Providentia

Weeding Out The Immigrants

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

While the famous lines by Emma Lazarus inscribed on the Statue of Liberty continue to proclaim the welcome offered to immigrants coming to the United States, the reality has always been somewhat different.  

Even though potential immigrants traveling in first- or second-class often managed to enter the country with only a rudimentary assessment, passengers traveling in steerage were processed through the immigration station at New York Harbour's Ellis Island.   First opened in 1892, the inpection stations of Ellis Island acted as the central processing point for  millions of immigrants arriving from Europe and other parts of the world    Thorough medical  examinations by physicians appointed by the Public Health Service were required to check for contagious diseases or other medical problems  and immigration officials often relied on medical evidence to weed out "unsuitable" candidates. Based on an 1882 immigration law, any immigrant deemed to be "likely to become a public charge" could be blocked from entering the United States.    That included any medical deformity or condition that would make an immigrant unable to earn a living.   While many physicians objected to their medical findings being used to screen potential immigrants, immigration officials often justified their decision to exclude "unsuitable" immigrants.

In that same legislation, "imbeciles" and the "feeble-minded" were included as being unfit to enter the United States.   Not only were the feebleminded considered to be prone to various social problems including drug abuse and crime, but they also pose a daner to the genetic health of the nation (due to their inferior genes being passed on to future generations).   Immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were regarded as a particular concern for Americans worried about the eugenics of immigration.  

Due to widespread concerns about "feebleminded" immigrants,  having the physicians who examined immigrants test for low intelligence seemed to make good sense to the immigration officials and politicians imposing limits on who could be allowed into the countery.  Except for the problem of how to test for intelllectual problems, that is.  Though early intelligence scales had already been developed for use with children needing special education, providing something equivalent for rimmigrants, many of whom could not even speak Enlish. was more difficult.

It was psychologist, Henry Goddard, who first  traveled to Europe in 1908 to learn how to use the new intelligence test first developed by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon.  After returning to the United States, Goddard translated and revised Binet's test for use at the training school where he worked.  He also developed an early classification system for the intellectually impaired children at his school, i.e., any children with an intelligence quotient (IQ) of less than 70.   For children with a score between 51 and 70, the term moron was used.   All children with scores btween 26 and 50 were labelled imbeciles and any child with an IQ of 25 or less was labelled an idiot.   Though these are considered offensive terms today, Goddard's classification system matched his own theories about eugenics andhow low intelligence should be dealt with. 

Goddard also established his credentials as an authority on feeble-mindedness through two well-known books highlighting  the genetic risks associated with allowing people of low intelligence to breed.   His 1912 book, The Kallikak Family, traced the genealogy of two branches of a single family, one "feeble-minded" and the other normal.    Though modern reevaluation of Goddard's findings suggest that Goddard understated the role of environmental factors, his book proved to be highly influential, especially with early eugenicists such as Madison Grant and Charles B. Davenport.  

Given the concerns over allowing potentially feeble-minded immigrants into the country, it was not surprising that Henry Goddard was invited by the Commissioner of Immigration at Ellis Island to advise staff on the best way of assessing immigrant intelligence.  Though Goddard's initial impression was that concerns about feeble-minded immigrants were likely exaggerated, he conducted tests of his version of Alfred Binet's test for use with immigrants.   Comparing his own test results with what immigration doctors were reporting, Goddard concluded that his own trained assessors were more accurate in detecting immigrants with low intelligence.   On that basis, he recommended that Congress allocate funds to provide Ellis Island with staff trained in measuring feeble-mindedness. 

Many of the immigration doctors themselves objected to the use of Goddard's intelligence tests to weed out low-IQ immigrants.   One of them, Howard Andrew Knox, published an article in 1913 in the Journal of the American Medical Association which pointed out how inappropriate it was to use tests developed for schoolchildren on immigrants with limited English skills.   As he pointed out:

To the uninitiated using routine tests for defectives nearly all the peasants from certain European countries appear to be of the moron type; but of course this is a fallacy. If these peasants are questioned about conditions existing in the land from which they come most of them will show average intelligence.

But Knox and his colleagues were still eugenics supporters themslves and endorsed the political call to week out the "feeble-minded".  As he stated in another article  published that same year, it was more important to identify morons than people who were insane since morons would "immediately start a line of defectives whose progeny, like the brook, will go on forever, branching off here in an imbecile and there in an epileptic, costing the country millions of dollars in court fees and incarceration expenses."     All that remained was to come up with a reliable method of identifying these mental defectives.

When Goddard's researchers visited Ellis Island in 1913 to test 165 immigrants, they still had to decide how to interpret those results.   When Goddard finally published his findings, he stated that a disproportionately high number of immigrants were identified as mentally defective.    In talking about his findings, Goddard stated that "one can hardly escape the conviction that the intelligence of the average ‘third class’ immigrant is low, perhaps of moron grade."  He charitably suggested that this was due to the poor environments from which they had come rather than their genetics though.

After the researchers visited Ellis Island in 1913 to test 165 immigrants, it was still up to Goddard to decide how to interpret those results.   When he finally published his findings, Goddard stated that a disproportionately high number of immigrants were identified as mentally defective.    In talking about his findings, he stated that "one can hardly escape the conviction that the intelligence of the average ˜third class immigrant is low, perhaps of moron grade" though he charitably suggested that this was due to the poor environments from which they had come rather than their genetics.

