Message #13031

[Bianca]

THE RIDDLE OF HOUDINI                                                                          continued.



There were some remarkable points about his death.  It seems that upon
Friday, October 22nd, he was lying in his dressing room, reading his letters.

It was five in the afternoon.  He had lectured at McGill University a few days
before,and with his usual affability he allowed some of the students to come
in and see him.  What followed may be taken verbatim from the report of one
of these young men.


"Houdini,"he says, "was facing us and lying down on a couch at the
time reading some mail, his right side nearest us."  This first year student
engaged Houdini more or less continually in a conversation whilst my friend
Mr. Smilovitch continued to sketch Houdini.  This student was the first to
raise the question of Houdini's strength.  My friend and I were not so much
interested in his strength as we were in his mental acuteness, his skill, his
beliefs and his personal experiences.  Houdini stated that he had extraor-
dinary muscles in his forearms, in his shoulders and in his back, and he
asked all of us present to feel them, which we did.

The first year McGill student asked Houdini whether it was true that
punches in the stomach did not hurt him.  Houdini remarked rather unen-
thusiastically that his stomach could resist much, although he did not speak
of it in superlative terms.  Thereupon he gave Houdini some very hammer-
like blows below the belt, first securing Houdini's permission to strike him.

Houdini was reclining at the time with his right side nearest Whitehead,
and the said student was more or less bending over him.  These blows fell on
that part of the stomach to the right of the navel, and were struck on the
side nearest us, which was in fact Houdini's right side;  I do not remember
exactly how many blows were struck.  I am certain, however, of at least four
very hard and severe body blows, because at the end of the second or third
blow I verbally protested against this sudden onslaught on the part of this
first year student, using the words, "Hey, there.  You must be crazy, what are
you doing?" or words to that effect, but Whitehead continued striking Hou-
dini with all his strength.

Houdini stopped him suddenly in the midst of a punch, with a gesture
that he had had enough.  At the time Whitehead was stiking Houdini, the
latter looked as though he was in extreme pain and winced as each blow was
struck.

Houdini immediately after stated that he had had no opportunity to
prepare himself against the blows, as he did not think that Whitehead would
strike him as suddenly as he did and with such force, and that he would
have been in a better position to prepare for the blows if he had risen from
his couch for this purpose, but the injury to his foot prevented him from
getting about rapidly."