A Scottish example, from the records of a court of law, exactly illustrates6 the Zulu theory. At the moment when the husband of Jonka Dyneis was in danger six miles from her house in his boat, Jonka ‘was found, and seen standing7 at her own house wall in a trance, and being taken, she could not give answer, but stood as bereft8 of her senses, and when she was asked why she was so moved, she answered, “If our boat be not lost, she was in great hazard.”’ (October 2, 1616.)2
The belief in opening the Gates of Distance is, of course, very widely diffused9. The gift is attributed to Apollonius of Tyana, to Plotinus, to many Saints, to Catherine de’ Medici, to the Rev10. Mr. Peden,3 and to Jeanne d’Arc, while the faculty is the stock in trade of savage11 seers in all regions.4
The question, however, on which Mr. Tylor does not touch, is, Are any of the stories true? If so, of course they would confirm in the mind of the savage his theory of the wandering soul. Now, to find anything like attested12 cases of successful clairvoyance among savages13 is a difficult task. White men either scout14 the idea, or are afraid of seeming superstitious15 if they give examples, or, if they do give examples, are accused of having sunk to the degraded level of Zulus or Red Indians. Even where travellers, like Scheffer, have told about their own experiences, the narratives16 are omitted by modern writers on savage divination17.5 We must therefore make our own researches, and it is to be noted18 that the stories of successful savage clairvoyance are given as illustrations merely, not as evidence to facts, for we cannot cross-examine the witnesses.
Mr. Tylor dismisses the topic in a manner rather cavalier:
‘Without discussing on their merits the accounts of what is called “second sight,”6 it may be pointed20 out that they are related among savage tribes, as when Captain Jonathan Carver obtained from a Cree medicine-man a true prophecy of the arrival of a canoe with news next day at noon; or when Mr. J. Mason Brown, travelling with two voyageurs on the Copper21 Mine River, was met by Indians of the very band he was seeking, these having been sent by their medicine-man, who, on enquiry, stated that “he saw them coming, and heard them talk on their journey.”’7
Now, in our opinion, the ‘merits’ of stories of second sight need discussion, because they may, if well attested, raise a presumption22 that the savage’s theory has a better foundation than Mr. Tylor supposes. Oddly enough, though Mr. Tylor does not say so, Dr. Brinton (from whom he borrows his two anecdotes24) is more or less of our opinion.
‘There are,’ says Dr. Brinton, ‘statements supported by unquestionable testimony25, which ought not to be passed over in silence, and yet I cannot but approach them with hesitation27. They are so revolting to the laws of exact science, so alien, I had almost said, to the experience of our lives. Yet is this true, or are such experiences only ignored and put aside without serious consideration?’
That is exactly what we complain of; the alleged28 facts are ‘put aside without serious consideration.’
We, at least, are not slaves to the idea that ‘the laws of exact science’ must be the only laws at work in the world. Science, however exact, does not pretend to have discovered all ‘laws.’
To return to actual examples of the alleged supernormal acquisition of knowledge by savages: Dr. Brinton gives an example from Charlevoix and General Mason Brown’s anecdote23.8 In General Mason Brown’s instance the medicine-man, at a great distance, bade his emissaries ‘seek three whites, whose horses, arms, attire29, and personal appearance he minutely described, which description was repeated to General Brown by the warriors30 before they saw his two companions.‘ General Brown assured Dr. Brinton of ‘the accuracy of this in every particular.’ Mr. Tylor has certainly not improved the story in his condensed version. Dr. Brinton refers to ‘many’ tales such as these, and some will be found in ‘Among the Zulus,’ by Mr. David Leslie (1875).
Mr. Leslie was a Scottish sportsman, brought up from boyhood in familiarity with the Zulus. His knowledge of their language and customs was minute, and his book, privately31 printed, contains much interesting matter. He writes:
‘I was obliged to proceed to the Zulu country to meet my Kaffir elephant-hunters, the time for their return having arrived. They were hunting in a very unhealthy country, and I had agreed to wait for them on the North–East border, the nearest point I could go to with safety. I reached the appointed rendezvous32, but could not gain the slightest intelligence of my people at the kraal.
