Year: 1878

!
comprehend his powers. Prompt
", at noon, it was announced that
the subject was in attendance
without the College grounds, and
the meeting was called to order
by DR.. il. Ancrum, Vice-Presi-
dent Of the Medical Society, who
stated that the call was made for
the purpose of seeing exhibited
before them the body of negro
who professed to perform certain
wonderful phenomena. That, in
order to investigate the subject
fully, soas to be enabled to instruct
the Medical Society on the SUBJ
ject, he would appoint a COM
mittee' Of three to investigate, at
some future time, the body Of the
man, at their leisure, to compile
their report and conclusions, to
report back to the fraternity, and
that on this committee, with the
sanction Of the meeting, he would
appoint Drs. Middleton Michel,
Manning Simons and J. P. Chazal.
The nominations thus mado were
unanimously confirmed by the
Board. The Chairman, DR.. An
crum, then said that an exhibition
Of the man would be made at the
| meeting now, in session, and sent
out and had -


DR.. EZEKIEL THOMAS


invited in. The Doctor quickly
obeyed the call, and the form of a
greasy, dirty negro walked boldly
into the library. He was dressed
in a dirty peir Of pants, a ragged
greasy coat, and dirty cotton
shirt. Without any ceremony,
the doctor, who was a short heavy
built negro, threw off his coat and
began to prepare for the exhibi-
tion he next mounted the plat
form, pulled off his shirt and ex-
hibited his body in a nude state
from the waist up. Being now
ready for exhibition, he COM
menced by displaying to the fra
ternity the wonderful muscular
power of his stomach. By mus
cular contraction he rolled and
| and contorted his intestines and
made them revolve first in one
direction and then in another
at will. After exhibiting this feat,
be invited them to come forward
and listen to the beat of his heart
in it's natural position. In order
to convince them that it was
there, towels were obtained and
put over his skin, and the ears
Of the medical men, one after
another, were applied to his hearts
position and the beat heard. When
all were satisfied that it was
there, by a contortion Of the mus
cles in his stomach, he removed
his intestines TO the left side and
dropped his heart to the bottom
of the right side. The doctors
sprang to their feet covered the
skin with a towel and listened to
the heart beat in the right side Of
the stomach. He then apparently
drew his heart back to its normal
position: cleared the left side Of
the iutestines in a similar way.
and stopped his heart on,this side;
here the Doctors listened for the
heart again, and found it; this
was repeated three or four times
on each side, and all were con-
vinced Of tho strange power the
negro was possessed Of. The next
exhibition was ;nat ofstopping the
circulation of blood and the pull
sations of the heart, pulse and
arteries throughout the body. He
called ep all first to examine him,
and while they held his pulse and
their fingers on the arteries in the
neck, he called out ready, said
good bye, and in an instant all
| ceased to beat. After this be per-
| formed the feat Of breaking bar
of iron three-quarters Of an inch
in diameter by striking it across
the muscles Of bis powerful athle-
tic arm. The hat was then banded
around for collection, and the
meeting adjourned to take up DR..
Ezekiel Thomas at some future
day.-J0uraal of Commerce.


| Never he sorry fOranV generous