The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1904-12-15
HYPNOTISM

was "Mind Reading" which in itself
is separate science, tho it's success is
greatly aided by hypnotic suggestion.
After giving his exhibition he repaired
next day to the local bank, where l
CHANGED to be employed at the time, to
dispose of the proceeds of his enter
tainment. While transacting his bus
lness he and the cashier became in
volved in rather heated argument as
to the reality of his performance of the
previous night. To convince the ap-
parently skepticaI cashier that he was
endowed with the powers he professed
to possess and could read any ones
thoughts with the aid of a little assist
ance on their part, he offered to wager
one hundred dollars that if the cashier
would produce the banks deposit ledg-
or and a depositor first showing the
depOsitor the number of the page
where his account was kept, he would
blindfold himself and by holding the
depositor's hand and having the de-
position keep his mind fixed on the
number of the page, close the ledger
and turn in his blindfolded condition
to the page in question. The wager
was posted, the other conditions COM
piled with, and the hypnotist quickly
proceeded to turn almost Immediately
to the required page sticking a pin
through the depositor's name. To fur
ther convince some of the recently
gathered spectators who were inclined
to doubt, he made several similar tests
successful. A few hours
after the cashier remarked to me that
1t was an easy way to make living
fooling the people, and that the hypno-
tist would have good house that
night; the fact further developed that
the entire proceedings, wager and all,
had been a "fake." The cashier had
inserted piece of blotting paper at
each required page in the bottom of
the ledger. Learned afterwards that
the cashier got ten dollars for his share
IN the delusion. Well it was no worse
morally than loaning money at twenty
per cent per month and compounding
interest.
This hypnotist also professed to be an
adept at playing cards. He would
take deck and run it through show
ing the cards in their usual state. He
would run them through the second
time and all would appear to be kings,
queens, ETC., as he willed. This feat
was one on the sleight of hand order,
easily accomplished by little practice
and the use of a few necessary proper
ties. 1t developed soon that this
hypnotist couldn't play the great
American game successfully. He lost
about six hundred dollars during the
ensuing two weeks playing poker with
the "boys" who were not profess
sionals either.
One feat Mr.. Hypnotist performed
which brought the most skeptical into
the ranks of firm believers in his
powers and art, was that OF placing
subject under hypnotic influence and
then sticking pins into him. He would
even allow members of his audience
to perform this feat under his guild
ance. At first in performing this feat
he used as a subject companion who
travelled with him. In a few days,
however, he made the experiment sue
cessfully with a resident of the city.
Afterwards it developed that owing to
some popularity in his physical make
up, this resident had never been sus-
ceptible to the effect of pins driven to
the length of an inch into most any
part of his anatomy. Of course the
vital spots were avoided with the plaus-
ible explanation that the fear of some
permanent injury prevented.
[ cite these instances merely to
prove that from my observation the
average exhibiting hypnotist employees
"the fatigue of attention" process al
most invariably before proceeding
with each different act, and also that
in most cases the subject with whom
he worked was apparently not his equal
mentally. A clear demonstration, as
I have before stated, that his proceed
ings were on the fake order, using, in
nearly all instances, the plan outlined
by Prof. Scripture.