Houdini(28)

The metallic dress which is superadded to these means of defence consists of five principal pieces, viz., a casque or cap, with a mask large enough to leave a proper space between it and the asbestos cap; a cuirass with its brassets; a piece of armour for the trunk and thighs; a pair of boots of double wire-gauze; and an oval shield 5 feet long by 2 1/2 feet wide, made by stretching the wire-gauze over a slender frame of iron. All these pieces are made of iron wire-gauze, having the interval between its threads the twenty-fifth part of an inch.



In order to prove the efficacy of this apparatus, and inspire the firemen with confidence in its protection, he showed them that a finger first enveloped in asbestos, and then in a double case of wire-gauze, might be held a long time in the flame of a spirit-lamp or candle before the heat became inconvenient. A fireman having his hand within a double asbestos glove, and its palm protected by a piece of asbestos cloth, seized with impunity a large piece of red hot iron, carried it deliberately to the distance of 150 feet, inflamed straw with it, and brought it back again to the furnace. On other occasions the fireman handled blazing wood and burning substances, and walked during five minutes upon an iron grating placed over flaming fagots.



In order to show how the head, eyes, and lungs are protected, the fireman put on the asbestos and wire-gauze cap, and the cuirass, and held the shield before his breast. A fire of shavings was then lighted, and kept burning in a large raised chafing-dish; the fireman plunged his head into the middle of the flames with his face to the fuel, and in that position went several times round the chafing-dish for a period longer than a minute. In a subsequent trial, at Paris, a fireman placed his head in the middle of a large brazier filled with flaming hay and wood, and resisted the action of the fire during five or six minutes and even ten minutes.



In the experiments which were made at Paris in the presence of a committee of the Academy of Sciences, two parallel rows of straw and brushwood supported by iron wires, were formed at the distance of 3 feet from each other, and extended 30 feet in length. When this combustible mass was set on fire, it was necessary to stand at a distance of 8 or 10 yards to avoid the heat. The flames from both the rows seemed to fill up the whole space between them, and rose to the height of 9 or 10 feet. At this moment six firemen, clothed in the incombustible dresses, and marching at a slow pace behind each other, repeatedly passed through the whole length between the two rows of flame, which were constantly fed with additional combustibles. One of the firemen carried on his back a child eight years old, in a wicker-basket covered with metallic gauze, and the child had no other dress than a cap made of amianthine cloth.





XIII. Houdini, the Proud





Read It and Know It




After reading this chapter, you will know more about



Houdinize: The magician was famous enough to inspire a new word.



Dash’s role: Houdini set up his brother as a false rival to try to control imitators.



The Houdina Company: Houdini allegedly smashed furniture in a rival’s office.



Jacob Hyman: Houdini’s old partner claimed a right to the Houdini name.





By his mid-forties, Houdini had surpassed celebrity status and become a living legend. His image and name was known throughout the world, and a dictionary of the time even published an edition with the word “houdinize,” meaning to escape or to wriggle out of confinement or restraint. Houdini’s legend, however, is not without its detractors. Many magicians in Houdini’s time and now have criticized Houdini’s massive ego and his willingness to expose other magicians and to stretch the truth in order to stay on top of the magic world.



In the magic community, Houdini was known as a fantastic egomaniac who believed that he was a deity among magicians and conjurers and who loved to talk about himself. Houdini’s writing of the Encyclopedia Britannica’s entry on “Conjurers” lends support to this opinion, as Houdini spoke only of his own contributions to magic without mentioning a single other magician. Houdini’s diary entries also reflect that he got angry when newspapers mentioned lesser magicians than he when he had also performed.



Houdini’s fervor to debunk his original icon Robert-Houdin reflects a blinding desire to be known as the best conjurer and mystifier not only of his generation, but also in the history of magic. In fact, Houdini had rocky relationships with most other famous magicians of the time, including Harry Blackstone and Howard Thurston. The only magician that he ever came close to acknowledging might be equal or superior to himself was Heinrich Keller, an American-born magician with whom Houdini formed a close bond.