77:, living on nothing but flour and water. In July 1895 he emerged as a Christlike healer in the Rio Grande villages south of Albuquerque. There, while treating hundreds of sick, suffering, and disabled people who flocked to Albuquerque's Old Town, he became famous. Crowds gathered about him daily, hoping to be cured of their diseases simply by clasping his hands. The following month he returned to Denver, but did not resume his healings until mid-September. During the next few weeks, his ministry drew tens of thousands of pilgrims to a small home in North Denver. Schlatter is said to have refused all rewards for his services. His manner of living was of the simplest, and he taught no new
106:
147:, Mexico, when his Mexican guide pointed out an unmarked grave. Ten years before, the guide said, he had come across the body of a dead man following a blizzard. From the guide's description, Hewett surmised that the dead man the guide had come across was Francis Schlatter, whom Hewett had met and whose healing sessions he observed in 1895. Hewett asked if any of the man's possessions had survived. The guide led him to the home of the
65:, in 1892. There, a few months later, he experienced a vision at his cobbler's bench in which he heard the voice of the Father commanding him to sell his business, give the money to the poor, and devote his life to healing the sick. He then undertook a two-year, 3,000-mile walking pilgrimage around the American West which took him across eastern Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma, and then to
20:
189:(2016), argues that the healer conspired to stage his death in the mountains of Mexico and returned to the United States to continue healing in the eastern and southern parts of the country until his death in St. Louis in 1922. This author's claim rests in part on the discovery of a largely forgotten autobiography in the Library of Congress entitled
97:, after his disappearance from Denver. The book, which carried the title the healer gave it, also contained a first-person description of his two-year pilgrimage, which he believed held the same significance for mankind as Christ's forty days in the wilderness. On departing the Morley ranch, Schlatter told Morley that God intended to establish
160:, he showed interest in the rod and made a donation to the village of Casas Grandes to hire a teacher. Back in Santa Fe, a few weeks later, he received a heavy, burlap-wrapped package, and inside was Francis Schlatter's copper rod. He placed the rod in the collections of the two institutions he directed, which shared space in the
88:
On the night of
November 13, 1895, he suddenly disappeared, leaving behind him a note in which he said that his mission was ended. Then, in 1897 news came out of Mexico that the healer's bones and possessions had been found on a mountainside in the Sierra Madre. At the same time, a New Mexico woman
172:
Almost immediately after reports came out of Mexico announcing the healer's death, skepticism arose. Ada Morley, who had visited at length with
Schlatter during his three-month stay at her ranch in New Mexico in early 1896, had her doubts. "The men who found the skeleton declared to have been ," she
181:
Over the next twenty-five years, several men arose claiming to be
Francis Schlatter. One, a Presbyterian minister named Charles McLean, died in Hastings, Nebraska, in 1909, creating a controversy between skeptics and believers. Two others, August Schrader and Jacob Kunze, who formed a healing team
177:
expressed doubts as well. "It does not appear that the human remains were actually identified as
Schlatter's," the newspaper stated on June 19, 1897, "or that any identification was possible." However, the presence of the healer's possessions at the scene, especially his copper rod, convinced most
151:
of Casas
Grandes, and there Hewett saw Schlatter's Bible, saddle, and copper rod—which had become a mysterious hallmark of the healer from the time of his disappearance. Years later, in 1922, Hewett returned to Mexico and examined the copper rod again. By now the director of the School of American
69:, where he was arrested and jailed for vagrancy. In early 1894 he escaped and headed west, walking across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona and into southern California, where he began his first efforts at healing with the indigenous people of the
101:
in the Datil
Mountains, and the healer promised to return at that time. In the wake of the healer's death, several men claiming to be Francis Schlatter made headlines around the country in 1909, 1916, and 1922.
185:
During the second half of the twentieth century, a renewed interest in
Schlatter brought with it speculation about the claim of the healer who had died in St. Louis. Most recently,
213:(Denver: Privately printed, 1897, 191 pages, 1 map), copyrighted by the book's compiler, Ada Morley Jarrett. Only a few copies of the original exist; however, in 1989
476:, v. 39, no. 1012, (1896 July 29), centerfold. N.Y.:Keppler & Schwarzmann — Cartoon caption: "He was carried away by the Schlatter craze some months ago."
182:
that operated between 1908 and 1917, were arrested and jailed in 1916 for mail fraud. A final so-called imposter died in St. Louis, Missouri, in
October 1922.
