164 
CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
of what she experienced. The above were her last recollections. 
She felt faint, and when consciousness returned to her she was 
in her husband’s arms. She was illiterate, but very pious, hav¬ 
ing a sacred regard for the truth. Her story of just what hap¬ 
pened to her therefore deserves very serious consideration. 
Being illiterate, she could not possibly know that her obser¬ 
vations would ever be of any scientific value. She merely 
related the simple story of her dreadful ordeal. 
Some phases of her experience are well worth pondering. 
Almost everyone knows that the human ear cannot long endure 
the note of the diamond-back’s rattles. Many can testify to 
the truth of her statements in regard to this particular point. 
The other statements made by her as to her experiences are 
likewise true; but only a few persons have ever had just such 
an experience, and none of these have ever been able to offer 
any plausible explanation for such seeming impossible occur¬ 
rence. Anyone familiar with the simple principle of optics will 
readily agree that if you look intently upon any image posses¬ 
sing clear and distinctly marked outlines (for instance, the 
geometrical designs, in orange, upon a dull olive background, 
and other gay and contrasting decorations) the image becomes 
well imprinted upon the retina of the eye, and will reappear 
from time to time as the eye is blinked. We regard this as an 
accepted fact and therefore pass on. 
The following incident which received some mention in the 
press came to the attention of the writer, and is worthy of 
mention in this connection. The principle involved is very 
definitely related to that under discussion. It had to do with 
the operator of a large bus. The driver, suddenly and appar¬ 
ently without cause, swerved sharply, left the highway em¬ 
bankment, and injured some of the passengers. 
During the course of the investigation which followed, he 
testified that he suddenly saw a small child on the highway, 
directly in front of the bus. Knowing that his brakes would 
not bring his vehicle to a standstill in time to save the life of 
the child, he followed the only course left open to him. Such 
statement, made in all sincerity, availed him nothing. None 
of the passengers aboard saw any child, neither did any of the 