Despite the controversy, there was enough political support for the idea of  IQ screening for immigrants, except for the pesky problem of language.   Since the Binet scales were primarily verbal in nature, using them for immigrants with limited English was a challenge that needed to be overcome.   Even relying on interpreters proved risky as the interpreters themselves often had difficulty understanding the concepts used in testing.

Fortunately, there was already a potential solution available.  Psychologists working with hearing impaired patients and children with language deficits had developed specialized performance tests relying on nonverbal skills.   Many of these tests involved form boards requiring test-takers to fit geometric figures into similarly-shaped impressions in the board.   The most famous of these was developed by Edoard Seguin and it was already being used for nonverbal performance testing in children with language needs.   Other tests included jigsaw puzzles and picture formboards that attempted to reduce verbal testing as much as possible. 

The doctors stationed at Ellis Island  incorporated many of these non-verbal tests into the battery used with new immigrants and also developed several new tests as well.  Howard Knox developed two non-verbal tests which he described in as 1913 article.  The first of these was a Visual Comparison Test  using line drawings to match for size and complexity.  The second one, the "Knox Cube Imitation Test", required test-takers to tap a series of cubes in a sequence shown to them by the tester.    

In a 1914 paper, Knox wrote that he had conducted the tests on "over 4,000 suspected defectives in the last eighteen months and many more made by my associates ... all were considered sufficiently near the required standard to be allowed to pass, except 400 certified as feeble-minded and (in a few cases) as imbeciles."    Different versions were used including an "Imbecile test" for people with a  a mental age of less than six.   There was also a "Moron test"  which could only be solved by someone with a mental age less than ten.    Knox recommended that these tests be given several times to ensure that immigrants didn't pass the test by accident.

Since the number of potential immigrants identified as feeble-minded was far greater than what the doctors had detected before the intelligence testing began, this was regarded as proof for the value of psychological testing at Ellis Island.   Still, Howard Knox repeatedly stressed the difficulty involved in testing immigrants due to their limited English skills and cultural differences.   To minimize these problems, he developed a test procedure to be used on immigrants which included a careful interview to ensure that they had basic cognitive skills.   In most cases, immigrants received only a cursory examination with only those failing the interview being passed on for more in-depth testing.

Though Knox had left Ellis Island by 1916, he continued to publish in various eugenic and public health journals and played a role in expanding the definition of mental deficiency to include paupers, criminals, epileptics, and other "persons possessing stigmata and deformities."   He also argued that male immigrants should meet fitness standards at least equal to what would be demanded by the U.S. Army.    His tests, which were later produced by commercial test publishers, would become  standard use in screening immigrants.

By 1921, the U.S. government established a quota system and shifted responsibility for immigrant screening to U.S. embassies or consulates around the world.   While Ellis Island continued to be used for immigrant detention and deportations (including thousands of "enemy aliens" being held there during World War II), the facility was finally closed in the 1950s.   It eventually reopened to visitors as a tourist site in 1976 and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened in 1990.   Visitors to the museum can still see many of Knox's intelligence tests on display, along with other reminders of the thousands of immigrants who passed through the system during its heyday.

So what can I say about Howard Knox?   While his intelligence tests had a significant influence on the early history of intelligence testing, his name has been largely forgotten except by psychology historians.   Many of the nonverbal test elements he developed continue to be used in different intelligence tests and he is rightly regarded as a pioneer in non-verbal intelligence testing.  Still, while some of his ideas about how language and cultural barriers can interfere with intelligence testing are valid enough, his beliefs about eugenics are hard to defend.   He was certainly not the only eugenicist of that era though but the critical role he played in how potential immigrants would be screened made him one of the most influential.

As for the human cost of Knox's work, that is harder to determine.   We will likely never know what became of  the immigrants identified as feeble-minded by Knox and his fellow testers.   Certainly many of these same "feeble-minded" immigrants were routinely allowed into the country before intelligence testing became the norm and without the dire predictions of the eugenicists coming to pass.   That a disproportionately high number of immigrants regarded as being inferior came from non-English speaking backgrounds and cultures only helped reinforce the prevailing belief in the genetic superiority of "true" Americans.   

Along with rigid quota systems in place for potential immigrants, the eugenics movement would claim other victims as well.   Many of the same policies advocated by Knox and his fellow eugenicists would be used to implement compulsory sterilization on thousands of "inferior" men, women, and children in the United States and Canada.  It would take decades, and the horrendous example of the Holocaust in Europe, to eventually overturn the eugenics laws although some still remained in place until the 1960s or later. 

The price of these laws, including restitution payments made to the victims, would ensure that their influence would continue even today.   In an era of anti-immigration furor and calls for deadly force to to prevent even immigrant children from entering the country,  the xenophobia that turned Ellis Island into a proving ground for racial  politics a hundred years ago is still alive and well today.

Can Curses Kill?

Do curses work?

