ORIGIN or DISEASE AND THE GERM THEOEY. 163 



•down. One is seen who has been let down, and he is oflfering to 

 tl;e Great Spirit the little finger of his left hand, by laying it on 

 a buffalo skin, while another chops it off with a hatchet. Mr. 

 Catlin, who painted the pictures from life, says that not so much 

 as a groan was heard to come from the tortured, who were anxious 

 to attract his attention that he might represent them with a smile 

 upon their features, which were calm and serene. 



The fourth picture represents what was called "The Last 

 Race.'' After they had all been tortured in the above manner, 

 the young men were ted out with their weights, buffalo skins, 

 .&c., still hanging to their flesh. A circle was formed, and each 

 of the sufferers, taken by two athletic and fresh young men, one 

 on each side, was forced to run round and round till he fainted 

 away. He was then dragged with his face in the dirt until all 

 the weights were disengaged from him, by tearing the flesh out, 

 when they dropped him, and he lay to all appearance a corpse, 

 until he gained strength to rise and walk home. 



All this is the fruit of scrupulous training, and the triumph 

 thus obtained over bodily suffering shows the most serene and 

 sublime ascendency of man's mind over matter, of his spirit over 

 his body. We might say much more on this all-important topic 

 of pain; but we have already gone beyond the limits which we 

 had set. 



The subject of irritation may be spoken of separately ; for 

 though extreme irritation may merge into absolute pain, we 

 must still draw a line betwixt simple irritation on the one hand 

 and pain on the other. 



Irritation of the conjunctiva causes contraction of the lids, 

 that of the nasal mucous membrane evokes sneezing, that of the 

 throat causes attempts at swallowing, that of the rectum causes 

 tenesmus both in animals and in man. These reactions are 

 suitable and conservative. Inflammation of these structures, 

 however, has the same effect yet more pronounced, and then the 

 result is by no means conservative ; but, on the contrary, it is 

 detrimental. Similarly, an animal suffering pain from internal 

 causes frequently bites or kicks savagely at the corresponding 

 side of the body, and also in a part which has, apparently, a 

 relation through the medium of nerves with the internal part 

 which is affected. The relief which follows the application of 

 one or more leeches, or of a small blister, to a painful part on 



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