The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1905-04-27
PROFESSOR VOORHEES, EXPERIMENTS.
He Astonishes the World Once More.


He sat down and wrote the follow
ing:
"My dear old comrade There are
times in ones life when flashes of joy
so lofty and sublime illuminate his
soul that life seems almost too good
to, be real. There are moments of
such rapturous ecstasy that one seems
almost elevated above the mere mortal.
Such, my dear Winkle, is my feeling
at this present moment. Excuse this
lyric outburst, old comrade; but really
my happiness is so great that I could
not help myself. But let me hasten
to explain the cause.
"Some days ago while fishing, I had
the mishap to fall in. ain ashamed
to confess that in the surprise of the
moment my usual presence of mind
deserted me, and shouted for help,
notwithstanding the fact that the
water was very shallow where the
incident occurred. My call attracted
the attention of the man, James, whom
l have spoken of on former occasions
as shrewd fellow, and he actually
had the audacity to laugh at my
plight, remarking that scientific men
ought to be able to a0ok on water, etc.
His remarks, incongruous tho they
may seem to one familiar with the
laws of Nature, set me to thinking;
my dear boy, set me to thinking:
and you have known me long enough
to know that when [ think seriously
on any problem, solution must abso-
lutely follow.
"To walk on water when it is not in
frozen condition would be physical
, impossibility. To accomplish the fact,
| then, water must first be turned into
, a solid, or man made ethereal. The
7 former proposition seemed the most
feasible to me, and set about it's &C
complishment. There is close rela-
tion between all elements of Nature;
gases forming the atmosphere are
also to be found in the liquid and solid
l substances of the earth. So far the
only method of solidifying water
5 known to mankind has been the old
5 old way of contracting or freezing, per-
s formed by Nature every winter in the
i northern regions. 1 perceived clearly
l that l must discover some energy, fluid
t or aeriform, that would affect the
s oxygen and hydrogen gases as does
9 cold, and yet let it remain in its nor
Q NAL temperature tho in solid form.
Q "This is precisely what I have dis
h covered. Yes, strange as it may seem
). it is fact. And yet it is so simple
It that it astonishes me that it has MOI
n been discovered earlier than this. L
% shall be known as the sVoorhekiar
Solidifying Rays so that the human
y family may know the name of its in
d ventor and bless him as it moves dowI
% through the Centuries.
i, "My rays when turned into water o
e any liquid containing hydrogen ant
r oxygen gases, will Immediately trans
g. form it into rigid body. Think O
If what this means to the world, Wrinkle
IS think of it! There will be no NOR
le shipwrecks. When vessel is in dan
1T ger all that will be necessary is to tur
g. the solidifying rays into the ses
changing it instantly into solid mas
ss as far as the rays penetrate -whic
I'd will depend on the capacity of tn
,e generator-lie becalmed, so to speal
~ until the storm is over, withdraw th
IN rays and proceed on the course.
st will prevent deaths by drowning.
r. small pocket generator may be carrie
or about the person, of sufficient strengt
es to solidify quantity of water lare
it enough to hold the body up until re
cued.
rk "The old practice of Burning tt
lie bridges behind in time of war, will /
ne useless since the pursuing army nee
RS only carry one of my ray generator
ed turn the energy into the river ar
of walk across.
From these little hints you will I
tie doubt see the great value of my la
le, discovery. Were 1 disposed to sell n
ar invention to the United States, or al
other government, am sure that