Belief in malignant supernatural forces causing illness or misfortune is a common tradition in cultures around the world.   The concept of "black magic", the "evil eye", curses, witchcraft, bringing down disaster on unwitting victims has inspired a host of ritual practices designed to protect users from harm.  My mother, bless her heart, has an all-purpose prayer that she uses to protect family members against the malocchio (evil eye).  Passed down in her family for generations, the prayer can only be taught at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve.   While such beliefs seem harmless enough, fear of malignant cursing has inspired horrendous episodes of anti-witch hysteria through the centuries (and still does today).

But is it actually possible for belief in curses to kill victims?  In a now-classic paper titled "Voodoo Death", physiologist Walter Cannon (of Cannon-Bard hypothesis fame) explored that very question.    First published in 1944 in American Anthropologist, Cannon coined the term "voodoo death" to describe the phenomenon of sudden death brought about by emotional shock, especially fear.  Citing numerous examples from anthropological literature, Cannon presented a series of case histories including deaths occurring among Brazilian tribesmen after being cursed by local "medicine men".  One memorable citation from Arthur Glyn Leonard's classic book on the lower Niger described the phenomenon in action:

I have seen more than one hardened old Haussa soldier dying steadily and by inches because he believed himself to be bewitched; no nourishment or medicines that were given to him had the slightest effect either to check the mischief or to improve his condition in any way, and nothing was able to divert him from a fate which he considered inevitable. In the same way, and under very similar conditions, I have seen Kru-men and others die in spite of every effort that was made to save them, simply because they had made up their minds, not (as we thought at the time) to die, but that being in the clutch of malignant demons they were bound to die.

Being cursed was often the result of violating various cultural taboos or otherwise incurring the wrath of tribal chiefs or shamans.   The means by which a curse could be laid could vary from simply applying the "evil eye" to formal rituals such as the use of "pointing-bones" among Australian Aborigines.  Cannon also raised the possibility of chiefs or sorcerers reinforcing their reputation for laying curses through the discreet use of poison.  Given the herblore available to many traditional shamans, this is not particularly farfetched although many of the cases that Cannon discussed involved curse victims wasting away even when poison or other medical explanations were ruled out.   Even in those cases where an autopsy was performed on the curse victim, no clear medical cause for death could be found (except for the curse victims who wasted away from refusing to eat or drink). 

For victims in the final stage of their illness, only the timely intervention of the sorcerer or shaman lifting the curse could save them from death.   Shamans persuaded to lift their cause often use an elaborate ritual and, in many cases, presented the victim with a visual "proof" of the curse being lifted (usually in the presence of the victim's family to impress them with his/her power).   Once the crisis is passed, recovery is usually rapid and complete.  The involvement of the victim's extended social network seems to be the key in many of the cases that Cannon reported.   Those victims who are cursed typically lose all support as family and friends distance themselves.    Once ostracized, the curse victim becomes a pariah with no real options besides death or exile.   "Shunning" of curse victims, often perceived as being responsible for their own predicament, is an effective weapon to reinforce the power of the shaman who laid the curse.  Since being part of the greater tribal community remains the cornerstone of the individual's existence in many societies, it's hardly surprising that the loneliness that can result from being cursed can be so deadly.

But is there a physical basis for "voodoo death"?  Again, Cannon outlined some common characteristics in the cases that he discussed.  The effect that extreme fear and anger can have on the body is well-documented.  Cannon reviewed the "fight or flight" reaction and the opposing roles of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in preparing us to deal with crises.   Arousal of the sympathetic nervous system results in pupil dilation, rapid heart rate, increased lung capacity and respiration, inhibition of digestion, shaking, sweating, and other autonomic responses.   Essentially, the body is prepared for action.  If that action is delayed or if we are unable to respond to the stressful situation in a timely fashion however, we experience exhaustion and become vulnerable as a result.  As Cannon himself states:

All these changes render the animal more efficient in physical struggle, for they supply essential conditions for continuous action of laboring muscles. Since they occur in association with the strong emotions, rage and fear, they can reasonably be interpreted as preparatory for the intense struggle which the instincts to attack or to escape may involve. If these powerful motions prevail, and the bodily forces are fully mobilized for action, and if this state of extreme perturbation continues in uncontrolled possession of the organism for a considerable period, without the occurrence of action, dire results may ensue

Cannon also described research on sham rage produced in decorticated laboratory animals following intense stimulation of the sympathetic-adrenal system.  The rage leads to rapid sweating, rapid heartbeat, heightened emotionality, and motor activity.  Even when the animal appears visibly calm afterward, death can result after a few hours due to exhaustion.  Sham rage has also been observed in humans, especially in cases involving damage to the temporal lobe and associated limbic system structures.  Along with other physiological effects of sham rage, large amounts of adrenaline are also produced.   Prolonged adrenaline release may lead to persistent constriction of the blood vessels which, in turn, leads to reduce blood volume and inadequate blood supply to the body's organs.    Catastrophically reduced blood pressure, in conjunction with reduced food or fluid intake, can be linked to many of the reported voodoo deaths in the medical literature. 

It is probably not surprising that sudden death has also been observed in cases involving severe shock.  Even when other medical causes have been ruled out, death can still occur.  Loss of appetite, sweating, rapid heartbeat, and other signs of autonomic distress can be important signals that the body is on the verge of exhausting its resources.  Cannon described several examples of patients who died of apparently minor injuries following emotional trauma.  While postmortem examinations may turn up evidence of brain hemorrhage, this is usually a consequence of the condition rather than a direct cause of death.    