173:
said, "say it was resting as though it had never been disturbed. I know the coyotes would never have left it so if it had ever lain there bearing flesh." The
330:
131:
in 1896, the year after
Schlatter disappeared. He was afraid of Schlatter. The "double" turned out to be Paul Herrmann, a German-American painter.
31:
501:, CSPAN, September 26, 2016. Author David Wetzel talks about his book "The Vanishing Messiah". (Video 70 min. at the Internet Archive)
275:
562:
460:
534:
567:
164:
in Santa Fe, N.M. Today the rod lies in the collections of the New Mexico
History Museum in the Palace of the Governors.
153:
498:
105:
456:. Denver, Colo.: Schlatter Publishing Co, 1896. 206 pages, 12 photos. PDF. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
144:
191:
Modern Miracles of Healing: A True Account of the Life, Works and Wanderings of Francis Schlatter, the Healer
161:
81:. He said only that he obeyed a power which he called Father, and from this power he received his healing
505:
289:
528:
421:
66:
109:
Schlatter standing in center, healing man as other people wait in line or observe from sidelines. 1895
557:
552:
157:
119:
46:
523:
70:
214:
114:
94:
140:
62:
472:
434:
124:
480:
546:
518:
143:, who became a noted archaeologist and museum director, was conducting research near
98:
74:
262:
Newspapers across the U.S. covered these events, but they can all be found in the
73:. After two months, he again took up his pilgrimage and traveled east across the
61:
to the United States, where he worked at his trade in various cities, arriving in
491:
467:
453:
Biography of Francis Schlatter, the healer: with his life, works, and wanderings
50:
37:
who, because of miraculous cures attributed to him, became known as the Healer.
19:
527:
58:
34:
405:
193:, attributed to "Francis Schlatter, The Alsacian," and published in 1903.
221:(Santa Fe, NM: Sunstone Press), which incorporates the original material.
78:
406:"The Vanishing Messiah: The Life and Resurrections of Francis Schlatter"
331:"Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now: Schlatters Healing Rod"
492:
The Vanishing Messiah: The Life and Resurrections of Francis Schlatter
187:
The Vanishing Messiah: The Life and Resurrections of Francis Schlatter
82:
54:
452:
128:
104:
18:
307:(Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday/Anchor Books, 1968), 156–57, 341.
93:
which told of the healer's three-month retreat on her ranch in
517:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
320:(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1943), 69–75.
461:
The Curious Case of Francis Schlatter: the Denver Messiah
209:
All of the information in this paragraph can be found in
266:22 October 1909, 28 May 1916, and 18 October 1922.
481:Francis Schlatter: The Healer of the Southwest
211:The Life of the Harp in the Hand of the Harper
91:The Life of the Harp in the Hand of the Harper
8:
450:Magill, H. B, and Harry Houdini Collection.
508:" items at the Library of Congress online.
463:, EllisNelson.com blog, November 29, 2012,
526:; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905).
303:Evert Sprinchorn, ed., August Strindberg,
219:The Healer: The Story of Francis Schlatter
89:named Ada Morley published a book called
57:, France, on April 29, 1856. In 1884 he
202:
430:
419:
538:(1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
468:Uncle Sam's "crazes" past and present
45:Schlatter was born in the village of
7:
123:Francis Schlatter is mentioned as a
16:Alsatian cobbler and supposed healer
499:Denver's 19th Century Great Healer
305:Inferno, Alone, and Other Writings
14:
127:of another man Strindberg met in
233:(Denver), 15 November 1895, and
408:. University of Iowa Press: 262
535:New International Encyclopedia
1:
485:New Mexico Historical Review
154:School for Advanced Research
337:. New Mexico History Museum
584:
529:"Schlatter, Francis"
134:
117:'s autobiographical novel
404:Wetzel, David N. (2016).
335:New Mexico History Museum
466:Opper, Frederick Burr. "
292:Strindberg and his plays
145:Casas Grandes, Chihuahua
358:(Denver), June 12, 1897
162:Palace of the Governors
135:The Healer's Copper Rod
563:American faith healers
494:, 2016. Google Books.