‘After waiting some time, and becoming very uneasy about them, one of my servants recommended me to go to the doctor, and at last, out of curiosity and pour passer le temps, I did go.
‘I stated what I wanted — information about my hunters — and I was met by a stern refusal. “I cannot tell anything about white men,” said he, “and I know nothing of their ways.” However, after some persuasion33 and promise of liberal payment, impressing upon him the fact that it was not white men but Kaffirs I wanted to know about, he at last consented, saying “he would open the Gate of Distance, and would travel through it, even although his body should lie before me.”
‘His first proceeding34 was to ask me the number and names of my hunters. To this I demurred35, telling him that if he obtained that information from me he might easily substitute some news which he may have heard from others, instead of the “spiritual telegraphic news” which I expected him to get from his “familiar.”
‘To this he answered: “I told you I did not understand white men’s ways; but if I am to do anything for you it must be done in my way — not yours.” On receiving this fillip I felt inclined to give it up, as I thought I might receive some rambling36 statement with a considerable dash of truth, it being easy for anyone who knew anything of hunting to give a tolerably correct idea of their motions.
‘However, I conceded this point also, and otherwise satisfied him.
‘The doctor then made eight little fires — that being the number of my hunters; on each he cast some roots,9 which emitted a curious sickly odour and thick smoke; into each he cast a small stone, shouting, as he did so, the name to which the stone was dedicated37; then he ate some “medicine,” and fell over in what appeared to be a trance for about ten minutes, during all which time his limbs kept moving. Then he seemed to wake, went to one of the fires, raked the ashes about, looked at the stone attentively38, described the man faithfully, and said: “This man has died of the fever, and your gun is lost.”
‘To the next fire as before: “This man” (correctly described) “has killed four elephants,” and then he described the tusks39. The next: “This man” (again describing him) “has been killed by an elephant, but your gun is coming home,” and so on through the whole, the men being minutely and correctly described; their success or non-success being equally so. I was told where the survivors40 were, and what they were doing, and that in three months they would come out, but as they would not expect to find me waiting on them there so long after the time appointed, they would not pass that way.
‘I took a particular note of all this information at the time, and to my utter amazement41 it turned out correct in every particular.
‘It was scarcely within the bounds of possibility that this man could have had ordinary intelligence of the hunters; they were scattered42 about in a country two hundred miles away.’
Mr. Leslie could discover no explanation, nor was any suggested by friends familiar with the country and the natives whom he consulted. He gives another example, which may be explained by ‘suggestion.’ A parallel case from Central Africa will be found in the ‘Journal of the Anthropological43 Institute,’ November 1897, p. 320, where ‘private information,’ as usual, would explain the singular facts.
The Zulus themselves lay claim to a kind of clairvoyance which looks like the result of intense visualising power, combined with the awakening44 of the subconscious45 memory.10
‘There is among black men a something which is divination within them. When anything valuable is lost, they look for it at once; when they cannot find it, each one begins to practise this inner divination, trying to feel where the thing is; for, not being able to see it, he feels internally a pointing, which tells him if he will go down to such a place it is there, and he will find it. At length it says he will find it; at length he sees it, and himself approaching it; before he begins to move from where he is, he sees it very clearly indeed, and there is an end of doubt. That sight is so clear that it is as though it was not an inner sight, but as if he saw the very thing itself, and the place where it is; so he quickly arises and goes to the place. If it is a hidden place he throws himself into it, as though there was something that impelled46 him to go as swiftly as the wind; and, in fact, he finds the thing, if he has not acted by mere19 head-guessing. If it has been done by real inner divination, he really sees it. But if it is done by mere head-guessing and knowledge that he has not gone to such a place and such a place, and that therefore it must be in such another place, he generally misses the mark.’