Ultimately, Cannon didn't attempt to provide a final explanation for why voodoo death occurs and simply suggested a hypothesis for researchers to explore.   He also recommended that physicians monitoring potential cases watch for warning signs of shock including low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, and perspiration.  In (semi) tongue-in-cheek fashion, he ended his paper by saying:

If in the future, however, any observer has opportunity to see an instance of "voodoo death," it is to be hoped that he will conduct the simpler tests before the victim's last gasp.

While voodoo death cases relating to actual curses have become rare (although anti-witch hysteria is still going strong),  research has confirmed many aspects of Cannon's ideas concerning the role of sympathetic arousal on the human body.    In a reevaluation of Cannon's voodoo death paper, Esther Sternberg expanded Cannon's model by stressing the role of the hormonal system, particularly those hormones released by the pituitary and adrenal glands when the human body is confronted by stressors.  These include catecholamines (unknown in Cannon's time) which open calcium channels, including in the heart muscle.  She also discussed the role that the amygdala plays in mediating threat responses (she referred to this as the "vision-to-fear" or "auditory-to-fear" pathway depending on how the threat is perceived).    In cases of abrupt shock, cardiac arrhythmia, chronic wasting, and disease can all occur when the body's own resources are exhausted.  

Cases of sudden cardiac death linked to psychosomatic factors continue to be reported in the clinical literature, especially in patients suffering from preexisting conditions such as chronic depression or anxiety disorders.   The complex relationship between cardiac arrhythmia and emotional stress often forms a "vicious circle" which is potentially deadly.   Increased risk of cardiac failure has also been noted following natural disasters as survivors cope with the stress of dealing with loss.   Although anthropologists still dispute Cannon's interpretation of existing cases (with some arguing that voodoo death should be considered a culture-bound syndrome), Walter Cannon's 1944 paper remains a classic in the field of psychosomatic medicine and psychophysiology and continues to inspire research into the role that emotional factors can affect the body. 

So, can curses kill?  You be the judge.

Health Experts Warn of "Parallel Pandemic" of Fake Coronavirus Cures

The World Health Organization has warned of a sharp rise in fake medicines purporting to cure COVID-19, many of which are potentially dangerous in their own right.   In what one expert described as  a "parallel pandemic, of substandard and falsified products",  many desperate consumers are turning to online hucksters offering coronavirus "cures" as well as substandard face masks and other protective gear.  

Interpol has reported that their global pharmaceutical crime fighting unit, Operation Pangea, made 121 arrests across 90 countries in just seven days, including the seizure of dangerous pharmaceuticals worth over $14m U.S.  "The illicit trade in such counterfeit medical items during a public health crisis, shows a total disregard for people's lives," said Interpol's Secretary General Jurgen Stock in a recent media interview.   

Operating primarily in developing nations,  many drug counterfeiters are selling medicines which can be contaminated, contain the wrong or no active ingredient, or may be past the recommended expiry date.   According to WHO sources, sales of these medications has brought in more than $30bn in low and middle-income countries.

"Best case scenario they [fake medicines] probably won't treat the disease for which they were intended", said Pernette Bourdillion Esteve, who is part of the WHO team dealing with falsified medical products.  "But worst-case scenario they'll actively cause harm, because they might be contaminated with something toxic."   

To read more, check out my new Psychology Today blog post.

The Starvation Doctor

When Dorothea and Claire Williamson arrived in Seattle, Washington on February 27, 1911, they were eager to begin a radical new treatment program that would help them both overcome assorted "female troubles".   They had no idea that the "treatment" would result in one of them dying a  gruesome death and propelling them both to the centre of a bizarre medical scandal.

Born and raised in England, the sisters had inherited a fortune from their Scottish grandfather.    Being independently wealthy, the Williamsons used their money to fund a long odyssey to various medical clinics around the world as they searched for a cure to  assorted medical complaints.   Although the complaints were largely minor (and possibly imaginary), the sisters could afford the best care and try any fad cure that happened to be in vogue at the time.

In the course of their travels, they came across a new book, Fasting For The Cure of Disease, which argued that many diseases were due to the eating of meat and assorted nutritional problems that could be cured by fasting.   The author, Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard, was one of the few women doctors of that era which made her seem even more remarkable to the Williamson sisters.    After Claire Williamson wrote to Dr. Hazzard, both sisters received a brochure describing how well-to-do patients under her care could undergo the radical fasting cure and receive the full benefits offered in her book.  

From the very beginning, there were warning signs which both women chose to ignore.   Though Linda Hazzard freely used the "Doctor" title, she did not actually have a medical degree.   Instead. she was allowed to practice medicine in the state of Washington because of a legal loophole in the licensing law "grandfathering" practitioners of alternative medicine (she was actually trained as an osteopath).    Despite her questionable credentials, Linda Hazzard was able to launch her own medical practice in Seattle beginning in 1907,   She then established herself as a "fasting specialist" offering medical treatment following the principles laid down by fasting pioneers Edward Hooker Dewey and Henry S.. Tanner.   Dewey (under whom Hazzard reportedly trained)  became famous for his "No Breakfast Plan" while Tanner was notorious for his forty-two-day fast at New York's Clarendon Hall.    

