that on Tuesday Of the week
he became unsettled he had an argument
with hts father In which he alleged that
q was not necessary to sleep. lie said
that Il be simply told himself that be
didn't need 10 sleep he would not sleep.
TO prove this he made passes before
his face and repeated "You DO not need
10 sleepi You do not need % sleep" And
ho has not slept a wink for the last thfea
weeks.
Mr.. spinney became alarmed az his
sons condition and consulted with The
city marshal A telegram was sent t1
Prof Flint. who came al once.
"You hypnouzed him. and now bring
him out 81 st." said the father.
Prof Flint found the boy IA bed. cheek.
flushed. nerves rigid. eyes set and staring
"He Is under tho hypnotic spell. al
right" sad ne. But when FLINT tried &c