Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1900-03-30

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He was b~arbarously tortured. but re-
marked that the deprivation Of eleep
had been the greatest torture of all. It
was reported that he slept soundly wen
in the short intervals which elapsed be.
tween his periods of torture.
Among the Qkinesea form of punish,
ment for crimes consists in keeping the
prisoner continually awake or in atous-
ing him necessarily after short inter-
walls Of repose. After the eighth day Of
such ~sleeplessness one criminal besought
his captors to put him to death by any
means they coald choose OF invent. 90
great was his pain and torment due to
the absence Of ''nature's soft nurse"
Persons engaged in mechanical labor.
such as attending q machine in a fac
tory. have often fallen asleep despite
the plain record Of pains and penalties
attending such dereliction Of duty. to
nay nothing Of the n Of personal
'anger which al plainly kept before
heir eyes
One of the most interesting phases
connected with sleep is that i'd which q
determination. formed overnight. that
we should wake at a certain hour acts
true to the appointed time. In certain
instances with which I I'm acquainted
the idea acts perfectly. in others it acts
occasionally, and in other cases. again,
it fails completely. The explanation Of
this habit depends on what one may
term a dominant idea" or an idee
6xe. as the French term it. There is
something akin in this waking notion
to the dominant idea" with which a
hypnotist may impress his facile sub
ject. If we substitute for the hypnotist
the individual himself, or mayhap the
idea Of the friend who has been i'm.
pressing upon him the necessity for
sounding the reveille at a given hour
in the morning, we can discern the ra-
tionale Of the actor with q fair degree
Of clearnessL
The dominant idea in the shape of
the necessity for awaking at a certain
time is impressed on the brain and is
probably transmitted to those automatic
or lower centers which rule u me-
chanical acts. which are responsible for
the visions Of the night and which are
capable Of carrying ont. either in the
entire absence Of consciousness or in the
exercise Of a subconscious condition.
many complex actions. Through the
hours of sleep the dominant idea re-
mains impressed on these lower centers.
The head of the business sleeps On while
the night Waterman is awake, and 90.
prompt to the time or shortly before or
after it, the desired result is attained
and the slumbering brain is awakened
to the full measure Of it's activity.
That sleep is ruled by the habits Of
the individual is extremely evident. An
instance is given in which a person who
had taken passage on board a warship
was rudely awakened by the morning
gun which startled him exceedingly.
On succeeding mornings the gun woke
him at first sharply and then much
more quietly. until at length he slept
on without being disturbed at all in his
slumbers by the report It is also nota-
BILE that when a special habit Of life has
become part and parcel OF the daily
routine sleep is liable to be disturbed
by even the slightest appeal which or
dinarily wakes the individual in the
exercise Of his profession, while noises
Of much more grievous character fail
! b effect that result. The doctor wakes
on the slightest agitation Of his night
bell. while the click Of the needle awakea
!! the tired ~telegraphist when q loud noise
might fail
Sir Edward Codrington was serving
in the early days Of his naval expert
enees as signal lieutenant to Lord Hood
at the battle Of Toulon. His duty was
that of watching for and interpreting
the signals made by the lookout frig-
ates. and in this capacity he remained
on deck for 10 or 10 hours out Of the
a. Exhausted with the strain of watch
ing, he went below to obtain sleep. and
reposed seundly, undisturbed by any
ordinary noise. Yet whenever a com
rade lightly whispered in his ear the
word ''signal" he at once awoke, ready
for duty. The cause of sleep is as yet a
matter Of scientific debate. In the pres
emit state of our knowledge there can be
no absolute certainty in the matter
1.-THE Ape Of Death" by DR.. Andrew
Wilson, +. r. 8 E., in Harper's Maya
zine