Other Zulu instances will be given under the heads ‘Possession’ and ‘Fetishism.’
To take a Northern people: In his ‘History of the Lapps’11 Scheffer describes mechanical modes of divination practised by that race, who use a drum and other objects for the purpose. These modes depend on more traditional rules for interpreting the accidental combinations of lots. But a Lapp confessed to Scheffer, with tears, that he could not help seeing visions, as he proved by giving Scheffer a minute relation ‘of whatever particulars had happened to me in my journey to Lapland. And he further complained that he know not how to make use of his eyes, since things altogether distant were presented to them.’ This Lapp was anxious to become a Christian47, hence his regret at being a ‘rare and valuable’ example of clairvoyance. Torfaeus also was posed by the clairvoyance of a Samoyed, as was Regnard by a Lapp seer.12
The next case is of old date, and, like the other savage examples, is merely given for purposes of illustration.
‘25e Lettre.13
‘“Suite des Traditions des Sauvages.”
‘Au Fort de la Rivière de St. Joseph, ce 14 Septembre 1721.
‘“Des Jongleurs” — . . . Vous ayez vu à Paris Madame de Marson, & elle y est encore; voici ce que M. le Marquis de Vaudreuil son Gendre, actuellement notre Gouverneur Général, me raconta cet Hyver, & qu’il a s?? de cette Dame48, qui n’est rien moíns qu’un esprit foible. Elle etoit un jour fort inquiette an sujet de M. de Marson, son Mari, lequel commandoit dans un Poste, que nous avions en Accadie; et etoit absent, & le tems qu’il avoit marqué pour son retour, etoit passé.
‘Une Femme Sauvage, qui vit Madame de Marson en peine, lui en demanda la cause, & l’ayant apprise49, lui dit, après y avoir un peu rêvé, de ne plus se chagriner, que son Epoux reviendroit tel jour et à telle heure, qu’elle lui marqua, avec un chapeau gris sur la tête. Comme elle s’apper?ut que la Dame n’ajoutoit point foi à sa prédiction, au jour & à l’heure, qu’elle avoit assignée, elle rotourna chez elle, lui demanda si elle ne vouloit pas venir voir arriver son Mari, & la pressa de telle sorte de la suivre, qu’elle l’entra?na au bord de la Rivière.
‘A peine y etoíent-elles arrivées, que M. de Marson parut dans un Canot, un chapeau gris sur la tête; & ayant appris ce qui s’etoit passé, ass26?ra qu’il ne pouvoit pas comprendre comment la Sauvagesse avoit p? s?avoir l’heure & le jour de son arrivée.’
It is unusual for European travellers and missionaries50 to give anecdotes which might seem to ‘confirm the delusions51 of benighted52 savages.’ Such anecdotes, again, are among the arcana of these wild philosophers, and are not readily communicated to strangers. When successful cases are reported, it is natural to assert that they come through Europeans who have sunk into barbarous superstition53, or that they may be explained by fraud and collusion. It is certain, however, that savage proficients54 believe in their own powers, though no less certainly they will eke55 them out by imposture56. Seers are chosen in Zululand, as among Eskimos and Samoyeds, from the class which in Europe supplies the persons who used to be, but are no longer the most favourite hypnotic subjects, ‘abnormal children,’ epileptic and hysterical57. These are subjected to ‘a long and methodical course of training.’14 Stoll, speaking of Guatemala, says that ‘certainly most of the induced and spontaneous phenomena58 with which we are familiar occur among savages,’ and appeals to travellers for observations.15 Information is likely to come in, as educated travellers devote attention to the topic.
