- Three years after the publication of
Walt Whitmans Leaves of Grass, a mysterious miniature book appeared in
the bookstalls of New York City. Just large enough to fit in the palm,
and easily hidden in a gentleman's pocket or a ladys knitting bag, 'The
Illustrated Silent Friend,' by William Earl, M.D., of 12 White Street,
offered an extraordinary variety of arcane information.
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- As the title page of the paperback copy
I own informs the public, the 'Silent Friend' is "A Complete Guide
To Health, Marriage and Happiness, Embracing Subjects Never Before Scientifically
Discussed...With Magnificent Illustrations In Anatomy Of The Lungs, Fistal
Delivery, Monstrosities, Uterine Tumors, Generative Organs, Deformities,
Diseases, & C. Also, Valuable and Practical Receipts In Medicine,
The Arts, Etc." And in 382 pages printed in minute type, Dr. Earl
delivers a breathtaking range of quaint and curious lure. Sandwiched in
between advertisements for male safes [condoms] made of white Indian rubber,
and herbal cures for gonorrhea, were recipes for making wood more durable
than iron and practical advice for would-part-time mesmerists.
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- Of course, many books of the time dealt
in similar subjects, but not quite with Dr. Earls panache: "To transfer
a pale and sallow face to one of beauty," he tells us, "take
one dozen common iron nails, about 2 inches long, one tablespoon of extract
of aloes hepatica, put these into a large bottle and poor upon them two
quarts of eider, cork them up tightly and shake them every day for one
month, then strain off the clear liquid, and of this take one table spoon
upon rising and going to bed, when all paleness will leave the face, and
it will ultimately attain beauty."
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- Whether this beauty is attained in life,
or ultimately achieved upon the death by poisoning of the patient, Dr.
Earl fails to say. Among all the snake-oil clap-trap contained in this
entertaining bit of Americana is one entry that, in its strangeness, and
its use of specific names and places, stands out from the rest. On pages
253-256, we find this startling entry:
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- "Do the Inhabitants of other Planets
ever Visit this Earth? I propose in this connection to make a few remarks
on the following: Mr. Henry Wallace and other persons of Jay, Ohio, have
recently detailed to me the annexed. There are thousands of such cases
on record. These gentlemen state, that sometimes since on a clear and
bright day, a shadow was thrown over the place where they were; this necessarily
attracted their attention to the Heavens, where they one and all beheld
a large and curiously constructed vessel, not over one hundred yards from
the earth. They could plainly discern a large number of people on board
of her, whose average height appeared to be about twelve feet. The vessel
was evidently worked by wheels and other mechanical appendages, all of
which worked with a precision and a degree of beauty never yet attained
by any mechanical skill upon this planet.
-
- Now, I know that thousands will, at this
recital, cry humbug, nonsense, lunacy, &c., but I know that there are
other thousands who will read and reflect. It is for these latter thousands
that I write. Once upon a time there appeared a celebrated reformer, who
arose among the people and taught a new doctrine, that from its reasonableness
and its simplicity, electrified the hearts of the thinking people. But
the party who didnt think, and who hated reason, and new ideas, cried
out, away with him to the crucifixion. And they did crucify his body,
but they have not yet succeeded in crucifying the reason, and new facts
and ideas that be taught.
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- In view, then, of the above, I venture
to advance the following remarks: I believe that the time will come when
all of the inhabitants of all worlds or planets in the solar system, will
regularly visit each other when in the fullness or fruition of things,
an interchange of ideas and commodities, visiting and greetings between
the respective inhabitants of all worlds or planets, will be common and
universal. I believe that the grand aspirations of an advanced humanity
on this earth, is not without a good cause and a good reason.
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- I believe that when the respective atmospheres
seen surrounding the different planets in the solar system, indeed, of
every part of the universe, shall have passed into the highest condition
of excellence and purity of which it is capable, that it will then give
life to a more exalted and finished condition of genera and species, or
inhabitants. That all of the planets are now inhabited by a kind of beings
suited to their respective planetary and electrical conditions, is, I think,
certain. And that the inhabitants of thousands of these worlds, that roll
with eternal beauty throughout the boundless regions of the immensity of
space, have attained that advanced condition in their planetary being,
I have no doubt, whatever.
