The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-27
JUMPERS OF THE 0
TIE STRANGE MALlDY FOUND IN
THE LUMBER CAMPS.

CoEnixanco Takes By y Canadian Court ef the
'JumpinE Frenchmnnn H~abit-TrnGic and
Ludicrous Results, or an Abnormal state or
the Nerves-Ne Women AniepE the Victims,
CHICAGO, Feb. 25.-+For the FIRST time on REQ
ord a court Of justice has taken cosnizance Of
the peculiar disease with which the jumping
Frenchmen" Of tho lumber camps are AFFLICTED,
and a confession Of q particularly brutal murder
made by q /" Jumper" has been ruled out as i'm
proper, the trial Judge holding that It was, in
all probability, obtained by the officials playing
on the infrmlty of the prisoner.
jumping Frenchmen," as the mon afnicted
with this disease are called. are found In the
lumber camps OF the Northwest. The main
sufferers are tho French Canadian swampers
and choppers, although Americans. Germans.
Irishmen and Scandinavians who have re-
manned long In the woods are not infrequently
attacked; but as 1t was first noticed among the
French Canadian woodsmen the disease came to
be known as the jumping F~renchman" habit,
and for many years those afflicted with II have
been known as " Jumpers These I" jumpers are
the victims of O nervous disease. which causes
them to obey blindly and mechanically any sud-
den command, especially whom accompanied BY
a sharp poke in the back or in the ribs. II COM
mandod to strike. the jumper does SO. no matter
what he may have in his hands, no matter what
may be in front Of him.
The case in which judicial notice was taken Of
this disease was heard in Montreal. Thomas
Nulty, Jumper" was accused Of having slain
his father and his mother In order that no
might bring into the house a young girl he de-
sired to marry. At first the murderer entered .
plea of not guilty, but later on. when standing
in tho courtroom, Immediately in front Of an
officer who knew the peculiarities of the Jump
ers, he suddenly declared that he was guilty of
the charge against him, and thereupon proceeded
to make q detailed confession Of the crime.
Tho trial Judge. who had o clear understanding
Of the Jumper" disease, promptly refused to
accept the new plea, holding that 1t was moro
than likely that the officer standing near the
prisoner had taken advantage Of the detond-
ants disease. and by a timely word and q touch
had forced him to declare himself guilty and
make the, confession. which Nulty ,alterward
repudiated.. Nulty was then placed on trial,
and alter u long bearing was found guilty and
So widespread is tho Jumping. habit or
disease In the lumber regions of Michigan, Wis
consin, Minnesota, and the Canadian northwest
that in many of the camps there 10 an iron-clad
rule to tho effect that any, man in camp who
one Of the Jumpers for the purpose Of causing
him to make an exhibition Of himself shall DO
discharged Immediately. This rule was made
after many practical jokes played upon '' Jump
ers had resulted seriously; but in spite Of It
w%oodsmen stu indulge In their rough fun with
The sufferers from this malady are not thin.
as might be imagined, but arc, as a rule. big,
brnwny men, sound, OF limb and lung. who.
when f let alone f,b are p the m0s5 ee RSo b men s IN tine
med them ~ are nn Of the opinion nnnn,u that att Their nervous sr 1SS
so%msnas given them than q babe can
been sHat Semo ans time and si%e again. and
them. No Jokes are too rough for the woodsmen
%iiiar WITH With ali K kinds d Of danger. hardship and
pain. They have no mercy upon the Jumpers
own lives or tho lie Of a companion for the
amusement OF the crew making up the camp.
aroSs entare the and ' fssn , st' s q "a sp%eT Il he ' be a
man Of good sense, is forced TO Join in the
lansS,sr; tnG Pcr the that tre sI' w sahn not nc iu eonS
again for some time; Pies and buildings
are a rarity in most of the lumber camps OF the
Northwest, and nothing pleases the nor. 5umpers
better than TO suddenly command q Jumper"
to throw it away when he is in the act Of eating
pie or pudding is thrown straight ahead, not
infre9uen.ly landing squarely in the face Of
Among the men employed BY the Shaw Lum.
camps on the Chippewa River were four i" jump
ers.. and some OF the tricks PLAYED upon s them hem
will always linger in tho memory of the men
employed in the camp, Tom REYNOLDS. tho
i Ioref iun WITH With tho ~"J JUMPERS %"a ."'1 He W. was a : fellow
utterly devoid Of feeling, except when his little
iots t wso, %or %D'R Mas n eone alsa in a nflR MheR n5n
boy was accidentally slain by a Jumper"
lh sssT 0n sd inmsesinb5f iSy,s %pFdeFed the man and
Within a few days after the camp was set MP
Reynolds began annoying tho umPiRg French,
Irishmen, by the way. This man was a particu-
larly bright, inofensiyo fellow, but Reynolds
way possible. He Mas frequently warned TO let
McManus alone. but he needed not the caution.
out Of fife. ono evening, while sitting around
the red. hot stove, McM,anus well in 'front.' Rey.
back 5Sei' and eomR@andea HIN him to Jump, Like 4
fash McManus sprang. forward, striking full
tSTned. The 5uildinss was destroyed. by dre, and
McManus was terribly burned. but careful
R Was over hove ho was al asten n an to R bis work Sn as usual usual.
When the river broke up in the spring and
the rushing water was full OF logs, the drive be;
on the bank one morning. One OF the Jump
crs', stepped on a log near the shore and began
dexterity Reynolds came along. and before tho
party realized what he was doing he had com.
The poor fellow obeyed Instantly. and when his
companions recovered the body life was extinct.
crushed like an egg shell by coming in contact
or course. tho whole thing was an accident,
but all the men blamed Reynolds. and several
Of the woodsmen got their time checks and quit
yet satisiied-he must have more fun, with the
jumping renchmen.' About u week before tho
drive was over he had his little son brought up
from Cadott. in order thar the little chap might
witness the sight OF millions OF logs rushing
down stream on their way TO Half Moon Lake,
the big natural reservoir Just above Eau Claire.
whore all the logs cut in the district tributary to
that city are stored until wanted.
As the men were sitting around camp one
evening tho subject OF jumping Frenchmen"
was brought up. and Reynolds's boy began ask
ing questions in regard to them. AT tho time
McMhnus WAS splitting wood near by. Calling
his boy to him. Reynolds said he would give the
youngster u practical illustration. Then he
started toward McManus, who WAS totally nm
aware OF what was going on. Just as Reynolds
reached McManus, poked him In the back, and
commando him to throw tho axe, the little boy
IN the head by the flying axe. which fractured
the skull. AS the boy dropped to the ground
Reynolds and McManus stood for q moment as
II carved from stone; then. with q yell OF rage,
Reynolds rushed upon the unfortunate Jump
or and before tho other men could reach tho
struggling pair had choked the life out OF him.
ReYnOlhs WAS ut once taken into cuAtOdY.