Evening star., 1922-11-02
''Our American Adventure"
Private Seances in New York Yield Further Spritist
Evidence Says Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Who
Declares That Indians Have Extraor-
dinary Psychic Powers. ..-..
BY SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE.
binary Psychic Powers

NY yE have come to love New
! AN/ York, and it was Joy to all
of us when, after twenty
| four hours Of the train, we
| were back at the Ambassador Hotel and
greeted once more by Charles the Sec
ond, as the children have wittily named
the functionary with kneebreeches and
buckles who presides in the hall. The
| real hot weather has set in. and though
no heat will prevent my lecturing, as !
have twice proved in the Red Sea, there
is limit to the endurance Of audiences,
so it is lucky that the work IL done.
Even as l write it, l can hardly realize
that the work is done and without the
slightest impediment or shadow. Never
was there a more full or widespread
ventilation Of great question over so
great an area. The reception has been
far more favorable than / could have
anticipated, and though this may have
been partly due to the courtesy which
the press has shown to foreigner chow
absurd the word seems when applied
between British and AmericansO my
stacks of letters show that 1t has also
been very real. did not. Of course. ex-
pect audiences to stream out OF the
halls crying, I'VE are now Spiritual
ists." How could ]. when l think how
long it took to break my own material
istic prejudices? Charlenagne convert
ed the Saxons by battalions, but what
was such a conversion worth? But
people now are in position to think In
telligently. to read, to weave the new
experiences which will come to them
into the fabric which 1 have given. to
discuss it among themselves. and then,
finally, when some great loss comes
upon them. or when the doctor shakes
his head for the last time. to get sud
den flash of light and to understand
that they have gained something that
no money could buy. g.
Twelve Earnest Inquirers.
My unhappy non-psychic reader, If
any has survived up to this point
which I should think was extremely un-
likely-will probably imagine that he is
now going to get a rest from this over
mastering question. l fear. however,
our activities. On our first clear even
ing we accepted an invitation from Mr..
Fred Walcott. financial authority,
whom l had first in England introduced
to psychic study. He had gathered to-
gether several earnest inquirers, some
twelve in all.
1t was an interesting evening and
We had legal alcohol for the first time,
our hosts cellar being not yet quite
empty. II mus kA dramatic the
stock sinks and there is no honest
way of replenishing it. After dinner
showed and explained a few of my
slides. We then had Il very remark
able sitting with Mr.. John Ticknor.
whose powers / have already de.
scribed. He is the very picture of
normal prosperous health. with his
white waistcoat and clean shaven
ruddy face. but psychic power turks
in the most unlikely frames. / find
on this second trial that my habitual
caution has led me to underrate and
understate his powers. 1t had seemed
to me that most of the Information
sfrom Black Cloud, as his control is
| named. might have been obtained
by some very active subconscious self
with the power Of referring to litera-
ture, and might then be delivered by
a dramatized secondary personality
of Mr. Ticknor himself. These are
the normal" explanations with which
one tries to dope ones mind. But
they usually break down when tested
At this second sitting there was
hardly member Of the company who
did not get intimate messages from
departed souls. with names and every
gathered My mother for example,
reminded me how hot day it was
when We said farewell at our last
earthly meeting. Several messages
came to be delivered to absent peo-
pie, dealing with pressing earthly
matters. One of them, committed to
my care. was to Miss Estelle Stead
from her brother, and should be evil
Dental il she corroborates the facts
1 have today forwarded it. 1t Is less
precise in detail. however, than most
of the others. Altogether. 1t was a
very convincing display. and New
York is fortunate in the possession
of such an amateur medium.
Indian "Controls" Frequent.
Black Cloud, the control. seemed a
peppery sort OF person. I had OBJ
,rved the same in Black Hawk. the
Indian control of Miss Bessinet. Why
Indians should be specially interested
Of the great gate I cannot imagine,
: why nearly every voice medium
should have a child spirit as a ia
miliar. If it were all an invention Of
he mediums, as 20 *
its practical rendering always take
the same shape? We have certainly
a very great deal to learn. Among
other divisions Of labor ] have noticed
that the East Indian Is usually asso-
ciated with the apport, and Egyptian
with philosophic learning.
Results such as were obtained by
Mr.. Ticknor-and they are typical of
scores Of seances which I have at
tended-are very suggestive. That
Mr. Tfcknor Is in a real trance and
that the information which he gives
contains far higher proportion OF
truth than could be got by any nor
NAL powers is perfnc ly CO. ii' In
this particular case five or six people
! got Information which no private de-
| tective agency could have unearthed
; save after prolonged investigation.
| Where. then. can i come fr'n T
are only two answers possible. The
! most obvious is that 1t is collected
by the subconscious powers Of the
! medium, which are greatly increased
! lecting and reporting. The other is
! .ha; it is caused by the obs ssi n OF
a new entity which has superhuman
| powers.
MY choice would be all for the first
| solution were 1t not that we must not
treat these phenomena alone, but
| must corrhla trrm "' '.n''
raphy, naturalization, levitation and
the rest. A second reason is that we
cannot trea' as nigiis
which is made by the mediums own
cases, however, admit that . drama
tized secondary personality Is pos
| sible explana ion hough 1t presents
very great difficulties.
| All From Single Control.
| II, however, one adopts the IDEA
Of outside Intervention the matter
does not end there. Instead Of sepa-
rate spirits 1t might all come from
| the single control, who uses his own
powers and then personates tho other
! spirits. l Incline cry p 3
| theory in many cases. A spirit con-
| troll has, I think. enormous powers of