-
- And that this ship which Mr. Wallace
and others saw, was a vessel from Venus, Mercury, or the planet Mars,
on a visit of pleasure or exploration, or some other cause; I myself,
with the evidence at hand, that I can bring to bear on it, have no more
doubt of, than I have of the fact of my own existence. This, mind, was
no phantom that disappeared in a twinkling, as all phantoms do disappear,
but this aerial ship was guided, propelled and steered through the atmosphere
with the most scientific system and regularity, at about six miles an
hour, though, doubtless, from the appearance of her machinery, she was
capable of going thousands of miles an hour, and who knows but ten thousand
miles an hour. What can be more wonderful as an illustration, than the
Electric Telegraph to connect the old world with the new. And why then,
may not the scientific geniuses of other planets have done as much as
ours have?
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- Besides this, if I had room, I could
draw an argument from the electrical condition of the media existing between
the planets, to show that a body once in motion at a given distance from
a planetary body in space, will move with nearly the speed of electricity
till it meets again the resisting media, or atmosphere of another planet
or body in space. That all of this knowledge, and a million times more,
may be known to some of the exalted beings of other planets in space,
I have no doubt. But as I was saying, this aerial ship moved directly off
from the earth, and remained in sight, till by distance she was lost to
the view. The foregoing is my firm and decided conclusion and belief in
this matter."
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- Dr. Earl lived on to publish a new, enlarged
Illustrated Silent Friend, as well as The Parent's Companion; On the diseases
of infants and children; Woman; her duties, relations and position; A
medical and social work; Seven Causes of Debility; and Moderate the pace
that Kills; High pressure business life; all in 1878 and catalogued by
the Library of Congress.
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- Of course, the crux of the matter is
this: was there really a Henry Wallace of Jay, Ohio? The most logical
place to search would be the old census records for Ohio, and this is
exactly what I determined to do. Because of logistical difficulties (I
live half a world away), I contacted the Ohio Historical Society via the
internet, paid the requisite fee, included a self-addressed envelope with
my written request, and received, by mail the following letter dated April
21, 1999:
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-
- Dear Mr. Glass:
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- Regarding your request for information
from the 1850 Census, please see the attached materials. You will note
that there are several "Henry Wallaces" listed in the Index to
the Federal Census of Ohio; unfortunately, none of them are listed in a
county that includes a town by the name of Jay. However, there is a town
named Jay in Erie County, which is just east of Lorain County. So we copied
the Lorain County listing for a Henry Wallace in the hopes that this was
the man you are interested in.
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- Sincerely
-
- M****B****
Reference Archivist.
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-
- The appended pages included copies from
the 1860 census of Ohio. I scanned through the spidery and antique handwriting,
and there he was! Henry Wallace of Eerie County, and presumably of Jay,
was number 549 in the records. His age in 1860 was 30 years old. He was
married to Cloe, 28, and had a daughter named Eva B who was 12 years and
8 months old at the time. Henry and his wife were Irish; his occupation
was listed as "Sailor." What is more, the entry just previous
to Henrys is for one David Wallace, 27 years old, and also from Ireland.
He too had a wife and a young daughter to support. Davids occupation is
listed as "Ship Carpenter." Presumably, David and Henry were
brothers and next-door neighbors in Jay. Further perusal of the page indicates
that their neighborhood was composed primarily of sailors, millers, farmers
and domesticsi.e., Henry and his family appear to have been members of
the working poor of the time. Their position in society was no doubt a
difficult one, as was that of many Irish immigrants. Add to this the probability
that Henry Wallace was corresponding with Dr. Earl because of a sexually-transmitted
disease picked up during his sea-faring life, and an interesting picture
emerges: either the sailor was a consummate blarney artist practicing
his gift upon a big city snake-oil salesman, or Wallace was a simple person
telling the truth to one whom he--mistakenly--believed to be a man of
science.
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- The "other persons," Dr. Earl
mentions above, may well have been from this neighborhood of poor people
in the small town of Jay, Ohio. No doubt Henry Wallace never suspected
that Dr. Earl would mention him by name in his odd little book and thereby
allow us to catch a glimpse of this poor man and those who might have
witnessed one of the most extraordinary sights any human could behold.
What thoughts could have run through their minds in the presence of an
airship hovering so near to the earth that it clearly exhibited its crew
of giants and the intricate machinery that made it fly? And then to watch
it move grandly through the air until lost from sight!
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- Searching through the Eerie County newspapers
of 1858 may turn up more details of what promises to be one of the most
exciting UFO sightings of the nineteenth century
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- copyright 1999 by Jesse Glass.
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