ASPR Journal, V14 - Iapsop.com

252 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research.
AN EXPERIMENT FOR RAPS.
By ]AMES H. HYSLOP.
\
KANSAS CITY, July lOth, 1907.
I learned of an old blind negro in Independence, Mo., who
could produce raps, and took occasion yesterday to go out to see
him in company with two men, a physician, specialist in rectal
diseases, and a musician, both of Kansas City. We found the
old negro in a saloon, where the man who took us out rather
expected to find him. The negro was accompanied by a dog to
which he had a string attached and which guided him about the
streets. The dog had been trained and under its guidance he
was led home for our experiments. The dog was well trained
and regulated his pace in accordance with the verbal directions
of his master. The dog would slacken its pace to suit crossing a
ditch and seemed in every way to be intelligent and well adapted
to his work.
On the way to the house the old negro told me that he had
once taught school and his conversation showed clearly that he
was a spiritualist. In response to my questions he said that he
had learned what he knew of it from his conununications with
spirits. He is convinced of their existence and says he can see
them at any time. He said he lost his eyesight in 1884 by getting
dust in his eyes and said that he could not now see any light
at all, even if the sun shone in his eyes. It was apparent in the
manner in which he accepted the direction of his dog that he
certainly could not see. He was certainly religious in his mental
attitude of mind. He explained to us his views of the after life.
He claimed that when we die we do not at once go to either
heaven or the other place, but linger about the earth until the
judgment day, which did not come immediately. Asked where he
got these ideas he said, " from the spirits."
There were no evidences of anything but an ignorant old
man, with great simplicity and sincerity of mind and heart. He
did not betray a single characteristic of the fraud or marauder
on human interest about spirits. Everything showed a naive
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