Dr. Callaway translates some Zulu communications which indicate the amount of belief in this very practical and sceptical people. Amusing illustrations of their scepticism will be quoted later, under ‘Possession,’ but they do accept as seers certain hysterical patients. These are tested by their skill in finding objects which have been hidden without their knowledge. They then behave much like Mr. Stuart Cumberland, but have not the advantage of muscular contact with the person who knows where the hidden objects are concealed59. The neighbours even deny that they have hidden anything at all. ‘When they persist in their denial . . . he finds all the things that they have hidden. They see that he is a great inyanga (seer) when he has found all the things they have concealed.’ No doubt he is guided, perhaps in a super-sensitive condition, by the unconscious indications of the excited spectators.
The point is that, while the savage conjurer will doubtless use fraud wherever he can, still the experience of low races is in favour of employing as seers the class of people who in Europe were, till recently, supposed to make the best hypnotic subjects. Thus, in West Africa, ‘the presiding elders, during your initiation60 to the secret society of your tribe, discover this gift [of Ebumtupism, or second sight], and so select you as “a witch doctor.”’16 Among the Karens, the ‘Wees,’ or prophets, ‘are nervous excitable men, such as would become mediums,’17 as mediums are diagnosed by Mr. Tylor.
In short, not to multiply examples, there is an element of actual observation and of bona fides entangled61 in the trickery of savage practice. Though the subjects may be selected partly because of the physical phenomena of convulsions which they exhibit, and which favourably62 impress their clients, they are also such subjects as occasionally yield that evidence of supernormal faculty which is investigated by modern psychologists, like Richet, Janet, and William James.
The following example, by no means unique, shows the view taken by savages of their own magic, after they have become Christians63. Catherine Wabose, a converted Red Indian seeress, described her preliminary fast, at the age of puberty. After six days of abstention from food she was rapt away to an unknown place, where a radiant being welcomed her. Later a dark round object promised her the gift of prophecy. She found her natural senses greatly sharpened by lack of food. She first exercised her powers when her kinsfolk in large numbers were starving, a medicine-lodge64, or ‘tabernacle’ as Lufitau calls it, was built for her, and she crawled in. As is well known, these lodges65 are violently shaken during the magician’s stay within them, which the early Jesuits at first attributed to muscular efforts by the seers. In 1637 Père Lejeune was astonished by the violent motions of a large lodge, tenanted by a small man. One sorcerer, with an appearance of candour, vowed66 that ‘a great wind entered boisterously,’ and the Father was assured that, if he went in himself, he would become clairvoyant67. He did not make the experiment. The Methodist convert, Catherine, gave the same description of her own experience: ‘The lodge began shaking violently by supernatural means. I knew this by the compressed current of air above, and the noise of motion.’ She had been beating a small drum and singing, now she lay quiet. The radiant ‘orbicular’ spirit then informed her that they ‘must go westwards for game; how short-sighted you are!’ ‘The advice was taken and crowned by instant success.’ This established her reputation.18 Catherine’s conversion68 was led up to by a dream of her dying son, who beheld69 a Sacred Figure, and received from Him white raiment. Her magical songs tell how unseen hands shake the magic lodge. They invoke70 the Great Spirit that
‘Illumines earth
Illumines heaven!
Ah, say what Spirit, or Body, is this Body,
That fills the world around,
Speak, man, ah say
What Spirit, or Body, is this Body?’
It is like a savage hymn71 to Hegel’s fühlende Seele: the all-pervading Sensitive Soul. We are reminded, too, of ‘the doctrine72 of the Sanscrit Upanishads: There is no limit to the knowing of the Self that knows.’19
Unluckily Catherine was not asked to give other examples of what she considered her successes.
Acosta, who has not the best possible repute as an authority, informs us that Peruvian clairvoyants73 ‘tell what hath passed in the furthest parts before news can come. In the distance of two or three hundred leagues they would tell what the Spaniards did or suffered in their civil wars.’ To Du Pont, in 1606, a sorcerer ‘rendered a true oracle74 of the coming of Poutrincourt, saying his Devil had told him so.’20
We now give a modern case, from a scientific laboratory, of knowledge apparently75 acquired in no normal way, by a person of the sort usually chosen to be a prophet, or wizard, by savages.
