Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-12-09

much more acute than In the normal condi
ton. This fact may be made use OF IN
number Of amusing ways. For instnce. ]
cat Is tho subject the scratching o.
squeallng OF a mouse may be Initiated by :
person 10 another room. In an instant th'
cat, with eye vide open. n hunting for th,
| Intruder, although the sound may be In
audible TO the operator. When the scratch
Ing ceases tho somnambule returns 70 IT,
| ieihargic state.
Tho cat and all other animals should. like
| the bird. be allowed 10 wake naturally from
the hypnotic stats rather than to be Tor
| chilly aroused by sudden noise. blow OF
| similar shock.
The process Of hypnotlzing dog Is pre-
| cltely tho same gs that employed for cat,
with the exception Of a dlfforcnt position,
mado necessary by the animals size. This
Is entirely a minor detail any comfortable
pose from which escape Is impossible being
sufficient for tho experiment.
The most dirlcult animal to hypnotize
among thoae which have como under the
writer's notice was medium-5lfed anu
gly-diEpo1itionod rattlesnake, shipped tue
day OF ia capture from the mountains Of
West Virginia. Maddcned by the ruthless
handling OF express agents and rayenous
with hunger. Il was on It's arrival the very
incarnation OF fury. After ! hearty meal
on raw beef II became sluggish aud disposed
TO sleep. While In this condition strong
moose was slipped around It's neck and
made sure. Graaping the serpent by the
lhront It's head was brought wiliin foot
Of tho operator. No difficulty was then ex-
perlonced Ia fixing the reptiles gaze and in
subsequently sending II 70 sleep
when the stupOr produced by over-feed-
Ing passed the process was by no means
so simple. Although unable to escape from
tho grip on rs throat tho snake threshed
about violently. darling itE iangs IN every
direction.
In this condition thirteen trials we're neces-
sary before the 6llghtcst hypnotic enect was
produced. Even hlen the hypnouzation waA
by no meanA complete. Only after thirty
attemptH did the reptile become comparative
ly submissive When once conquered, how
ever, tho serpent eopt very profoundly, and
II undlsturhod would remain In tho fneameric
state four or even five houin.
For the experiments OF amateurs, such
dangerous and unreliable subIccis ~ Poison
Gus eerpents can hardly be recommended.
The hypnotlzatl0n OF animals has, accord
Ing to aoine authorities, distinct value.
The reasoning faculties Of an animal IN the
hypnotic state are much incrcasod. Thor
training becomes a moro simple matter, and
Indeed 1t Is claimed that tho wonderful per-
formances secured by certain well-tnown
German trainer are due largely to the fact
that tho achoolns Of his pnlmahi Is done with
lhemin thesomnamtullc state. Although ths
may Goem rsmarkable. IL appeafa at least
reasonable. for the same method was for
mcrly used IN France by delinquent students
preparing for clvil service examinations.
After becoming good hypnotic subjects they
wore thrown into state Of s5mnambullhm
and literally "cammcl" with the knowledge
required by the examining authorities so
prevalent d!d ihia practice become that a
law was passed prohibiting the employment
NJ hypnotqm for this purpo0e. ThIa law Is
allll on mo statute books and ls rlgidly
WALTER LABAREE.