Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1886-07-29
WONDERS OF MEMORY.
Both Idiots and Geniuses Cer-
tainly Exhibit Them.

II call great people have great
memories" as Sir Arthur Help declares
IN his delightful book entitled Social
Pressure, II by no means follows that
all those who are possessed Of great
memorses are great people. Many an
instance might be cited TO show that
men Of very moderate intellectual ca
pacity may be endowed with power
of memory which is truly prodigous.
In addition to this, there are plenty Of
well-authenticated exar'ples of the
extraordinary power OF memory dis
played even by idiots. In the Memoirs
OF Mrs. Somerville there is curious
account of most extraordinary verbal
memory. There was an idiot in
Edinburgh" she tells us, ''of a respect
able family who had remarkable
memory. He never failed to go to the
kirk on Sunday; and on returning
home, could repeat the sermon, saying:
Here the minister coughcd; here he
stopped to blow his nose Durirg 'he
tour we made in the Highlands, she
adds, "we met with another idiot who
knew the Bible so perfectly. that II you
asked him where such n verse was TO
be found, he could tell without hesita-
tion and repeat the chapter" These
examples are sufficiently remarkable;
but what shall be said Of the case cited
by Archdeacon Fearon in his valuable
pamphlet on Mental Vigour? "rhere
was in my fathers parish" says the
archdeacOn, "a man who could remem-
her the day when every person had
been buried in the parish for tiirty-iive
years, and could repeat with unvarying
accuracy the name and age of the de-
ceased, with the mourners at the
funeral. But he was a complete fool.
Out Of the line OF burials, he had but
one idea. aud could not give an intel
Dgiblc reply TO a single question, nor
be trusted TO feed himself.
These phenomenal instances may be
matched by the Sussex farm-laborsr
George Watson, us we find recorded in
Homes Table Book, Watson could
neither read nor write, yet ne was
won't to perform wondrous feats of
mental calculation, and his memory for
events seemed TO be almost faultloss.
''But the most extraordinary circum-
stance" says Hone, ''is the power he
possessed OF recollecting the events Of
every day from an early period of his
life. Upon being asked what day Of the
week given day of the month oc-
Cured. he Immediately names II, and
also mentions where he was and what
was the state of the weather. A gen
tleman who had kept q diary put
many questions to him, and his an
swers were invariably correct
OF a similar kind Is the memory for
which Daniel Mccartney has become
famous In the United States. The
strange story Of this mans achieve
ments IS told by Mr.. Henkle in the
Journal Of Speculative Philosophy.
Mccartney, in 1869, declared that he
could remember the day OF the week for
any date from Jsnuary, 1927, that is.
from the time when he was nine years
and four. months 0ld-forty-two and
a halfyears. He has often been tested,
and, so far as Mr.. Henklc's account
goes, had not failed 10 tell his questioner
'uhat day Il was, aud TO give some
information about the weather, and
about his own whereabouts and doings
on any one OF the fifteen thousand or
more dates that might be named. When
Mr.. Kenkle Grst met this man OF mary
elous memory, he was employed In the
Office Of Hon. L. X. Rukenbrod, editor
of the Salem Republican, where moth
ing better could be found for NJ Cart
ney 10 do than ''turn the wheel Of the
printing-press on two days Of each
week" On the first formal examine
tion this man underwent. his answers
were tested by reference TO the file Of
a newspaper which gave the day OF the
wock along with the date. In one case
his statement was disputed, for the day
he named was not the same as that
given by the paper; but on further in
quiry, Il was found that the newspaper
was wrong. for the printer had made a
mistake. Shorthand notes Of the con-
vnrsation were taken at subsequent in
teryiews. The report OF these Is very
curious reading. Take the following
As a sample; Question October 3,
1882 Answer lin two seconds) WED
nesday. II vas cloudy and drizzled
rain. carried dinner 10 my father
where he was getting out coal Ques-
tlon--Fcbruary n, 1892 Answer Gin
two seconds) Saturday. II was cloudy
IN tho morning. and clear in the after
noon; there was little snow on the
ground. An uncle who lived near sold
4 horse-hoast Tor thirty-hve dollars.
And 80 the conversation ran on for
hours. ranging over forty years Of M >
Cnrtney's psMonal history. Mr.. Renkle
tells ns that Il he went over some Of
thn dnlnh again. after few days In
l1frei. the answers. although given
IN different terms were essentially the
same. showing distinctly that be re-
nlhmhnred ne facts. aud not the words
,s14I|nus|I o1td MCnrlneV's 3 memory