Professor Richet writes:21
‘On Monday, July 2, 1888, after having passed all the day in my laboratory, I hypnotised Léonie at 8 P.M., and while she tried to make out a diagram concealed in an envelope I said to her quite suddenly: “What has happened to M. Langlois?” Léonie knows M. Langlois from having seen him two or three times some time ago in my physiological76 laboratory, where he acts as my assistant. — “He has burnt himself,” Léonie replied, — “Good,” I said, “and where has he burnt himself?” — “On the left hand. It is not fire: it is — I don’t know its name. Why does he not take care when he pours it out?” — “Of what colour,” I asked, “is the stuff which he pours out?” — “It is not red, it is brown; he has hurt himself very much — the skin puffed77 up directly.”
‘Now, this description is admirably exact. At 4 P.M. that day M. Langlois had wished to pour some bromine into a bottle. He had done this clumsily, so that some of the bromine flowed on to his left hand, which held the funnel78, and at once burnt him severely79. Although he at once put his hand into water, wherever the bromine had touched it a blister80 was formed in a few seconds — a blister which one could not better describe than by saying, “the skin puffed up.” I need not say that Léonie had not left my house, nor seen anyone from my laboratory. Of this I am absolutely certain, and I am certain that I had not mentioned the incident of the burn to anyone. Moreover, this was the first time for nearly a year that M. Langlois had handled bromine, and when Léonie saw him six months before at the laboratory he was engaged in experiments of quite another kind.’
Here the savage reasoner would infer that Léonie’s spirit had visited M. Langlois. The modern inquirer will probably say that Léonie became aware of what was passing in the mind of M. Richet. This supranormal way of acquiring knowledge was observed in the last century by M. de Puységur in one of his earliest cases of somnambulism. MM. Binet and Féré say: ‘It is not yet admitted that the subject is able to divine the thoughts of the magnetiser without any material communication;’ while they grant, as a minimum, that ‘research should be continued in this direction.’22 They appear to think that Léonie may have read ‘involuntary signs’ in the aspect of M. Richet. This is a difficult hypothesis.
Here follows a case recorded in his diary by Mr. Dobbie, of Adelaide, Australia, who has practised hypnotism for curative purposes. He explains (June 10, 1884) that he had mesmerised Miss —— on several occasions to relieve rheumatic pain and sore throat. He found her to be clairvoyant.
‘The following is a verbatim account of the second time I tested her powers in this respect, April 12, 1884. There were four persons present during the séance. One of the company wrote down the replies as they were spoken.
‘Her father was at the time over fifty miles away, but we did not know exactly where, so I questioned her as follows: “Can you find your father at the present moment?” At first she replied that she could not see him, but in a minute or two she said, “Oh, yes; now I can see him, Mr. Dobbie.” “Where is he?” “Sitting at a large table in a large room, and there are a lot of people going in and out.” “What is he doing?” “Writing a letter, and there is a book in front of him.” “Whom is he writing to?” “To the newspaper.” Here she paused and laughingly said, “Well, I declare, he is writing to the A B” (naming a newspaper). “You said there was a book there. Can you tell me what book it is?” “It has gilt81 letters on it.” “Can you read them, or tell me the name of the author?” She read, or pronounced slowly, “W.L.W.” (giving the full surname of the author). She answered several minor82 questions re the furniture in the room, and I then said to her, “Is it any effort or trouble to you to travel in this way?” “Yes, a little; I have to think.”
‘I now stood behind her, holding a half-crown in my hand, and asked her if she could tell me what I had in my hand, to which she replied, “It is a shilling.” It seemed as though she could see what was happening miles away easier than she could see what was going on in the room.
