Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1909-01-07
.HJNIN SALAMANDER
,...o Machinist Who Bathed In
Flames Was Unhurt.
N SIGNS OF scoRcHING EVEN

ro.k.tt said He Did Not FesI
- .s,h,.s. Sensation Of Burning.
Ss...or James and Other Psyehol-
-. Conducted Remarkable Tests
IL Boston.
~. marvellous psychic power Of
.aE Foskett, a young machinist
= o,.nge Mass, has attracted the
.,.otop Of Professor James Of Har-
~ and other leading members Of
postop branch of the American
s..,s,v Of Psychical Research, who
ENTITY gave him tests on two days.
~ first of the tests was held at the
- Of Prescott f. Hall on Sat
- afternoon. Professor William
$50 and several well known physi-
go we're there, and test conditions
!. nearly perfect as possible were
ID Foskett was seated In the GEN.
. tor OF room DelOio S"h s"oAS'
TAsre he performed every feat Of the
uIndoo faker and the Buddhist adept.
On the table was an ordinary kero-
.sDe lamp with a chimney and a fiat
MI. a pan and several quarts Of al
eohol According to the reports Of
those present Foskett succeeded I'm
avery test. The first test was made
I'M ordinary sulphur matches. Fos-
kett lighted half dozen, one after
he other, holding them with one hand
a close to the fingers of the other
that the flames curled around them.
he then lighted the lamp and held his
hands above the wick, while the
James curled over them and the SCOT
completely blackened them.
From one Of these tests to another
Foskett went, while the scientists
held their breath and watched every
motion. until he came to the climax.
In this he poured quart of alcohol
into the basin, lighted 1t and then
washed his hands, bathing them for
nearly ten minutes in the burning
fluid, washing it up over his arms and
to bis literally bathing himself
IN blazing alcohol. That completed
the tests for the first day. AS soon as
they were finished the physicians
present examined Foskett, and they
could find not the slightest trace of a
burn or blister. Foskett told them
that the flames did not give him the
slightest sensation of burning; that he
felt comfortably warm and pleasant
and nothing more.
The second tests were made on the
next afternoon at the home of Pro
fessOF James in Cambridge, Mass,
and under the same conditions as the
day before Considerable mystery is
thrown about them. Mr.. Hall said
they were so startling that he did not
care to discuss them until they had
been tried again. Another scientist
who was there said that Foskett per-
formed all of his experiments Of the
day before and then absolutely and
positively dematerialized.
"He seemed to dissolve into thin air
Is we watched him; was gone forty
one seconds and then materialized. II
was so startling that we, / am afraid,
lost sight Of the test conditions, and
We have asked him to appear before
Us again. 1t seems unbelievable, but
certainly seemed so. We hardly
know what to think of it."
Professor James refuses to talk
about the tests.
According 70 those who were pres
emf Foskett seems in a passive state
during the tests, and he says he
hinks of nothing in particular. Those
VINO examined him discredit the hyp-
neuc theory They believe he has
sOme latent phychic force that never
has been studied.