Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-29
FATAL LURES OF NIAGARA
Hypnotic Power of the Swirling and
Roaring Waters,
INCREASING NUMBER OF SUICIDES
Particular spots which Have Dan
ferrous Effect oa the Weak
wiIIed and Impress Even
Normal Persons,

The lure Of Niagara Falls as a suicide
route is causing serious concern TO the.
park commissioners and the people on
both sides OF the cataract. The possibility
Of the famous resort shadowing its bridal
robes with mourning. turning its rahn-
bows into orbs of woe. fills. the residents
with fear lest the festal thronEs OF sum
mer and winter give the falling waters
but q passing glance. a growing record OF
suicides lends wings to the fears, and
greater vigilance is exercised on both sides
Of the falls to prevent susceptible people
from floating into eternity. Eleven violent
deaths are known to have occurred since
last July. Three women and two men
we're seen taking their death plunge, the
bodies OF three other men, whose suicide
was unobserved, have been found drowned
in the gorge. and three more have shot
themselves on the islands on the American
side.
The last suicide reported is that OF Mrs,
l. d. Draper Of Saginaw. Mich, who
eluded the vigilance Of a suspicious guard
and threw herself into the rushing waters
Of the. American falls. Mrs, Draper at
tempted to cross the bridge to Goat Island
early in the morning, but being unable to
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anoe at that hour was turned back by the
guard. Her actions aroused the guard, an
alarm was sent to all guards. but she
alluded their vigilance by a change of hats.
reached Prospect Point unobserved, threw
herself headforemost into the cataract and
disappeared.
Hypnotic Power of Water.
The lure Of the falls is a substantial
thing. though difficult to explain because
the effect varies with human temperament.
In many cases death is not a matter of
choice, but of impulse. DIR. A. l.. Benedict,
of Buffalo, a specialist in nervous diseases,
finds the explanation of this sudden impulse
In the hypnotic influence of the hurrying
flood, For six years, ever since the Feb
ruary day whom Miss Alice NJ. Collie left
DR.. Benedict's office In good spirits one
afternoon and was never heard of again,
except through a note picked up on the
bridge leading to Luna Island from Goat
Island, the doctor has studied each case
of suicide attributed to the lure of the falls,
with the result Of confirming him more and
more strongly IN the theory that the vic
Tins were led to suicide by hypnotism.
The waters are calling me-" said Miss
Collie In her farewell note to her parents
and her betrothed. DIR. Benedict's obser-
NdllDIS IGdu mn " liz AA1N NND
waters have called the majority OF those
who have taken the plunge since July 1. %
we'll as the majority Of those who nave
gone over the falls in other ysars.
81 am thoroughly Convinced that hyp-
notism Is responsible for so many suicides
at Niagara" said Or, Benedict, because
thousands have experienced the hypnotic
Influence very strongly while watching the
cataract and listened to its hoarse, monot-
onous rears, Rsmember,' he said, ''that
word, 'monotony.' That they we're not
oyerpowered to the extent of losing their
intsrest in life. was their, good fortune.
II have met many persons Who told me
that they cannot stand near the rapids or
the cataract for any length Of time without
feeling the impulse to jump In. l myself
would not dare TO sit within sight and sound
Of the rapids for any length Of time, and 1
think L am above the normal as far as
yielding to hypnotic suggestion is con-
ceFned. 1t Is dangerous TO sit beside the
cataract, even for persons perfectly nor
NAL"
Dangerous Places,
A correspondence OF the New York World
who made an Investigation of the localities
whare suicides occur most frequently found
six places wher the conditions noted by
the doctor were fulfilled. These are Pros
peet. at the very verge Of the American
Fall; the shore Of the American Rapids.
directly in front Of the little pavilion in
Prospect park; the first arch of the Goat
Island bridge; the crest OF the falls on
Luna Island; Terrapin Point, and the heav-
ing rapids tumblIng beneath the bridge
leading 10 the third OF the Three Sisters
Islands. l' . N&&MMAMANA4tfH&1
Prospect park attracts every visitor TO
Niagara Falls. Here at the angle of the
iron fence a view is obtained Of cruel rocks
below that might we'll deter even weddings
from suicide. But ten feet away the pros
pect is different. At this point the river
sweeps along with ripples Of gold and
emerald and sapphire, and the one hint OF
the abysmal chaos below is the full round
breast of the cataract as II Summers
toward a region Of rainbows floating in
space. Steady, steady is the deadly rush
Of the water, and on sunny days a thous-
and ever duplicated rlpples dance upon
its surface. And the roar Of the torrent Is
loud here, but after a time It takes on a
quality soothing. narcotic, and-this is a
favorits spot for suicides.
Maze of Water Mirrors.
Near the Prospect Park pavilion the
bank slopes down 30 the rapids. A round
stone affords q scar, scarce more IMAM an
arms length from the brink, shaded by
a willow whose branches sweep the sur
face of the river. Here IL a wave cease
lessiy rolling over a submerged rock and
curling into foam at It's base. It's smooth
green surface CLEANS as steadily as the re-
yolviHg mirrors used by nerve specialists
to hyprollze their patients. To the weak
willed this is one OF the most dangerous
places on the Niagara reservation. More
suicides are reported from this spot than
from any other point at the falls.
In the nearby summer house and on the
fiat rock near the waters edge women's
hats with notes pinEed TO them have fire.
quentiy been found, telling all that Is
known OF the end of some tragic story.
The same conditions obtain at Luna is-
land, and II is Only the matter Of a mo-
ment to climb over the railing that guards
the brink and leap into the rapids. Be
low is the fury Of the Cave of the Winds.
whose indescribable roar floats up, hoarse
and mufned. with its vague message TO
overwTought imaginations. 1t was at this
point that Miss Cole left her explanation.