‘Her father returned home nearly a week afterwards, and was perfectly83 astounded84 when told by his wife and family what he had been doing on that particular evening; and, although previous to that date he was a thorough sceptic as to clairvoyance, he frankly85 admitted that my clairvoyant was perfectly correct in every particular. He also informed us that the book referred to was a new one, which he had purchased after he had left his home, so that there was no possibility of his daughter guessing that he had the book before him. I may add that the letter in due course appeared in the paper; and I saw and handled the book.’
A number of cases of so-called ‘clairvoyance’ will be found in the ‘Proceedings of the Society for Psychical86 Research.’23 As the authors of these essays remark, even after discounting, in each case, fraud, malobservation, and misreporting, the residue87 of cases can seldom justify88 either the savage theory of the wandering soul (which is not here seriously proposed) or Hegel’s theory that the fühlende Seele is unconditioned by space. For, if thought transference be a fact, the apparent clairvoyant may only be reading the mind of a person at a distance. The results, however, when successful, would naturally suggest to the savage thinker the belief in the wandering soul, or corroborate89 it if it had already been suggested by the common phenomena of dreaming.
To these instances of knowledge acquired otherwise than by the recognised channels of sense we might add the Scottish tales of ‘second sight.’ That phrase is merely a local term covering examples of what is called ‘clairvoyance’ — views of things remote in space, hallucinations of sight that coincide with some notable event, premonitions of things future, and so on. The belief and hallucinatory experiences are still very common in the Highlands, where I have myself collected many recent instances. Mr. Tylor observes that the examples ‘prove a little too much; they vouch90 not only for human apparitions91, but for such phantoms92 as demon94 dogs, and for still more fanciful symbolic95 omens96.’ This is perfectly true. I have found no cases of demon dogs; but wandering lights, probably of meteoric97 or miasmatic98 origin, are certainly regarded as tokens of death. This is obviously a superstitious hypothesis, the lights being real phenomena misconstrued. Again, funerals are not uncommonly99 seen where no funeral is taking place; it is then alleged that a real funeral, similar and similarly situated100, soon afterwards occurred. On the hypothesis of believers, the percipients somehow behold101
‘Such refraction of events
As often rises ere they rise.’
Even the savage cannot account for this experience by the wandering of the soul in space; nor do I suggest any explanation. I give, however, one or two instances. They are published in the ‘Journal of the Caledonian Medical Society,’ 1897, by Dr. Alastair Macgregor, on the authority of the MSS. of his father, a minister in the island of Skye.
‘He once told me that when he first went to Skye he scoffed102 at the idea of such a power as second sight being genuine; but he said that, after having been there for some years as a clergyman, he had been so often consulted beforehand by people who said they had seen visions of events which subsequently occurred, to my father’s knowledge, in exact accordance with the form and details of the vision as foretold103, that he was compelled to confess that some folks had, apparently at least, the unfortunate faculty.
‘As my father expressed it, this faculty was “neither voluntary nor constant, and was considered rather annoying than agreeable to the possessors of it. The gift was possessed104 by individuals of both sexes, and its fits came on within doors and without, sitting and standing, at night and by day, and at whatever employment the votary105 might chance to be engaged.”’
Here follows a typical example of the vision of a funeral:
‘The session clerk at Dull, a small village in Perthshire, was ill, and my grandfather, clergyman there at the time, had to do duty for him. One fine summer evening, about 7 o’clock, a young man and woman came to get some papers filled up, as they were going to be married. My grandfather was with the couple in the session clerk’s room, no doubt attending to the papers, when suddenly all three saw through the window a funeral procession passing along the road. From their dress the bulk of the mourners seemed to be farm labourers — indeed the young woman recognised some of them as natives of Dull, who had gone to live and work near Dunkeld. Remarks were naturally made by my grandfather and the young couple about the untimely hour for a funeral, and, hastily filling in the papers, my grandfather went out to get the key of the churchyard, which was kept in the manse, as, without the key, the procession could not get into God’s acre. Wondering how it was that he had received no intimation of the funeral, he went to the manse by a short cut, got the key, and hurried down to the churchyard gate, where, of course, he expected to find the cortège waiting. Not a soul was there except the young couple, who were as amazed as my grandfather!
