South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-07-20


To hypnotic a person, or an ami
NAL, Is simply to put the subject Of
the experiment to sleep. The word
comes from the Greek hypnOs, meaning
sleep. One may hypnotic oneself;
this is "autOhypnOtism." In a general
sense We hypnotic ourselves whenever
we do anything which causes us to fall
asleep. such as repeating in the mind a
long series of monOtOnOus verses.
Gray's "Elegy'' memorized becomes an
excellent hypnOtiZer. 1t is better and
safer than most narcotics, and it has
long been my lullaby on sleepless
nights. Singing a baby to sleep is
pure hypnotism
Children are easily hypnotized, and
SO is any animal that can be ap-
preached without too greatly alarm
ing it, Barnyard fowls are peculiarly
subject to hypnotic influence The eX-
pertinent of a Jesuit priest, Father
Athanasius Kircher, in the middle
of the 18th century. has become ia
nous in the literature of this curious
subject, and the story frequently turns
up in books on magic and mystery.
Pa her Kircher's discovery was that
if a rooster be placed on a table, with
his legs tied and a white chalk mark
be drawn on the table, starting close
to the fowls beak, the bird Will be-
come mOtiOnleSS, and then if released
from its bonds will remain in a kind
of sleep from which it can with diff
dculty be aroused Similar expert
ments may be performed upon hens,
as we'll as upon various other birds.
The power OF serpcnts 10 fascinate
small birds rendering them unable to
fly away, undoubtedly rests upon hyp-
notism The victim is put TO sleep by
the monotonOus motions of the ser
penis head and neck, rendered more
I ~ cr1ff Of ha
/ flicker of the forked tongue, and the
reflections of it's cOlOred scales. In
the scientific experim in hypno-
| tism of CharcOt and his aids and sue
! Cessors a glittering object kept in
may movement was one of the chief
mechanical agents employed to put
\ the patients to sleep.
In the insect world there are prob
ably thousands of instances of hypno-
/ tism produced by fright and terror,
such as could seldom he matched by
/ any similar occurrence among larger
/ animals. Even human beings are
/ sometimes paralyzed by fear at the
sight of tiger, a lion. bear, or a
! panther. This paralysis resembles, in
/ its effect, a partial falling asleep.
! In the little world under our feet
| the contrasts of physical magnitude
/ among the creatures and the aspects
! of "frightfulneSs" are far greater
/ than at the level on which we live,
! and we can readily imagine the hyp-
\ nothing influence that the sight of a
spider. for instance, would produce
/ upon some little soft-bodied insect.
! to whose eyes the eight-legGed mon
/ ster would appear relatively as huge
\ as an elephant appears to man.
Here may be the explanation of the
very common phenomenon OF "teign-
/ ing death" which we see among IN
sects. as we'll as among small animals.
/ Quite likely there is no intentional
feigning but simply a hypnotic effect
Among animals which may be hyp-
Noticed by man is the deadly cobra OF
India When seized by the neck ana
I gently pressed the serpent suHens
and remains in a motionless state Tor
| a considerable time Fasten frog on
/ board and then turn IL swiftly over
and il goes into a trance. Pinch the
I tail of a lizard or the foot of frog
and the animal becomes motionless
for several minutes. In Hany OF these