The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-11-06
UNABLE
TO AWAKEN SUBJECT
Exciting Time Experienced in
Lamont Over Failure Of
Lecturer.
TINE MAN is STILL ASLEEP
The Lecturer Became Frightened at
Threatened Violence, and Fled,
Leaving His Subject in
CataIeptic State.

Canton, S. D., Oct. 31.-An exciting
story comes here from Lamont, an in
|lland p%ostofice in Union county, about
forty lniles south of this city, which
"details an account of probably fatal
~iresult of "A hypnotic exhibition given in
that locality an evening or two & by
la travelling %hypnotist.
Lamont is fifteen miles away from
the nearest railroad point, and the set
q tiers in that locality are practically all
8iNorwegians. ~
a few evenings & a well dressed
young man came Into the n|eiGhDorhood,
engaged the most conveniently located
Ischooi house and proceeded to adVer-
stise Il series of three lectures on hypno-
Itism, Among the different exhibits to
be given at the lectures there was one
in which the lecturer proposed TO put
a subject to sleep, bury him IN II Cof-
FIN six feet under ground, and then re-
store him to perfect consciousness In
presence OF The audience the next even
Ing. A young mar named Ole Ras-
tmussen was selected as Il suitable sub
,ject, and without much persuasion gave
himself up, in consideration of a fee
of So. to be taken through the proposed
performance.
The first evenings exhibition took
place and passed off satisfactorily, and
among other highly interesting and eX-
49, ~ Nf''N' ''''N
Rasmussen was put to sleep, placed in
"a coffin in the presence of the audience
and then FASTENED off to his temporary
place Of burial.
When the time for the next lecture
arrived the next evening, the hazardous
under taking had been thoroughly adj
'vertised throughout the entire COM
munity, M the little school house was
packed full of people and scores of
them We're standing outside at the doors
n windows to witness the approach
ing performance. Young Rasmussen
was resurrected from his grave, re-
turned to the school house, where he
was taken from his coffin, and placed
upon the table where he had undergone
the operation of being placed under q
hypnotic influence the evening be-
fore.
The lecturer then proceeded to re-
store the young man to consciousness.
His first attempt failed to produce the
desired result, and SO did the second,
and likewise the third. At this the
lecturer began to show signs of I'M
easlness, but most people in the au-
dience thought nothing of his failures,
suppoSing them to be Il part of the per-
Torrance. After repeated efforts with
the same fruitless results the operator
became vlsibly excited, lost his self
control, fainted and fell to the plat
form in q SWOom.
Realizing the desperate situation the
audience was instantly in n state of the
greatest excitement. The lecturer was
trampled under foot by an Infatuated
mob and would have been killed had it
not been for the timely presence of a
few cool-headed men who took charge
of him, removed him to a farm house
near by and locked him up in a bed
chamber, but in the midst of the uproar
u pf the cphnp1E honga ha rppoiro1 ~
seriousness. and realizing the situation
he was in, fed through a window.
After a moment of hasty consulta,
ton, physicians were sent for, but of
the half dozen or more who have thus
far visited the patient not one has been
able to do anything for him.
Rasmussen is still alive at last ac-
counts but the doctors say that he
cannot survive in his present condition
for many days, and it is feared that he
will die before any help can be pro-
cured to revive him. Efforts are being
made to reach hypnotic experts some
where, but none have SO far been O.
Gated.
In the meantime an angry mob is out
In search of the unfortunate lecturer
who is supposed to be hiding some
place in the vicinity. The mob at first
threatened him with instant death in
case of his apprehension, hut ply
sicians have cautioned the people
against any rash action, because, they
say, If the lecturer is killed the sub
ject placed under hypnotic influence by
him Will likewise die at the same in
slant.
The entire community is reported to
be wild with excitement over the shock
ing affair, and yet nobody knows what
TO do 10 saw Rasmussen.