Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1909-01-22
A NICE BIT OF
=. N~ECROMANCY.


wide attention in America was Signor
Blitz half a century ago. Blitz was
giving exhibitions all over the United
States, and since amusements were
then by no means as common as to-
day all heard of him If all did not see
him. After having exhibited every
where in the eastern states he decided
to go overland to California. Loading
his contrivances in a couple of "prairie
s~chooners," as the plains wagons were
called, he set out from the Missouri
river to cross the Rocky mountains.
One day the little caravan came upon
a man who was crazed with distress.
He had been travelling with his wife
and two children in a single wagon.
For some reason he had left them for
a few hours and when he returned
found his wagon plundered of its con
tents, his stock run off and his wife
and children missing. He knew they
had been carried away by the redskins.
The next day Indsans were seen at
a distance. Blitz told the man, whose
name was Rodman, to ride out and
tell them a great medicine man travel
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give them a display of his powers. or
course to go to the Indians was the
next thing to going to certain death.
but Rodman was In hopes that Blitz
might help him to regain his family
n took the chances. He learned
while among the savages that they
held his wife and children captives.
though the savages did not know they
belonged to him. The marvellous will
the Indians sent Rodman back to in
wife Blitz to their camp.
Blitz improvised a stage with the
necessary appurtenances, and the red
skins squatted before 1t. An interpreter
stood ready to repeat the sorcerer's
words in their OWL language. Blitz
took a small iron cube with a ring for
a handle and lifted 1t with his little
finger. Then he said that he pos
sessed the power of depriving a man of
his strength and invited any savage to
come up on to the stage and submit
himself to this test. The chief himself.
the biggest and strongest Indian pres
ent, stepped up, evidently confident
that no man could take away what he
was so proud of. Blitz asked him to
lift the iron weight. He did so, giving
q grunt, as much as to say: do you
make sport of me? Give me something
heavy to lift" He set the weight
down. Blitz made a few passes along
his arm and told him to lift again.
This time the Indian failed to move 1t.
He struggled desperately, all the blood
In his body getting into his face, but to
no purpose. The weight was immov-
able. Then he turned away muttering
and did not stop till he had got behin4
the awe stricken Indians.
-Fhe- weight wis connected by wires
with a powerful magnet, the current
being turned on or off by a key under
Blitz's foot.
Blitz next took up a pistol and invited
the chief to come back and kill hin
with 1t. The chief, in hopes of redeem
ing himself before his warriors, re
turned. Blitz offered him n cup with
Ieaden bullets In 1t and asked him to
take out one and mark 1t so that he
would know 1t again. The redskin did
as he was told. Blitz took the bullet.
put 1t in the pistol, cooked the weapon,
handed it to the Indian, stood off al
the other end of the stage and told him
to fire. The Indian took a sure aim
and fired. Blitz put up his hand
caught the bullet In his fingers an6
tossed 1t back to the man who had
fired it. The chief, astonished, stood
mute, but when Blltz told him to look
at the mark on it and he saw that Ii
was the bullet he had chosen he was
~dumfounded.
This is a common trick, the bullet put
in the pistol being of clay ground W
powder by ramming it down. 1t is sub
stituted for the leaden one by sleight
of hand.
Then Blitz told the chief he could
shoot his blood on to a board without
hurting him and fired a wax bullet al
him filed with his own blood. 1t broke
against the board, scattering the blood.
BY this time Blitz was q wonderful
medicine man to the savages and was
ready for the business he had come
for. An assistant bandaged his eyes
and Blitz told the audience that he saw
in one of the tepees a white woman
and two children. He ordered them to
bring forth their prisoners at once or
he would call down fire from the clouds
to onsume them. The chief called q
powwow of his principal warriors. The
white men saw them arguing and ges
ticulating, but could not understand
what they said. Some were doubtful O.
Blitz having this power, while Others
claimed that a medicine man who
could do what he had done could do
anything. While they were consulting
Blitz discharged electricity, making n
brilliant flash. Away scampered thu
Indians to the tepee where Rodman's
wifa and children wnra held nrisonnrf