Expanding on the therapeutic fasting principles laid down by her predecessors, Linda Hazzard proclaimed in her assorted books and pamphlets that fasting could cure anything from cancer to hysteria.    That her medical colleagues were condemning her as a quack hardly deterred patients traveling from across the United States (and even as far as Europe) to try the fasting cure for themselves.    Linda Hazzard enjoyed the notoriety and wrote pamphlets describing the "organized persecution from newspaper and physicians".   She even claimed to be the victim of a colossal conspiracy by medical doctors trying to suppress the truth (sound familiar?).    Prospective patients heard nothing about the various deaths that had already been attributed to her since 1903 when she first began starving her patients. 

Not that the adverse publicity did anything to deter people desperate for a miracle.  In fact, the demand became so great that Linda Hazzard gave up her Seattle office and established a larger clinic in nearby Olalla, Washington.   There, the new clinic which Hazzard named "Wilderness Heights" could provide the fasting cure to patients to purge their body of "toxins".  

It was about this time that Linda Hazzard first took on the Williamson sisters as patients.   When they arrived in Seattle on February 27, 1911, they went straight to Hazzard's Seattle office where the treatment was explained to them.    Dorathea and Claire both enthusiastically agreed to to begin the treatments which would involve systematic fasting, enemas, baths, and vigorous massages.   At first, their treatment was at the Seattle location while they stayed in a nearby apartment and saw Linda Hazzard five times a week.

Despite the adverse symptoms that developed, including their growing steadily weaker and light-headed (which they attributed to "euphoria"), the Williamson sisters continued with their treatments and were even among the first patients at the new Olalla clinic when it opened soon afterward.    Their faith in Linda Hazzard was unshakable, even when both women became so emaciated that they could barely walk.    A full-time nurse was hired to care for them both but that was not enough for Linda Hazzard. 

While they were still living in Seattle, Hazzard's control over the sisters became tighter than ever.   She even convinced them to grant her control over their sizeable estate during their "recovery."   Though their nurse was alarmed enough at what was happening to go to another doctor for help, there was nothing anyone could do without having the sisters declared incompetent.    By mid-April, Hazzard had moved the Williamsons to her newly-built clinic in Olalla and her power over them became absolute.     Since both sisters were completely bedridden by this point, Hazzard arranged for their transfer to Olalla in a special ambulance. 

On arriving at the new clinic, Dora and Claire were moved to a private cabin though they continued to have contact with the other patients at Wilderness Heights.   From the outside, it appeared to be a palatial spa where well-off patients could enjoy the expensive treatment they were receiving.   Inside, the reality was very different.   Patients at the clinic were kept on a restricted diet of tomatoes, oranges, and asparagus juice which continued for  months.  They also had daily enemas and vigorous massages to accelerate the process.   Due to the odd stories about the type of treatment patients there received, local residents of Olalla gave the clinic the nickname of "Starvation Heights."  

Linda Hazzard and her husband had total control over all communications between the patients and the outside world, including their mail.   She also made it standard practice to persuade patients to grant her control over their assets (in order to "protect their property" while the patients were convalescing).     Both Hazzards even managed to convince patients to change their wills making the doctor their beneficiary.    

Perhaps sensing that she was on the verge of death, Claire Williamson managed to crawl off the property with a message asking for help which she gave to a local village boy.   The message was to a family nurse, Margaret Convey, who was in Australia at the time.   Delivered by telegram, the message said "Come SS Marama May 8th, first class. Claire."     Though there were no other details, Convey set sail for Vancouver, Washington and arrived on June 1.   It was Sam Hazzard who met her when the ship arrived telling her that Claire had died and that Dora was "hopelessly insane."    

Convey was immediately suspicious and those suspicions seemed confirmed when she met Linda Hazzard (who happened to be wearing one of Claire Williamson's dresses at the time).    When she insisted on seeing Dora, she found her reduced to skin and bones and pleading to be taken away from the clinic.    

What followed was a bizarre battle of wills with Linda Hazzard refusing to release Dora whom she insisted was insane.    She also claimed power of attorney over the Williamson sisters' assets and  was demanding payment for the medical bills both sisters had racked up at her clinic.   As for Claire's death,  Hazzard maintained that the death was the result of the treatment Claire had received before becoming her patient. 

Desperate to save Dora's life, Margaret Convey then turned to Claire and Dora's uncle who was living in Oregon at the time.    The uncle, John Herbert, had not been aware of Claire's death and, when he went to the Seattle funeral parlor where the body was on view, was so horrified at the condition of Claire's body that he refused to believe it was hers.     When Herbert investigated further, Hazzard showed him a letter supposedly written by Claire supposedly affirming her faith in Linda Hazzard's treatment.  The letter was typewritten and unsigned. 

