Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1890-02-15
GOODNESS IN DANGER.
Some of the Most Reliable Contribute

'lnere IS no great secret about 1T" said
an old, soldier to me. "You must think
about the danger and not about yourself.
Sect"
At first glance confess did not see, re-
marks writer in the New York Weekly.
But upon further conversation with the
veteran l caught his meaning. His idea
was that panic was caused by sudden
self-consciousness. One begins to imagine
that limb is crushed or the breath knocked
our of him, or he forecasts the pain or the
misery of his hurts before he gets them.
The danger itself, that is, the thing that is
about TO hurt you, possibly, but has not yet
done so the thing that is to be confronted,
met and vanquished; this is put out of mind
by the terror with which it clouds itself.
and so it has you at disadvantage. Danger
masks itself into terror. The terror blinds
our wit and paralyzes our arm we are thus
at the mercy OF our destroyer The real
danger we do not see-that is, the agent Of
evll-unless we are cool-headed.
There is a world Of truth in the philoso-
ply Of this well known General. Suppose
one is in a theater at the time of an alarm
of fire. Most people do not even smell the
fire, much less see it. Most people are
simply self-cen tered to that degree that
they know nothing outside of personal
alarm. The real cause, who has the cool
ness to seek for it? Who inquiries, where
is itl Or who asks, what is your authoritvl
Not one. All are thinking of self. do not
now mean to criuc1se the selhshness of it,
the moral phase of the matter. l only point
out that personality, not the cause, fills
every mind Except of course the cool
headed man here and there who thinks to
ask: "Now, wonder if it is really so.
would like to know who said sou Such
man is not drawn into vortex and trodden
into the carpet He studies the danger
itself, and as usual, nine times out Of ten,
discovers way to match it.
A physician explains to me that the
hearts action, under the terror excited by
danger, is in many cases equivalent to
apoplectic paralysis The blood is left to
gorge the poor brain, and the person is in
sane Or, in the reverse case, the arterial
blood is not sent out, the brain is empty, so
to speak, the sufferer is powerless. This is
In either case shock. Shock is the result of
dread. Dread is the minds action by imagi-
nation. The thirg o do is to break the spell
of imagination. One may accomplish this by
resolutely putting away all thought of self
and thinking insisting on fastening the at
achieved early before the heart Is affected
l may be disputed as to imagination of
the pangs of beng hurt. 1t is not asserted
that one is conscious of imagining, "Oh, l
snail suffer so, If / am burned" No; that
is too long a sentence to be thought out, con-
sciously, in moment of terror, yet the i'm
preston, instantaneous as lightning, is
nevertheless there. If you afterward re-
call your thoughts, you will confess that
am correct. In battle men do not think of
being hurt; the sight of shocking wounds
does not awaken any thought of pain. 1t is
before the battle that legs tremble and
nerves of the whole body quiver with
anticipated pains, till the man is a cow. rd
in spite of himself. In action the cause,
those guns over there, those lines of the
enemy, fill the minds eye; consequently the
soldier is cool.
Irecenty heard lady relate that, wher
| a fire began in her room the blaze was 81
curious as it licked in along the cornicC
that she found herself saying, elbow pretty
that is !" AS a result she was able to ac
coolv in escaping from the chamber II
| another case gentleman was saved from
beng run over by a horse, from the fact
that, as the mad animal was about to spring
upon MIN, he thought, "What a close re-
Sem blance between that animal and my of
one of a pairl' This gave him sufficient
self-control to grasp at passing street-car
and SWING himself out of harms way.
Whereas it is a well-known fact that many
peo lie are "struck powerless" by the very
sight of frantic runaway, aud so neglect
the opportune second of escape.
l have yet another case in mind A
gentleman IN the wild West, about to be
assaulted by a scoundrel in way-side
ranch, says: 81 saw him draw his weapon.
knew he was crazy drunk, and that he
had mistaken my peaceable, commercial
self for a pal with whom he had had a
quarrel. AS he drew on me / thought. Is
he German or Americana | shouted to him
in German, when did you leave Father
landp 1t struck his ear in time. The next
minute l had what they call out there the
drop on hlm, that ISL covered him with my
own weapon"
Then, evidently, mere panic, duclSing the
head, or raising an elbow, or a shout of ter
ror, would have been utterly useless. The
conception Of nationality abstracted the i'm
periled mans mind from terror; he was
then instantly ready TO appeal to the man g
love of the old home across the seas. The
reasoning was quick as lightning, but as
correct as arithmetic, for if the brute could
be caused to think of something else beside
his rage, even for an instant, the volition
to murder would be for that instant i'm
possible.
There is scarcely any danger which does
not change its phases as it approaches,
like cloud in an angry sky. The changes
are the things to be looked out for-they
are your openings of possible escape. Seer
tain destruction" has never happened till
you are actually destroyed-a which time,
it is hoped, all fear is forever over, If you
have behaved well in this world. Never
submit to be killed without an effort. While
there is life there is hope, if your mind is
cool enough 10 snatch at the hope; it may
be a very small and obscure hope, but it is
always there-yes, always-while you are
yet breathing. 1t is not, in my opinion, a
matter so much of custom, of having been
often in danger, that makes the cool man.
Fatigue, hunger or any previous overstrain
of the nervous system will often cause the
usually cool man 10 forget himself. Good
health and clear conscience are helps. A
cheerful disposition and profound trust in
Gods care are the best of all contributors
TO the hour of peril-an hour, by the way,
that no one ever escapes meeting some time
The Presidents Private Flag.
Ea