The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-05-11

-HE modern "Sorcerers Of Paris" an
they are called. are now exciting In
tense interest in this gay city.
The sorcerers are really members of the
great French society devoted to the study of
human magnetism and experimental psy-
chism. They are the equivalent OF the Eng
hsh and American psychical research stu
dents, but are receiving much more public
attention and credit
This French society includes over one
hundred physicians In good standing, pro-
fessors OF the universities and wellknown
men OF science. They are investigating every
form OF ancient black magic, including the
production of ghosts, the forecasting of the
future, the transmutation OF metals and the
use Of the divning rod.
They aim to unveil the mysteries Of life,
TO harmonic the apparently supernatural
with scientific laws and furnish scientific ex-
plantations OF ell the remarkable things they
have accomplished. They point out that the
object which the ancient alchemists aimed at
has been accomplished by Sir William Ram
say in transmitting radium into helium, and
they argue that It is reasonable to expect
that other marvels scoffed at by the very
sceptical, recent generation OF science will
be proved possible.
They give much attention to the study OF
the obscure radauons OF the human body.
They find that these radtations can impress
a Photographic negative IN the dark and
produce many other physical effects. They
have been observing one woman whose body
possesses powers similar TO pure radium.
She is consequently. able TO cure many germ
diseases By mere contact with the sufferers.
according 10 these investigators.
Perhaps the most extraordinary experiment
of these sorcerers consisted In preserving,
OF "mumifying." a dead human hand by max
a. u nr Gao ofn I'm
Vile, who conducted the experiments. re-
ports that they were amazingly successful,
and offers a series OF photographs in sup
port OF his statements, He considers that
they prove that the human hands have great
bactericidal power In certain cases.
The hand eIperimented on was that OF a
man accidentally suffocated by gas It was
an exceptionally fat hand. It was received
by the investigators three weeks after its
owners death. All that time IL bad been
kept on ice, and WAS therefore In condition
which IS ordinarily followed by rapid
decomposition on exposure to the air.
Moreover, the bodies OF suffocated -
persons are exceptionally subject to "
decomposition.
DR., Durvt,le and two other operators
took turns IN treating or magnetic
ing the hand One OF the others was
Nine. Raynaud, who is credited with
many remarkable cures Of disease by
the imposition OF hands.
The dead hand was placed on table and
each OF the three operators treated II for
three-quarters OF an hour daily. The process
consisted IN simply making passes with the
living hands over the dead hand at distance
OF six inches with 4 slow movement from
the severed wrist 10 the tips OF the fingers.
The operator concentrated his mind on the
act.
They were surprised TO find from the first
that no decomposition occurred, such as
would appear ordinarily.
From the seventh day." writes DR.. Dur
vile. observing that the hand remained
without odor, we began 10 feel confident con-
corning the outcome OF the experiment, and
We diminished the time OF the daily treat
ment From the tenth day We gave the hand
two daily seances OF ten minutes each, max
Ing total treatment OF one hour"
From the seventh day a shrinking, darken-
Ing and hardening OF the hand became no