REMARKABLE REMEDIES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, Issue LXXII, 24 May 1917, Page 8

REMARKABLE REMEDIES.

Apropos of the recently reported operation on a prisoner,' a correspondent, who vouches for the accuracy of his statements, has sent the following to the Wellington Post: "In the early '60's a Christchurch resident had a son whose occupation was that of a cattle drover. He, with others, was driving some cattle into Christchurch when one of the beasts rushed his horse, throwing the young fellow on to his head, and he was stunned. Some time afterwards he developed fits, and visited the various doctors, who could not do anything to cure him. A Captain Wilsc/n, who had been in charge of the White Swan steamer when she was wrecked on the East Coast of the island, was settled in Christchurch, and set up as a mesmerist. The young fellow was taken by his father to see Captain Wilson, who put his medium into a trance, examined the young fellow's head, pointed to a particular spot, and said a piece of bone was pressing on the brain. Doctors were informed of this, but ridiculed it. The young fellow urged his father to have an operation performed; the father consented,-consulted the doctor, who said he would not take any risk, but agreed to perform the operation. The young fellow was taken to the hospital, a day was appointed for Captain Wilson to be present with his medium, who, when put into the trance, pointed to the same spot, the operation was performed, and a niece of bone was found that pressed on the brain. The young fellow never suffered from fits afterwards."

In connection with the foregoing, our occasional contributor "Fifty-one" states that the same Captain Wilson, after relinquishing a seafaring life in tne 'sixties, gave mesmeric exhibitions m tbe Masonic Hotel hall, New Plymouth, and literally astonished fill who went to the performances. Old Taranaki residents will recollect Mr Danoy, who was bed-ridden with rheumatism at the time of the captain's visit Captain Wilson heard of his plight, and arranged to have him "rough, to the hall one evening on a stretcher. He was put under mesmeric influence with others, who were supposed to be capsized from a boat. It was marvellous to see Danbv usin-r his hitherto useless legs in an endeavor to swim, and he could afterwards walk about. Our correspondent further mentions that the White Swan was sore^o_« on. the East o°*** on J™e ZV, 1852, when a large number of public records were lost.