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Fire has always been and, seemingly, will always remain, the most terrible of the elements. To the early tribes it must also have been the most mysterious; for, while earth and air and water were always in evidence, fire came and went in a manner which must have been quite una...
Fire has always been and, seemingly, will always remain, the most terrible of the elements. To the early tribes it must also have been the most mysterious; for, while earth and...
2. Chapter 2The earliest mention I have found of a public fire-eater in England is in the correspondence of Sir Henry Watton, under date of June 3rd, 1633. He speaks of an Englishman "like...
3. Chapter 3THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.--A "WONDERFUL PHENOMENON."--"THE INCOMBUSTIBLE SPANIARD, SENOR LIONETTO," 1803.--JOSEPHINE GIRARDELLI, 1814.--JOHN BROOKS, 1817.--W. C. HOUGHTON, 1832.--...
4. Chapter 4Ivan Ivanitz Chabert, the only Really Incombustible Phenomenon, as he was billed abroad, or J. Xavier Chabert, A.M., M.D., etc., as he was afterwards known in this country, was...
5. Chapter 5FIRE-EATING MAGICIANS: CHING LING FOO AND CHUNG LING SOO.--FIRE-EATERS EMPLOYED BY MAGICIANS: THE MAN-SALAMANDER, 1816; MR. CARLTON, PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY, 1818; MISS CASSILLIS...
6. Chapter 6THE ARCANA OF THE FIRE-EATERS: THE FORMULA OF ALBERTUS MAGNUS.--OF HOCUS POCUS.--RICHARDSON'S METHOD.--PHILOPYRAPHAGUS ASHBURNIENSIS.--TO BREATHE FORTH SPARKS, SMOKE, AND FLAMES...
7. Chapter 7THE SPHEROIDAL CONDITION OF LIQUIDS.--WHY THE HAND MAY BE DIPPED IN MOLTEN METALS.--PRINCIPLES OF HEAT-RESISTANCE PUT TO PRACTICAL USES: ALDINI, 1829.--IN EARLY FIRE-FIGHTING. T...
8. Chapter 8It has sometimes been noted in the foregoing pages, that fire-eaters, finding it difficult to invent new effects in their own sphere, have strayed into other fields of endeavor...
9. Chapter 9STONE-EATERS: A SILESIAN IN PRAGUE, 1006; FRANCOIS BATTALIA, ca. 1641; PLATERUS' BEGGAR BOY; FATHER PAULIAN'S LITHOPHAGUS OF AVIGNON, 1760; "THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD," LONDON,...
10. Chapter 10DEFIERS OF POISONOUS REPTILES: THARDO; MRS. LEARN, DEALER IN RATTLESNAKES.--SIR ARTHUR THURLOW CUNYNGHAME ON ANTIDOTES FOR SNAKE-BITE.--JACK THE VIPER.--WILLIAM OLIVER, 1735.--T...
11. Chapter 11STRONG MEN OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: THOMAS TOPHAM (died, 1749); JOYCE, 1703; VAN ECKENBERG, 1718; BARSABAS AND HIS SISTER; THE ITALIAN FEMALE SAMPSON, 1724; THE "LITTLE WOMAN...
12. Chapter 12CONTEMPORARY STRONG PEOPLE: CHARLES JEFFERSON; LOUIS CYR; JOHN GRUN MARX; WILLIAM LE ROY.--THE NAIL KING, THE HUMAN CLAW-HAMMER; ALEXANDER WEYER; MEXICAN BILLY WELLS; A FOOLHARD...