Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-11-17
DIED IN A HYPNOTIC TRANCE.
All Efforts to Revive Newark, N. j.,
Man Proved Futile.

SomerV1lle, n. j., NOV. 1O.--While
Arthur Eperton, self-styled "profes-
Sort and travelling hypnotist. sob
bed in his cell, three calm medical
men witnessed weird performance
In the morgue of the Somerset Hos
pital late this afternoon There w.
b. Davenport, secretary to the mayor
of Newark and student of hypno-
tism, yainly tried to bring back signs
of life in the rigid body Of Robert
Simpson, former street car conduc-
tor of Newark, who apparently died
last night after having been put into
"a hypnotic trance by Everton before
IN large audience at the Somerville
lsZheatre.
Davenport failed, Simpson was de-
clared officially dead, and an autopsy
was held tonight. ....
S Meanwhile, charged with man
slaughter, unnerved and shaken, Ev-
erton remains in prison, where he
must await the action OF the grand
jury as sequel to stage trick
familiar throughout this country and
abroad. IA ......
1t was at the piteous insistence of
Everton while in Jail after his inef-
fectual attempts to revive Simpson
that Davenport, friend of Everton,
came into the case to-day. Notwith-
standing the declaration Of physi-
clans that Simpson was dead, Ever
ton asked that Davenport be allowed
to try to arouse him. Accordingly
Ethe autopsy first arranged for two
O'Clock this afternoon was postponed
and the student Of hypnotism was
summoned.
Attempt to Restore Life Fails.
Simpsons body, covered with a
black CLOTH lay in the morgue at the
hospital when Davenport arrived. He
came in silently, and in the presence
of DR.. w. H. Long, county physi-
clan; Dr.. c. II. Halstead and DR..
Francis McConaughy, Immediately
Wegan his attempts to revive the
a$nfortunate man. First he felt of
THE body to detect any possible heart
beat; failing in this, he placed his
ear on the victims breast. Then,
invoking the power of suggestion, he
spoke in the dead mans ear:
Bob" he said, Bob, your heart
action-your heart action-your
heart action is beginning. 1t Is be-
ginning"
Slowly and dramatically Davenport
repeated this in the ear, then chang
ing his tone Of voice to an imperious
command, he cried sharply:
Bob, Bob, can't YOU hear, me?
Your heart is beginning to beat
Your heart is beginning to beat"
Again and again he repeated this
assurance to the inanimate form,
while the medical men looked grimly
on. Not muscle of the body stirred
and there was absolutely no anima-
tion.
While this was going on, bril-
liant incandescent lamp shed it blind
ing glare in the dead mans face, but
the eyelids did not fiutter, and the
physicians cOntendCd that he was be.
yond aid.
bead Wan Drmnk M Lhc Time.
simpson, the yictim. was 80 years
cd, and was accustomed, il Is said.
to drinking heavily. 1t is generally
admitted that he was intoxicated
during the test last night. No rela-
tiVes have appeared to claim the
body.
Everton has employed counsel and
will fight the case. 1t has been sug-
gested that he will make the novel
plea that the man was still alive
when the autopsy was performed,
ClllHS various cases OF suspended AMI
nation as proof of this. Duncan
Quackenbos, Of Columbia University,
a leading authority on hypnotism,
said this afternoon that 1t was not
unlikely that Simpsons case was one
of suspended animation, and that an
autopsy should be made with caution
or perhaps deferred until there was
no possibility of life.
Eight physicians assisted in per-
forming the autopsy, and they issued
aFStatement at it's conclusion, stat
ingf that death was due to a rupture
of the aorta. This indicated, accord
ing to the coroner, that death pri-
marily was due to natural causes,
and that the man probably had been
suffering for some time from aneur-
ism.
Death was practically instanta-
neous and probably occurred just as
Simpson was coming out of the
trance. Whether the strain he was
put under when Everton stood on his
body during its rigidity caused the
rupture cannot be ascertained. The
LxSsult Of the autopsy will more than
ely bring about Everton's release
~ bail.