While John Herbert returned to Seattle to plan his next move, Margaret Convey stayed at the clinic to tend to Dora who was growing steadily weaker.    Despite her alarming health, Dora continued to get her daily enemas and starvation diet.    In desperation, Convey managed to get herself assigned as Dora's full-time nurse and smuggled in extra food to keep her alive.  She also questioned other patients and learned that Hazzard was treating them much the same way.   As part of her investigation, Convey discovered that Dora had been forced to sign a note givinh Sam Hazzard $500 (Dora had been under the impression that the money was going to a relative).     Showing this to Dora finally convinced her that she was being cheated.   With the help of John Herbert,  Linda Hazzard  released Dora, but only after Dora was forced to pay another $500 which Hazzard claimed was still owing on the bill.

By July 22, 1911, Dora Williamson was free and the quest for justice began.   After getting help from the British consul, Dora and Margaret Convey convinced authorities to begin investigating Linda Hazzard's clinic.   First of all, they had to get an attorney to remove Linda Hazzard's name from legal papers assigning her guardianship, then they slowly built a case against the Hazzards.  Since the clinic was located in Olalla and had considerable political clout, persuading people to testify against Linda Hazzard was difficult.   Along with questions about Claire Williamson's death, the Hazzards were also suspected in the disappearance of more than $6000 worth of jewellry from the the sisters' property which had been returned by the clinic.  

When Dora Williamson's lawyer, Frank Kelly, went to the county prosecutor and laid out the case against the Hazzard clinic,  a new problem came up.   Though the prosecutor, Thomas Stevenson, grudgingly agreed to proceed with the case, he also pointed out that the county had very little money to conduct the type of case that would convict Linda Hazzard and her husband.   With the threat of an international incident hanging over his head (Claire Williamson had been a British subject), Stevenson agreed to lay charges if Dora Williamson subsidized the court costs involved.     Though the request for money seemed unbelievable, Dora finally agreed.   As Frank Kelley told the district attorney, "If she has to pay to stop her sister's murderer, so be it." 

And so the case against Linda and Sam Hazzard was finally underway.   After an arrest warrant was filed on August 4, 1911, Linda Hazzard was charged with Claire Williamson's death.    While waiting for the case to come to trial, Frank Kelley and Thomas Stevenson began investigating other suspicious deaths linked to the clinic.   Their efforts were helped along by the media storm over the allegations against Linda Hazzard, including newspapers in Seattle and Tacoma providing lurid headlines about the "starvation atrocities".    Records relating to all deaths linked to Linda Hazzard's practice were carefully examined and a suspicious pattern emerged with bank records and evidence of wire transfers showing that the Hazzards had systematically drained  the accounts of many of her patients after their deaths.   That was enough for the American Medical Association to pull Linda Hazzard's medical license and she was belatedly put out of business.

By the time the Hazzards' trial finally began, things had become even more bizarre.    The investigation into Linda Hazzard's history turned up the fact that Sam Hazzard was actually married to another woman and that he had committed bigamy by marrying Linda as well.    Patient deaths linked to Linda Hazzard dated back to 1902 when she was practicing in Minnesota although she had managed to avoid charges by moving to Washington.  

Funded by Dora Williamson, the district attorney brought in prominent medical experts who testified that Claire Williamson had died from starvation rather than from peritonitis as the defense claimed.  Not surprisingly, the defense insisted that the trial was an attempt by orthodox medicine to suppress the truth of Linda Hazzard's starvation treatment.   While some of her patients attempted to testify in her defense, they were not allowed to by the judge.   On the other hand, the list of names of patients who had died while in Linda Hazzard's care seemed like overwhelming evidence of her malpractice.   

Whatever else you could say about the trial, it was certainly memorable.   Appearing on Linda Hazzard's behalf were various patients and relatives of patients who believed strongly in her treatment despite the various deaths that had occurred.  One of them, John Ivar Haglund, testified that he believed in her special diet even though his wife, Daisy, had been one of the first to die in Hazzard's care.  In fact, his faith in Linda Hazzard was so strong that he allowed his young son Ivar to continue as her patient.    Other patients were not so supportive, however.   They testified that Linda Hazzard was frequently seen wearing clothing and jewelry belonging to dead patients.    Some even alleged that she and Sam had removed the gold crowns from the mouths of dead patients to be sold to a local jeweler. 

The most damaging evidence against Linda Hazzard was the discovery of a badly decomposed body on the grounds of her clinic.   The body was identified as a wealthy patient who had been shot in the head.    While the police suspected suicide, many of Linda Hazzard's accusers believed that he had been murdered so that she and her husband could control the patient's estate. 

Despite a spirited defense, Linda Hazzard was convicted of manslaughter on February 4, 1912 and sentenced to twenty years in prison.   As the sheriff came to take her away, she loudly protested her innocence and accused conventional medical doctors of conducting a vendetta against her.  "The high and mighty with the diplomas and letters after their names have done this!”, she said while being led away.   

But that was hardly the end of Linda Hazzard.  After serving two years in the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla, she received a full parole on December 26, 1915.    The governor granted her a full pardon a year later.   Linda and her husband then moved to New Zealand where she was able to offer her services as a health specialist.   Though not allowed to practice medicine, she still continued to write books and attract followers.   After ten years, she had earned enough money to return to the United States and open a School of Health in Olalla.    Despite her lack of medical credentials,  Hazzard still managed to attract patients agreeing to be starved for their health.    This continued until her school burned down in 1935 and was never rebuilt.    Linda Hazzard died three years later, reportedly as as a result of prolonged fasting.

