1881. 1 
“ Jumpers ” of Maine . 
87 
IV. EXPERIMENTS WITH THE “JUMPERS” OF 
MAINE.* 
By George M. Beard, M.D. 
BOUT two years ago my attention was diredled by my 
friend Mr. W. A. Croffut to the fafit that, in the 
nothern part of Maine, especially in the region of 
Moosehead Lake, there were to be found a class of people 
who presented most incredible nervous phenomena. 
These people were cslled in the language of that region 
“Jumpers” or “Jumping Frenchmen.” It was claimed 
that all, or most of them, were of French descent and of 
Canadian birth, and that their occupation was mainly that 
of lumbering in the Maine woods. Mr. Croffut introduced 
me to D. W. Craig, Esq., a gentleman who had spent much 
time in that portion of Maine, and who had amused himself 
with watching and playing with these unfortunates. 
In accordance with the request of Mr. Croffut and Mr. 
Craig, I began at that time an investigation of the subject 
through all accessible sources, and this year I visited Moose- 
head Lake in company with my friend Dr. Edward Steese, 
and made the investigations herein recorded. 
I found two of the Jumpers employed about the hotel. 
With one of them, a young man twenty-seven years of age, 
I made the following experiments : 
1. While sitting in a chair, with a knife in his hand, with 
which he was about to cut his tobacco, he was struck 
sharply on the shoulder, and told to “ throw it.” Almost as 
quick as the explosion of a pistol, he threw the knife, and it 
stuck in a beam opposite ; at the same time he repeated the 
order “ throw it” with a certain cry as of terror or alarm. 
2. A moment after, while filling his pipe with tobacco, he 
was again slapped on the shoulder and told to “ throw it.” 
He threw the tobacco and the pipe on the grass, at least a 
rod away, with the same cry and the same suddenness and 
explosiveness of movement. 
3. When standing near one of the employes of the house, 
he was told to “ strike,” and he struck him violently on the 
cheek. I took this person into the quiet of my own room, 
only my friend being with me, in order that the experiments 
* Read before the American Neurological Association, June, 1880. 