‘Well, at the same hour in the evening of the same day in the following week the funeral, this time in reality, arrived quite unexpectedly. The facts were that a boy, a native of Dull, had got gored106 by a bull at Dunkeld, and was so shockingly mangled107 that his remains108 were picked up and put into a coffin109 and taken without delay to Dull. A grave was dug as quickly as possible — the poor lad having no relatives — and the remains were interred110. My grandfather and the young couple recognised several of the mourners as being among those whom they had seen out of the session clerk’s room, exactly a week previously111, in the phantom93 cortège. The young woman knew some of them personally, and related to them what she had seen, but they of course denied all knowledge of the affair, having been then in Dunkeld.’
I give another example, because the experience was auditory, as well as visual, and the prediction was announced before the event.
‘The parishioners in Skye were evidently largely imbued112 with the Romanist-like belief in the powers of intercession vested in their clergyman; so when they had a “warning” or “vision” they usually consulted my father as to what they could do to prevent the coming disaster befalling their relatives or friends. In this way my father had the opportunity of noting down the minutiae113 of the “warning” or “vision” directly it was told him. Having had the advantage of a medical, previous to his theological, training, he was able to note down sound facts, unembellished by superadded imagination. Entering into this method of case-taking with a mind perfectly open, except for a slight touch of scepticism, he was greatly surprised to discover how very frequently realisations occurred exactly in conformance with the minutiae of the vision as detailed114 in his note-book. Finally, he was compelled to discard his scepticism, and to admit that some people had undoubtedly115 the uncanny gift. Almost the first case he took (Case X.) was that of a woman who had one day a vision of her son falling over a high rock at Uig, in Skye, with a sheep or lamb.
‘CASE X. — She heard her son exclaim in Gaelic, “This is a fatal lamb for me.” As her son lived several miles from Uig, and was a fisherman, realisation seemed to my father very unlikely, but one month afterwards the realisation occurred only too true. Unknown to his mother, who had warned him against having anything to do with sheep or lambs, the son one day, instead of going out in his boat, thought he would take a holiday inland, and went off to Uig, where a farmer enlisted116 his services in separating some lambs from the ewes. One of the lambs ran away, and the fisher lad ran headlong after it, and not looking where he was going, on catching117 the lamb was pulled by it to the edge of one of the very picturesque118 but exceedingly dangerous rocks at Uig. Too late realizing his critical position, he exclaimed, “This is a fatal lamb for me,” but going with such an impetus119 he was unable to bring himself up in time, and, along with the lamb, fell over into the ravine below, and was, of course, killed on the spot. The farmer, when he saw the lad’s danger, ran to his assistance, but was only in time to hear him cry out in Gaelic before disappearing over the brink120 of the precipice121. This was predicted by the mother a month before. Was this simply a coincidence?’
Dr. Macgregor’s remarks on the involuntary and unwelcome nature of the visions is borne out by what Scheffer, as already quoted, says concerning the Lapps.
In addition to visions which thus come unsought, contributing knowledge of things remote or even future, we may glance at visions which are provoked by various methods. Drugs (impepo) are used, seers whirl in a wild dance till they fall senseless, or trance is induced by various kinds of self-suggestion or ‘auto-hypnotism.’ Fasting is also practised. In modern life the self-induced trance is common among ‘mediums’ — a subject to which we recur122 later.
So far, it will be observed, our evidence proves that precisely123 similar beliefs as to man’s occasional power of opening the gates of distance have been entertained in a great variety of lands and ages, and by races in every condition of culture.24 The alleged experiences are still said to occur, and have been investigated by physiologists124 of the eminence125 of M. Richet. The question cannot but arise as to the residuum of fact in these narrations126, and it keeps on arising.