As for the total death count of patients under Linda Hazzard's care, that is still a matter of debate.    While there are fourteen known victims,  some suggest that there are far more victims still buried on the Olalla property where her clinic was located.    It seems fitting that there are local legends about the ghosts of these patients being seen walking the grounds.

Probably in search of a good meal.

The Chicago Ouija Trial

While talking boards had been a common part of many households for decades due to the popularity of spiritualism, the new, and improved, "Ouija board" promised “never-failing amusement and recreation for all the classes”  when it was first introduced in the 1890s.

Basically consisting of a flat board with all the letters of the alphabet arranged in two semi-circles above the numbers 0 through 9 as well as the words, "Yes", "No", and "Goodbye" at the bottom, it also featured a teardrop-shaped wooden planchette with a transparent window.  By placing their fingers on the planchette and allowing "supernatural forces" to move it across the board, two or more Ouija enthusiasts could pose a question and watch as the planchette moved from letter to letter in answering any question about past, present, or future events.  

Though not everyone was taken in by early ads promising that the boards could answer  questions about "the past, present and future with marvelous accuracy”, the Ouija board proved to be extremely profitable to its manufactures. Not surprisingly, evangelist preachers began denouncing the boards as evil while skeptics dismissed the messages conveyed by the boards as examples of the ideomotor effect.   Despite the controversy however, the ouija board remained a big seller for the Kennard Novelty Company (and later Parker Brothers).  

 Thousands of boards were sold and amateur spiritualists spent countless hours trying to get messages    For that matter, people from all walks of life insisted on using the boards to seek advice on just about any imaginable topic (helped along by assurances from the manufacturers that such advice was "infallible").    While initially viewed as a harmless parlor game, people began paying closer attention when Illinois housewife Pearl Curran announced in 1912 that she was using her board to make contact with a spiritual entity known only as "Patience Worth."   Over the next few decades, Pearl Curran, and Patience Worth, would both become household names

While skeptics consistently denied any supernatural explanations, enough people believed in them to ensure a steady market for new boards.   It likely helped that church groups  issued frequent warnings about the Ouija boards, including the "Satanic messages" they conveyed and potential for demonic possession, something that added to the appeal for the average consumer.  

All of which brings us to a somewhat memorable case in Illinois that began with a burglary on November 15, 1919 at the home of Albert and Clara Yost in Lockport, Illinois.   The Yosts, who had been away at the time, came home to find evidence that their bungalow had been broken into and a small amount of money missing, along with their groceries (including about 25 pounds of raisins).   Though police were called, there were no real clues and the entire theft would likely have been forgotten in time.  

Except for the fact that Albert and Clara were both amateur spiritualists and had one of the new Ouija boards in their home at the time.   When having friends over for Thanksgiving that same year, the Yosts and their guests sat down for one of their regular Ouija sessions when someone had the bright idea of asking the board who committed the robbery.  Using the board, the planchette slowly spelled out the name of a neighbour, Frank Walters.  Though surprised at the answer, they then asked whether his wife, Lydia,  had been with him when he committed the theft.   When the board indicated that she had helped her husband steal from the Yosts, what had begun as a harmless pastime quickly turned into something far uglier.

At the time in question, Frank Walters and his wife were close friends with the Yost family and often spent time together with them socially.  Until that is, when Clara Walters became convinced that her friends and neighbours were thieves.   Rumours about the Walters began spreading but Lydia Walters, oblivious to it all, only became aware of what was being said about her in January, 1920 after she put her name up as candidate for a position in the local Royal Neighbors Lodge.   Not only did her supposed friend Clara Yost refuse her support, but she put her own name up as candidate for that same position.   And she won.  

Hurt by her former friend's betrayal, Lydia Walters quickly learned that everyone in Lockport had heard that she and her husband were suspected of stealing food from the Yosts.   Confronting Clara Yost, she demanded a formal retraction absolving the Walters be printed in the local paper.   After Clara refused, the feud was on and Frank and Lydia visited their attorney.   Within days, a lawsuit was filed against Albert and Clara Yost,  their guests that evening, and the Ouija board for slander.   They also claimed damages amounting to $10,000.

While the Yosts denied that they had said anything that might defame the Walters (it was the pesky Ouija board that had done that), the suit continued.   The Walters' lawyer, William McCabe (also a state representative) soon raised the stakes by demanding a jury trial given the publicity over the case.   The feud soon blew up and almost all of Lockport was split into pro-Yost and pro-Walters factions.  And that included the local lodge to which both families belonged.

Following months of legal wrangling, the case finally proceeded to trial in 1921.   Selecting a jury was more difficult than usual since every prospective juror was questioned about his or her belief in ghosts and the Ouija board.  Anyone who admitted believing in either was summarily dismissed by the plaintiff's lawyers but, eventually, the full jury was selected and the trial could finally begin.

