The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-11-26

CT words, q human being who had had
. gcnsine "supernaturap' message.
We diG not care where it came from
or what it was about or how it was
transmitted so long as it could be
proved that It came and that no known
organ of this mortal body could have
enabled the individual to receive 1t.
When I was a boy, I used to hunt
rabbits in a piece Of woods which
was supposed to be particularly good
place for them. All youthful hunters
! went there, and as a result (Tisible to
: me in these mature years. all sane
rabbits had gone over into another
county. One day, when the snow had
come and the rabbits had put on their
winter coats, some jester set up the
corpse Of white cat in the edge Of
the woods in an absurdly conspicuous
position. saw it and blaZed away,
though my common sense should have
told me that it could not be a rabbit
because such a preposterously reckless
rabbit would have been shot long ago.
Yet I wasted my powder, and, having
done so, set the creature up again in
the same place, and every mothers
son that came that way exercised his
craftsmanship so long as there was
anything to shoot at. And next day, in
different spot, but equally conspicu-
Gus, the joker played the game once
more. remember that for long time
aftcrward all the boys were ashamed
to be seea going into that piece Of
woods with gun.
It took Hackett and me about year
to discover that genuine psychics are
not found in the edge Of the woods be-
side the beaten path; that it is hard to
find them even when one knows where
they are, for they lie low, and, like the
rabbits, they initiate the natural color
of the surroundings.
You may accept this as a general
rule: When your fellow man takes you
by the button Of your coat and leads
you into corner to tell you Of pro-
phetic dream or q mysterious psychic
message, he does not believe the story
himself. Perhaps he may be trying to
believe it, but no one has to try to be-
ieve in a real experience Of that kind
after he has had it. He knows. And
the chances are good that he will not
talk Of it to his closest intimate. It is
ever the element Of doubt that leads to
talking.
Our hobby gave to Hackett and me
an excuse for study, an aim in travel
and an opportunity Of meeting cultivat-
ed men and women. AS it was an
elected hobby and not the result Of
ccngenital mental distortion, we rode
1t calmly and were never mistaken for
cranks except by cranks. It is true
that some Of our earlier experiences
were more or less absurd, but we were
saved from serious error by the busi-
ness mans faculty Of turning from the
impracticable to the practical. When
we encountered an impostor, we
promptly charged him up to profit and
loss' and passed on to the next itern.
It was while engaged in fruitless
though not uninteresting investigation
in Boston that we came quite by acci-
dent upon the most important informa-
ton. We made the acquaintance Of a
young physician named Harold Whit
ing, who was then and is today one Of
the most honest minded men in the
world. I believe that Whiting would
not lie even to himself, and there are
few Of whom so much can be said. He
was amusing himself with experiments
in the matter Of peculiar capacities and
knowledge exhibited by persons in the
hypnotic state, but confessed that he
had found no facts upon which con-
clusions Of any Importance could be
based.
We discovered that his thought had
been turned into this channel by re-
markable occurrence which he had wit
messed, but we had considerable diff
Guilty in persuading him to say any
thing more upon the subject. 1t ap-
peared that he was under some sort Of
pledge in the matter.
'There is q friend Of mine, now in
New York." said he, "who received a
psychic message from his brother, who
was then upon the other side Of the
world This thing happened under cir
cumstances which make doubt impos-
sihle. was present when the message
was received. know the story In all
its details, but l cannot give you the
facts nor tell you the mans name be-
cause gave him my word that would
not disclose them"
Perceiving our disappointment he
expressed sincere regret, and By way OF
atonement he gave US the name Of a
young woman in New Haven whom It
might be worth our while to see.
81 received letter about her some
time ago from an instructor in psychol
ogy at Yale, an old friend Of mine"
said he. "A1y friend and several other
members Of the faculty are investgat
ing the case, and they regard it as gen
uine and important. The girls name is
Dorothy Vaughn. She is an orphan
and lives with her aunt, Mrs. Eustis
who has had certain occult experiences
herself, as am told"
He gave us the address of Mrs. Eus'
lis and the name Of his friend. His
reference to the fact that unusual pow
ers appeared both in the aunt and the
niece led to a general discussion Of the
restriction Of such powers and their
persistence in families. No one who
has given the subject any study can
doubt that these traits are handed
down from generation to generation.
Often vague family tradition leads
back to the true psychic whose powers.
weakened By admixture with a COM
mon strain, reappear to flicker uncer-
tainly in the present day.
dackctt seemed to ind much mate
rial for thought in this conversation.
Il. did not contribute largely to it, be-
Go,