New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1881-03-02
THE JUMPERS oFmAuNE.

>Dr. George M. Beard. in paper
read before the American Neurologi.
Cal Association, records some curious
facts in regard to singular class of
persons whom he met in the region of
the Moosehead Lake, Maine, and who
are known in the language of that re-.
gion as bumpers. or .Jumping
Frenchmen. These individuals are
afflicted with peculiar nervous affac.
ton which manifests itself by sudden
and explosive movements of the body
nnder the influence of external excita.
tlon. by passive submission to orders
authorltatively given them. and by an
irresistible desire to initiate the &C.
tion of others. The person thus afflict-
Ell jumps at the slightest sudden touch
and when an order is given him in a
loud. quick tone he repeats the order
and at once obeys. If for instance. on
the shore of a river he be ordered to
jump into the river. he exclaims
Jump in" and at once executes the
Older. If he is said to strike one of
his companions he exclaims, ''Strike
him. and the act follows the words.
DIR. Beard made the following ex
periments with one of tho persons,
who was q years of age: While sit
ting in chair with 4 knife ir his hand,
about to cut some tobacco, this man
was struck sharply on the shoulder
and told to throw it. Almost us qui ok
rs the explosion of Il pistol the knife
was thrown and stuck in Il beam Oppo.
site; and at the same time he repeated
the order, ''throw IT, with Il certain
cry as OF terror or alarm. A moment
after, while filling his pipe, he was
again slapped on his shoulders and told
to throw it. Immediately he threw
the pipe and tobacco On the grass, at
least Il rod away, and with the same
suddenness and explosiveness of move
ment as before. Whenever this man
was struck quietly and easily, and in
such way that he could see that he
was to be struck. he made only
slight jump or movement; but when
the strike was unexpected he could
not restrain the jumping or Jerking mo-
ton, although the cry did not always
appear. Like experiments were made
on other individuals of different ages
with the exhibition of the same pec,.
liar phenomena.
DR.. Beard classes this''jumping' as
a )'sychical or mental from of nervous
disease, ola functional character, it's
best analogue being psychical or men.
tai hysteria-the so-called "servant-
girl hysteria" as known to US in modern
days, and as very widely known during
the epidemics of the Middle Ages.
Like mental or psychical hysteria, the
jumping occurs not in the weak, or
nervous, or anaemic, but in those IN
firm and unusal health; there are no
stronger men in the woods, or any
where, than some CT these very
Jumpers. DR.. Beard regards the
disease as probably an evolution of
tickling. Some, if not all, of the
bumpers are ticklish-exceedingly so
and are easily irritated when touch.
ed in sensitive parts of the body. 1t
would seem that in tie evenings, in
the woods, after the days toll, in lieu
of most other sources of amusement,
the lumbermen have leased each other
by tickling and playing and startling
tlmid ones, until there has developed
this jumping, which, by mental con.
tagion, and by this practice, and by in
heritance, has ripened into the full
stage of the malady as it appears at the
present hour. The malaby is fully as
hereditary as insanity, or epilepsy, ar
hay fever. DR.. Beard in four families
found fourteen cases, and by the study
of these it was possible to trace the
disease back at least half a century.
The malady seems to be endemic, con.
fined mainly to the north woods of
Maine and to persons of French de.
scent, and it is psycho-contaglous, that
is, can be caught by personal contact,
like ch0rea and hysteia.-Scientifc
american.