The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-10-22

.unasic while Gu another heaarian.
peaceahae. orderly man. declared that he
had become possessed -avcd and kicked
and at last injured three men In all
cases the ut seems 10 last for two or
three DAYS. but 10 liable TO recur
Fondering all these facts. Capt welley,
Hike an Eaelisausan with STEADY nerves and
the 'ine spirit o. curiosity which keeps IS
laundering SsoGr IN ali unexpioTed regions.
resolved on a supreme experiment. He
so5emnly ate his dinner IN the presence Of
hundred Wa.aEso Nothing happened at
the moment. hut two days after. the Asx-
Ilcres. oria Of these men who are never
I'll. was 50 thoroughly zll'-~he does rot
say .nsane-that he had some Difficulty X,
hiding the fact from his own people.
Now, how was that denee To saw II ala
not occur Seems ID Us a mere rejection for
no reason Of Trustworthy evidence IL
Capt Weliby said he found geld or siia-
non3s in Waiamo. thousands upon thou
sands or pos1nds. would be aiyentursi In
the search for them; ard why should he he
distrus;e! when he says thar certain men,
under certain circumstances, showed sy;np-
IONS CT insanity
There are. We think. Just three hyporhe-
ses which are worth discussion one IL
that the wsiamo. In the interest Of their
special reputation. hribed or frightened
tSfSh- w csAAS = itscls }tstS Ass& Stilsf-
toms which he describes. That Is posi-
bic. and Is doubtless the explanation az
many apparent won3ers " the kind hat
In this instance II would seem IN he barred
By Capt Weilby's own experience. He
had nothing 10 gain by a trick, and his
nerves were clearly not Of the kind which
are upset by rumors Of magical powers
possessed by black persons without clothes.
Another hypothesis much more likely. is
frae al
sonous drug. akin 10 that used by many
tribes For poisoned arrows. which skaters
the nerves OF those who have swallowed Il.
That such drugs existed was a universal
belief smong the ancients, and there Is no
prima facie reason why they should not.
as many substances now used In medicine
lower tone" ana depress the spirits of
these who swallow them 10 degree which
initiates many OF the symptoms Of pro-
nounced nelancholia. The constitution OF
negroes Is not IDENTICAL with oars. or they
would not eat clay. and their superior IA
bility to The action % the drug. as COM
pared with Capt. wellby, IS not matter
for surprise. The white man may not be
stronger than the black. bat he has a far
better nervous system Bat how. in that
case, was the drug admn.steseir We
should say In water, some hours after food
had been eaten In Walamo presence, or
IN sleep with a poisoned thorn A "niedi-
cine man" with reputation to keep up In
his tribe and for his triga would be quite
capable OF an airoIt trick OF that kind, es-
peciaIly II he performed IL, as on the n.y.
pothesis seems probable. with hereditary
ingenuity.
The third conceivable explanation n
that the men Of Walsmo have by some
accident learned that /. they seriously set
themselves IN combination 10 willing that
effect they can hypnotic a victim or seri-
ousiy shatter his nerves The interval
which seems always 10 have elapsed be-
tween the occasion OF the evil effect and
the evil effect itself is a perpiexity. but
otherwise we doubt IL rr, Chareot and his
assistants would consider the phenomena
exceptionally wonderful. There are a good
many incidents recorded OF many persons
and countries which IL one will cannot af-
feet the bodily frame OF another person
are simply unlntelIlgihle. Or rather one
mind may so affect another mind withou.
Affecting the body az 10 produce a belief
IN disease as operative ss disease itself.
Capt. wellhy's men all believed they were
possessed. and consequently behaved as
had they been possessed, they thought they
would have behaved. II may be said thai
II such a power existed 1t would have beer
recognized first Of all by white men, whs
know % much more OF everything thar