The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-02-01
EXPLAINS TRICKS
Tells How the Great Magician Per-
formed His Wonderful Feats
Of Legerdemain.
VISUAL ILLUSIONS The BEST

These Were Almost Impossible of Detcc-
tion, Despite That They We're Really
simple-Often Fooled Members
of Selected Committees.
Detroit, special: Hudson Everett who
Is awaiting sentence in the county Jail,
is one of the brightest youths that has
been seen here recently. After having
been convicted of 'changing" Nine.
. Herrmanns nawless diamonds into
second class jewels full of imperfec-
tions," as an expert testified he is nat
urally revengeful toward the madame.
He is u years old or thereabouts. He
was born in Americus, Ca, and from
the time he was able to run about he
was employed at the tileatcr in that
town, running errands, etc. Professor
Hermann happened down that way
when the boy was about 8 years old,
and the master of the black art picked
the boy up. Since then Everett has led
the life of a nomad roaming all over
the country with the late Hermann,
his widow, Kellar, Bancroft and other
magicians.
How simple are the mysteries Of the
I great magician-when they have been
solved by Herrmann's assistant How
near to detection are the magicians all
the time!
Strobika Exposed.
Take, for instance, the trick "Stro-
bilSa," as played by Hermann a few
years ago. The audience is shown a
small platform about four by six feet.
This is suspended several feet from the
foor. The audience can see all about it.
A committee is sent up from the audi
nyo trt, IN,r L,
committee, without any knowldge of
the trick. A man, picked from the au-.
4 dtence, is stretched out on the platform,
.handcuffed, a steel band is placed about
his neck and locked, and his feet are
placed in stocks and locked, all by the
committee. The committee retains the
keys. Curtains are drawn for an in
,Stant. They are opened and the man is
gone. In his place lies Nine. Herr
mann, or whoever the assistant may be,
as securely locked as was the man. The
committee has to use it's keys to release
her. The committeeman, during the
time the curtains are closed, are able
to see entirely around the platform,
above, below and on all sides. The
committee is really as much puzzled as
the audience.
That's easy chucl1led Everett last
night. The man who does the act is
paid in advance. He is laid out on the
platform and shacleled by the commit
tee. Before the trick is set Nine.
Hermann takes her place on the plat
form. There is a post in each corner,
from which the curtains are strung.
When the trick is to be played Nine.
Hermann steps into a stirrup on the
left hand post. The curtains when
opened fold around her and hide her.
The minute the curtains are drawn
she hops, down and releases the man
with key which opens all the locks at
once. The man takes her place and she
lies down and drops the locks over her
arms and neck. The curtains are
opened and hide the man.
Clever Sleight of Ha,,d.
"The best trick Nine. Hermann does
Is the brilliant ball trick, and that's
pure sleight of hand The trick, as the
audience sees it, consists Of producing
five brilliant balls at different times
from the air. and hold them between
the fingers of one hand It's hard
trick for a woman, because her fingers
are smaller than mans.
Three Of the balls are genuine solid
balls. Besides that she has a half shell,
which, from the audience, looks like
genuine ball. She holds the shell be-
tween the thumb and first finger of the
left hand. Every time she waves her
left hand around and produces another
ball she Is getting the next one out Of
. pocket at her side with her other
I hand. Then she apparently makes a
pass at her left hand with the right,
while in reality she conceals another
genuine bail in the half shell. Then
when she waves her left hand around
again she drops the ball out of the
81 shell between her other fingers and
i shows an extra ball.
.srhe trick in which she produces a
II cup OF boiling coffee and cup of boil
ing milk from a box of paper. is dead
easy. She haslfours cups instead of two.
She dips the empty cups into the boxes
= Of paper and pours out the cut paper.
I: showing the empty cups to the audi
ence. The third time she dips each cup
{ in she changes it for the cup of coffee
or milk, which has been prepared in
5 advance. 1t has a paper top glued on
4 to hold the hot coffee in. When she
raises it up and shows it to the audi
ence it looks as IL it was fill Of paper.
Then she passes her handkerchief over
it and takes the paper lid off. The
& steam comes up from the hot coffee
4 and the audience goes nutty.' m
S tsfOwing Flowers.
That little trick where she produces
bushel or two Of paper flowers from
q plain sheet OF paper Is done this way:
She carries q bag Of flowers in the
q Is waving the sheet of paper around
4 she slips her thumb into a loop in the
u bag, and draws it out. Then she rolls
up the sheet into cornucopia, breaks
Ethe bag and the flowers roll out. That
trick is done by nearly all the sleight-
ESO'-hand perfofNers. 5
Her duck tissk y done with q trick