Show alia strange career of mostafa MoSTa fc the conjurer Marre loos feats of mind reading and wonderful visions of distant ob obtained through the vo brer at second barlit the death was lately announced of herr moffat the celebrated second sight reader and conjurer at bozeman idaho in the act of swallowing a sword which severed his jugular vein and the conjurer bled to death in a few minutes herr moffat orT rancis Morell writes a correspondent of the st louis globe democrat was a resident of st louis and there his wonderful talent which made him the peer of any and led bhim before the crowned heads of europe and asia was developed he was a very peculiar boy in youth and was considered a crank he lived alb his widowed mother supporting ner by working in a stove factory his spare moments he spent in the study of magic and the attic of his humble little home waa transformed into a chemical shop when he was seven years old one day he suddenly burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter his mother asked him wha pleased him so much the boy replied that he saw his father who was then living but not at home running rapidly down the mountain side trying to overtake a jug of whisky which he had let fall the jug rolled part of the way down the declivity but was caught by the old man before he got to the bottom when the father reached home he confirmed the whole story to the great surprise of all after this the boy excited much talk in the neighborhood in which he lived about two years later the were visited by a friend named robert vinton with other relatives and acquaintances from philadelphia who came to test the lads miraculous power asked him various questions and among other things inquired what was then going on at his Vin tons home in philadelphia the boy described the house which he had never seen stated that it was built partly of brick and partly of stone thai there was a lake in front of he house which had recently been drained and concluded with a tion of the people in the house and of two persons a man and a woman who were sitting on the porch when vinton reached his home in philadelphia he inquired who had been at his home at the day and hour he had held the conversation with young morell he learned that there had been a shower 0 rain at the time and that the people who were fishing in the lake hd run to the house to escape the rain the persons who were on the porch bad been faithfully described even to the color of their hair and eyes in short every detail given by the boy was proven to be accurate he became involved in a quarrel once with ayoung man named turner turner was to call on a young lady and be way by ane young mind reader morell who was himself in love with the same young lady they spoke to each other and passed on young morel sat down on a stump and bowing his head conducted his mind to the parlor in which his rival and the young lady were conversing in the course the young mans call he proposed and was rejected this made morell bappe bap py meeting turner on the street next day he tantalized him about his rejection by the young lady the night preceding words were exchanged and drew a pistol but friends standing by interposed and no harm came of the quarrel but morell fell into intemperate habits and lost his gool name his habit when asked to exercise his faculty of second sight seeing was to hold his head downward after closing his eyes after waiting foi some time apparently in deep thought he would declare what he saw in his visions he was sometimes found alone in the fields sitting on a stump and crying on being asked the cause of his grief he said he saw great numbers of men engaged in killing each other although he had never up to that time seen a ship a battle or a cannon he described military and naval battles during the war of the rebellion as if he ware an onlooker after the war when he was about twenty four years of age another gentleman from philadelphia who had heard much of him became interested believing him to be possessed of a boblo gift and exhibited his wonderful power over the united states drawing immense crowds in all the large cities while in st louis in 1873 he was asked by a man in one of the many thronia that came to see him what he was doing with that pocketbook J intimating that the young fellow had stolen it nothing youre the man who has stolen jt was the reply and upon beings searched by a policeman who was present the man was found to have a pocketbook pocket book with several eun dred dollars in it which was immediately identified by a gentleman present as his the man was arrested and found to be black hal a notorious confidence man and pickpocket in 1879 he began a tour of the old world which lasted seven years where he afterwards returned exhibiting himself over the country his death recalled many incidents which were related by the older citizens of st louis his afe was a strange and checkered ono |