178 INDIGNANT SPIRITS. 



When he drives his pile, he stands with his neck and long 

 bill pointed straight up, and pumping the air into his throat, 

 sends it out with the strange sound you have heard. It is 

 the resemblance of the sound to that made by driving a 

 stake into ground covered with water, that gives him his 

 name. He's an awkward, filthy bird, but he helps to make 

 up the noises one hears in these wild regions." 



" My first thought was," said Smith, " that we had got 

 among the spirits of the woods, and that they were ' rap- 

 ping ' their indignation at our presence, there was something 

 so human about it." 



" By the way," remarked the Doctor, " and you remind 

 me of the subject, what a strange delusion is this Spiritual- 

 ism, to the 'manifestations' of which you refer, and how 

 singular it is that men of strong natural sense and cultivated 

 minds, should be drawn into it. We all know such. Their 

 delusion, too, is^stronger than mere speculative belief. It is 

 a faith which to them appears to amount to absolute know- 

 ledge. They have no doubt or hesitancy on the subject. 

 Their convictions are perfect ; such, that were they as strong 

 in their faith as Christians, as they are in the reality of 

 Spiritualism, they would be able to move mountains." 



"I have noticed this intensity of their faith," said Smith; 

 " and while I utterly reject the whole theory of Spiritualism, 

 I could never join in the ridicule of its earnest devotees. 

 There is something that commands my respect in this strong 

 faith, when honestly entertained, however stupendous the 

 error may be to which it clings. There is something, to my 