In the following chapter we discuss a mode of inducing hallucinations which has for anthropologists the interest of universal diffusion127. The width of its range in savage races has not, we believe, been previously observed. We then add facts of modern experience, about the authenticity128 of which we, personally, entertain no doubt; and the provisional conclusion appears to be that savages have observed a psychological circumstance which has been ignored by professed129 psychologists, and which, certainly, does not fit into the ordinary materialistic130 hypothesis.
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poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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clairvoyance
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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ecstasy
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technically
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| adv.专门地，技术上地 | |
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illustrates
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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bereft
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| adj.被剥夺的 | |
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diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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10
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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narratives
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| 记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分 | |
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17
divination
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| n.占卜，预测 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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21
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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22
presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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23
anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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25
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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26
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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27
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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28
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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29
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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30
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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31
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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32
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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33
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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34
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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35
demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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37
dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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38
attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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39
tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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41
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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42
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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43
anthropological
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| adj.人类学的 | |
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44
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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45
subconscious
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| n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的) | |
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46
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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48
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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49
apprise
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| vt.通知，告知 | |
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50
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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51
delusions
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| n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想 | |
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52
benighted
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| adj.蒙昧的 | |
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53
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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54
proficients
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| 精通的，熟练的( proficient的名词复数 ) | |
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55
eke
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| v.勉强度日，节约使用 | |
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56
imposture
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| n.冒名顶替，欺骗 | |
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57
hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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58
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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59
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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60
initiation
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| n.开始 | |
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61
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
favourably
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| adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably | |
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63
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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64
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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65
lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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66
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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67
clairvoyant
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| adj.有预见的；n.有预见的人 | |
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68
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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69
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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70
invoke
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| v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求 | |
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71
hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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72
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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73
clairvoyants
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| n.透视者，千里眼的人( clairvoyant的名词复数 ) | |
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74
oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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75
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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76
physiological
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| adj.生理学的，生理学上的 | |
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77
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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78
funnel
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| n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集 | |
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79
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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80
blister
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| n.水疱；(油漆等的)气泡；v.(使)起泡 | |
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81
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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82
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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83
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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84
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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85
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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86
psychical
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| adj.有关特异功能现象的；有关特异功能官能的；灵魂的；心灵的 | |
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87
residue
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| n.残余，剩余，残渣 | |
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88
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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89
corroborate
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| v.支持，证实，确定 | |
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90
vouch
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| v.担保；断定；n.被担保者 | |
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91
apparitions
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| n.特异景象( apparition的名词复数 )；幽灵；鬼；（特异景象等的）出现 | |
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92
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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93
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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94
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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95
symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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96
omens
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| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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97
meteoric
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| adj.流星的，转瞬即逝的，突然的 | |
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98
miasmatic
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| adj.毒气的，沼气的 | |
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99
uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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100
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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101
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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102
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
foretold
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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104
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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105
votary
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| n.崇拜者；爱好者；adj.誓约的，立誓任圣职的 | |
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106
gored
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| v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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107
mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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108
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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109
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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110
interred
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| v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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111
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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112
imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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113
minutiae
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| n.微小的细节，细枝末节；（常复数）细节，小事( minutia的名词复数 ) | |
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114
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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115
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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116
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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117
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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118
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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119
impetus
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| n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力 | |
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120
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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121
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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122
recur
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| vi.复发，重现，再发生 | |
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123
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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124
physiologists
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| n.生理学者( physiologist的名词复数 )；生理学( physiology的名词复数 )；生理机能 | |
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125
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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126
narrations
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| 叙述事情的经过，故事( narration的名词复数 ) | |
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127
diffusion
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| n.流布；普及；散漫 | |
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128
authenticity
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| n.真实性 | |
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129
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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130
materialistic
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| a.唯物主义的，物质享乐主义的 | |
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