429:Cite journal requires
110:
30:(1856–c. 1896) was an
24:
470:," Illustration from
108:
67:Hot Springs, Arkansas
22:
568:People from Bas-Rhin
247:Rocky Mountain News,
158:Museum of New Mexico
479:Szasz, Ferenc M.. "
356:Rocky Mountain News
276:August Strindberg:
231:Rocky Mountain News
168:Death and Imposters
47:Ebersheim, Bas-Rhin
370:, October 21, 1909
318:Campfire and Trail
290:Internet archive:
178:people otherwise.
152:Research (now the
111:
71:San Jacinto Valley
25:
506:Francis Schlatter
497:Wetzel, David N.
490:Wetzel, David N.
316:Edgar L. Hewett,
249:7 June 1897, and
237:15 November 1895.
215:Norman Cleaveland
115:August Strindberg
95:Datil, New Mexico
28:Francis Schlatter
23:Francis Schlatter
575:
539:
531:
439:
438:
432:
427:
425:
417:
415:
413:
401:
395:
394:October 29, 1922
389:
383:
382:October 29, 1916
377:
371:
365:
359:
353:
347:
346:
344:
342:
327:
321:
314:
308:
301:
295:
287:
281:
273:
267:
260:
254:
244:
238:
228:
222:
207:
141:Edgar Lee Hewett
63:Denver, Colorado
583:
582:
578:
577:
576:
574:
573:
572:
543:
542:
522:
514:
459:Nelson, Ellis.
448:
443:
442:
428:
418:
411:
409:
403:
402:
398:
390:
386:
380:New York Times,
378:
374:
366:
362:
354:
350:
340:
338:
329:
328:
324:
315:
311:
302:
298:
288:
284:
274:
270:
264:New York Times,
261:
257:
251:New York Times,
245:
241:
235:New York Times,
229:
225:
208:
204:
199:
170:
137:
43:
17:
12:
11:
5:
581:
579:
571:
570:
565:
560:
555:
545:
544:
541:
540:
513:
510:
487:54, 2 (2021).
447:
446:External links
444:
441:
440:
431:|journal=
396:
384:
372:
360:
348:
322:
309:
296:
282:
268:
255:
239:
223:
201:
200:
198:
195:
175:New York Times
169:
166:
136:
133:
42:
39:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
580:
569:
566:
564:
561:
559:
556:
554:
551:
550:
548:
537:
536:
530:
525:
524:Gilman, D. C.
520:
519:public domain
516:
515:
511:
509:
507:
502:
500:
495:
493:
488:
486:
482:
477:
475:
474:
469:
464:
462:
457:
455:
454:
445:
436:
423:
407:
400:
397:
393:
388:
385:
381:
376:
373:
369:
364:
361:
357:
352:
349:
336:
332:
326:
323:
319:
313:
310:
306:
300:
297:
294:
293:
286:
283:
280:
279:
272:
269:
265:
259:
256:
252:
248:
243:
240:
236:
232:
227:
224:
220:
216:
212:
206:
203:
196:
194:
192:
188:
183:
179:
176:
167:
165:
163:
159:
155:
150:
146:
142:
132:
130:
126:
122:
121:
116:
107:
103:
100:
99:New Jerusalem
96:
92:
86:
84:
80:
76:
75:Mohave Desert
72:
68:
64:
60:
56:
52:
48:
40:
38:
36:
33:
29:
21:
533:
503:
496:
489:
484:
478:
471:
465:
458:
451:
449:
422:cite journal
410:. Retrieved
399:
392:Denver Post,
391:
387:
379:
375:
367:
363:
355:
351:
339:. Retrieved
334:
325:
317:
312:
304:
299:
291:
285:
277:
271:
263:
258:
253:7 June 1897.
250:
246:
242:
234:
230:
226:
218:
210:
205:
190:
186:
184:
180:
174:
171:
148:
138:
125:doppelgänger
118:
112:
90:
87:
44:
27:
26:
558:1922 deaths
553:1856 births
368:Denver Post
278:The Inferno
547:Categories
412:30 October
341:30 October
217:published
156:) and the
59:emigrated
41:Biography
139:In 1906
79:doctrine
51:SĂ©lestat
32:Alsatian
521::
512:Sources
120:Inferno
49:, near
35:cobbler
83:virtue
55:Alsace
197:Notes
129:Paris
53:, in
473:Puck
435:help
414:2023
343:2023
149:jefe
483:."
113:In
549::
532:.
426::
424:}}
420:{{
333:.
85:.
504:"
437:)
433:(
416:.
345:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
