112 
CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
The writer has reached the conclusion which has been freely 
expressed elsewhere that ancient man learned the elementary 
principles of hypnotism from the lower order of animals, im¬ 
proved upon same with the passing of centuries, and handed 
this mysterious art and science down to us of the 20th century 
in its present form. 
If the testimony of those to whom the writer is indebted for 
the subject-matter of this volume could be successfully brushed 
aside it might leave us open to charges of pure fabrication. If 
it were not for the fact that man, in other instances, patterned 
some of his arts and practices after the beasts of the field, then 
such deductions as we have drawn might more readily be dis¬ 
carded. It is sufficient to enlist the interest of any fair-minded 
person if they will but pause and consider the habits of the 
black bear of the Okefenokee Swamp—perhaps other species, 
as for that. They have imitated with percision the methods of 
certain primitive peoples, such as negroes of Dark Africa, and 
the American Indians, in procuring their supply of fish from 
ponds, small lakes and lagoons. Or was it the other way 
around? Let us examine the facts. It is scarcely probable that 
the bear in his wild state would spy upon the fishing methods 
of man, his mortal enemy. Yet we find them practicing the 
same art when fishing without any form of tackle. When the 
bear discovers a small lake or lagoon, separated from the 
main stream, and has definite knowledge that the same is 
stocked with fish, he goes “muddying.” This practice might 
be defined as churning the water, stirring up all the mud pos¬ 
sible from the bottom, until the whole body of water is little 
less than a thick paste, which renders the breathing process of 
the fish a fruitless and painful one. Being unable to breathe 
the water, they come to the surface, procuring the needed 
elements from the atmosphere by breathing the pure air. This, 
of course, exposes them to the view of the bear. On such 
occasions he either seizes them in his paws or, with a mighty 
stroke, splashes them out on the bank of the lake. It is passing 
strange that both the African negro and the American Indian 
practiced the same identical method in obtaining his fish. So 
the only question remaining to be answered is—who copied 
