El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-09-10

Dbantoms. which would always vanish
! ON his near approach. lie Is unable TO
! exDlain this circumstance; but he De
came convinced through careful study OF
the apparitions that they were mol ming
moro nor less than gas 9Ous emanatlon5
of self luminous character III az
probability they were largely c9hip9seg
! of phosphorus, derived from the dedI
bodies of people buried in Ire potter
Why Ghosts Are There.
Here then. is an explanation or the
reason why phosts haunt burginS
grounds They are. in fact, natural
mot a sl1pernatural) product OF grave
Yards. as one might say. In the pody
cf all adult human beings there are %
ounces of phosphorus, seven-tlghthS on
this quantity being contained IN Cne
, bones twhere it goes to make phosp4dIe
of Iime). while there are four and nan
ounces in the red corpuscles OF the blOoo'
and nearly half an ounce IN the Drain
Phosphorescence.
The processes of decay set his pnos-
phorus free in a gaseous state-under
which circumstances. atmosphere condl-
lions being favorable. it Is liable TO
produce. in the night time, effects sueh
as those above described As Is wen
known, decompOsing vegetable matter III
swampv places Yields an emanat!On thdl
is highly phosphOrescent. causing the
phenomenon termed ~wIll-o -theITISp'
or 'elf fire" Is it not reasonable to
suppose that there is some relation. IN
respect to cause, between the wlll-o' the
wish (which occasionally mlsleads I'M
fortunate travellers into DOGGY plaeesl
and the corpse candles said TO De OF
ten seen moving about in the myster-
ious and awesome darkness OF eemeter-
les? The .'sheeted dead are alleged TO
carry these candles in their ghpstly
hands when they walk about among
the graves at night
Metal Calcium Present.
The skeleton of an adult human being
contains about four pounds OF the metal
calcium. This. in fact. is the most album
dant metallic element of the body strue-
ture. In the fluids of the body, also,
there is a good deal of it. But calcium
and phOrphOrus. when combined form
self-ionitible substance. Indeed. water !
will set it on fire If bit of phOsphide
of calcium be dropped into a saucer OF ;
water, it will instantly burst into |
flame. on which account. in the labora- |
tory. to protect it from dampness, 1t !
has TO be kept in an air-tight jar.
Other Substances.
Three other self-ignitlble substances, |
all of them metals, are contained in the |
human body. One of these (about two !
ounces in quantity is the silvervwhite |
magnesium-Of familiar use for flash |
light purposes by photographers. The |
other two are sodium and potassium I
rather more than five ounces of each |
A piece of the former, If thrown into |
water, bursts into a rosy flame, and |
swims about violently on the surface |
until burned out. The latter is like |
nv 1o+
on touching which it ex~lodes like fire !
works. throwning a shower OF spark |
into the air As for magnesium. it is /
so fiercelv combustible that it has to |
be kept tightly cOrked in glass bottles I
TO prevent it from igniting.
Thus it aDpears that the human body |
contains, - considerable quantities, /
quite a number of substances which are |
self-ignitible and fiercely so. on coming |
into contact with water. The marvel Is /
that we refrain from going off by spOn
taneous combustion, so to speak. while !
We are alive When burned. these sub /
stances, of course. convert themselves |
into gases which are luminous. Under /
favOring graveyard conditions tthe pro-
cesses of decay going on very gradually !
they pass off slowly, by evaporation, |
and not in any such way as that above
described. They present themselves to
the view, in darkness, as mere chemical
emanatiOns-lu blown about /
blown about by light airs, or dissiDated
entirely for the moment by passing
gust of wind. In all probability they
consist mainly of phosphorus.
Cannot Capture Ghosts.
One cannot capture ghost of this
kind. 1t cannot be trapped in a box or
a bottle. and conveyed to a scientific
for examination or analysis.
Hence it is likely that the true compo-
sitiOn of phantOms will forever remain
as much a mystery as it IS TODAY But
(supposing the theory here set forth TO
be eOrreet) it is a comfort to know, in