The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-10-09
SECTION THREE
MYSTERIOUS FEATS OF INDIA'S FAKiRS
j. HAsN

I she was lost in the clouds, the mother
meanwhile being unable to cry out or
move. as if she were in a sort of wax
ing nightmare. Suddenly as she
watched she saw a small spot in the
clouds. and as it grew larger ii took
the form of her baby in the arms Of
the girl who gradually descended To
the deck and laid the child carefully
beside its sister. Just then the mother
had the power TO break away from the
: circle. and rushing 10 the side OF the
hammock. she eagerly snatched up her
child, only to find it asleep and unhurt
How could YOU let that strange wo-
man take your little brother away?'
she screamed to her astonished littlc
daughter. The child replied; Why.
mamma. brother has been asleep here
4 by me all the time: no one has touched
him. It was bat an illusion.
Tricks Are Merely Illusions.
There can be no doubt about these
performances being illusions because an
attempt to photograph any OF them
/ reveals nothing but an empty plate.
/ These fakirs simply have the power to
make you see things which do not ex-
/ ist- Ths first principle underlying the
/ whole business is that a strong viii
/ subdues weaker one and therefore
the first necessary condition Of produc-
I ing a magical effect is an increase in
/ the power of thought. The Hindus
owing to that intense love for solitary
\ meditation, which has been one of their
/ most pronounced characteristics from
/ time immemorial, have acquired men
! tai faculties of which VIC OF the west
ern and younger civilization are totally
! ignorant. If outward organs can he
( developed by persistent effort. as the
| children Of athletes and acrobats i'm
/ prove upon the prowess of their pa
/ rents, in the same-Vay mental powers
/ may be developed and perfected. The
/ Hindu has attained a past masters de-
gree in speculative philosophy. He has
retired for meditation and speculation
! for years to the silent places Of his
/ land. lived a hermit subdued the body.
! and developed the mind. thus winning
control over the weaker minds in conse-
I qUence.
Hypnotism is the Only Answer
"Hypnotism seems the only answer
to the mystery A man who can even
hypnotic any part of his own body.
cause his heart to stop visible pulsa-
ton, his skin to grow cold. his eye to
become fixed, and his breath TO depart,
| has an awful power. Many well au-
thenticated accounts are given of vol
untary interment. the most wonderful
Of which has become historic-that OF
! the fakir at Lahore, who remained in
the ground in a sealed coffin. 10 all ap-
pearances dead. for forty days.
''Kellar. the famous English agi-.
elan, visited India many times in the
hope of learning something about IN
dian magic, but at last he was forced to
tell Queen Victoria when she inquired
if he could initiate the Indian wizards.
that he could only initiate them by
means of appliances wires and dark
! room, and by these create an illusion.
but that he was no nearer to knowing
how these marvels were wrought than
when he first endeavOred to penetrate
the mystery. Kellar dwells particularly
upon the power of deviation. or ami
hilation@ Of gravity, which these people
seem to possess.
The Secrets of the East.
ITO attribute the power of the Hindu
conjurer TO hypnotism does not detrsct
from its marvellous character. II the
brain of another can make me see and
taste and hear things quite different
from what they are, IL only renders the
phenomena all the more mysterious.
| Hindustan, that earliest cradle Of our
race, and Of civilization. still holds the
! key to many mysteries. The Hindu
preserves his secrets in the shade Of
his palm trees, in the jungles and wild
recesses of the mountains, and behind
the walls OF his temples. He alone Is
master Of arts which tax the ingenuity
of our best reasOners, and viii tax them
for ages to come"