As trials go, it only lasted long enough to hear from all the parties involved, including Clara Walters who was outspoken about the damage to her reputation.   In his final instruction to the jury, the judge pointed out that the Ouija board had no legal standing to make accusations and, as a result, could not be sued for any claims it made.   After three ballots, the jury finally concluded that, while the Ouija board had lied about Mr. and Mrs. Walters being thieves, the Yosts could not be held responsible for any slanders made by their board.    Lydia Walters told reporters that she was "shocked" at the verdict and immediately announced her intention to appeal.  

And, sure enough, she did and a new trial was granted.   In the months it took for this new trial to begin, yet another "ghostproof" jury was selected.    According to one report, a potential juror was dismissed when he said, "Sure I believe in ghosts.  I haven't seen any for a long time but my niece sees them regularly."    Sadly, the story seems to trail off at this point and I haven't been able to learn what happened afterward.   What became of this case, and whether the Yosts and the Walters ever settled their differences remains a mystery for now.   If anyone knows more details, I would greatly appreciate hearing more.

Not that this represents the only example of Ouija boards making trouble, in and out of the courtroom.  There was a far more horrific case during the 1930s involving a 15-year-old girl brutally murdering her father, apparently while following instructions relayed by the Ouija board she and her mother frequently used.  Both women were eventually convicted for their respective roles in the murder and the case had the dubious distinction of making legal history as the first time a Ouija board was involved in a criminal trial.   

Even today, ouija boards seem to have a permanent place in popular culture including numerous  horror movies, literary works of varying quality (allegedly dictated by spirits), denunciations by fundamentalists, etc.  While most users seem to to take the messages they receive "in good fun", they still seem to attach all too much significance to them.  Especially if the message confirms their own biases.   For better or worse, the venerable Ouija board has earned a permanent place in pop culture.   Where it will go in future remains to be seen.

Weeding Out The Immigrants

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

While the famous lines by Emma Lazarus inscribed on the Statue of Liberty continue to proclaim the welcome offered to immigrants coming to the United States, the reality has always been somewhat different.  

Even though potential immigrants traveling in first- or second-class often managed to enter the country with only a rudimentary assessment, passengers traveling in steerage were processed through the immigration station at New York Harbour's Ellis Island.   First opened in 1892, the inspection stations of Ellis Island acted as the central processing point for  millions of immigrants arriving from Europe and other parts of the world    Thorough medical  examinations by physicians appointed by the Public Health Service were required to check for contagious diseases or other medical problems  and immigration officials often relied on medical evidence to weed out "unsuitable" candidates. Based on an 1882 immigration law, any immigrant deemed to be "likely to become a public charge" could be blocked from entering the United States.    That included any medical deformity or condition that would make an immigrant unable to earn a living.   While many physicians objected to their medical findings being used to screen potential immigrants, immigration officials often justified their decision to exclude "unsuitable" immigrants.

In that same legislation, "imbeciles" and the "feeble-minded" were included as being unfit to enter the United States.   Not only were the feeble-minded considered to be prone to various social -problems including drug abuse and crime, but they also pose a danger to the genetic health of the nation (due to their inferior genes being passed on to future generations).   Immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were regarded as a particular concern for Americans worried about the eugenics of immigration.  

Due to widespread concerns about "feebleminded" immigrants,  having the physicians who examined immigrants test for low intelligence seemed to make good sense to the immigration officials and politicians imposing limits on who could be allowed into the country.  Except for the problem of how to test for intellectual problems, that is.  Though early intelligence scales had already been developed for use with children needing special education, providing something equivalent for immigrants, many of whom could not even speak English. was more difficult.

It was psychologist, Henry Goddard, who first  traveled to Europe in 1908 to learn how to use the new intelligence test first developed by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon.  After returning to the United States, Goddard translated and revised Binet's test for use at the training school where he worked.  He also developed an early classification system for the intellectually impaired children at his school, i.e., any children with an intelligence quotient (IQ) of less than 70.   For children with a score between 51 and 70, the term moron was used.   All children with scores btween 26 and 50 were labelled imbeciles and any child with an IQ of 25 or less was labelled an idiot.   Though these are considered offensive terms today, Goddard's classification system matched his own theories about eugenics and how low intelligence should be dealt with. 

Goddard also established his credentials as an authority on feeble-mindedness through two well-known books highlighting  the genetic risks associated with allowing people of low intelligence to breed.   His 1912 book, The Kallikak Family, traced the genealogy of two branches of one family, one "feeble-minded" and the other normal.    Though modern reevaluation of Goddard's findings suggest that Goddard understated the role of environmental factors, his book proved to be highly influential, especially with early eugenicists such as Madison Grant and Charles B. Davenport.  

Given the concerns over allowing potentially feeble-minded immigrants into the country, it was not surprising that Henry Goddard was invited by the Commissioner of Immigration at Ellis Island to advise staff on the best way of assessing immigrant intelligence.  Though Goddard's initial impression was that concerns about feeble-minded immigrants were likely exaggerated, he conducted tests of his version of Alfred Binet's test for use with immigrants.   Comparing his own test results with what immigration doctors were reporting, Goddard concluded that his own trained staff were more accurate in detecting immigrants with low intelligence.   On that basis, he recommended that Congress allocate funds to provide Ellis Island with staff trained in measuring feeble-mindedness. 

Many of the immigration doctors themselves objected to the use of Goddard's intelligence tests to weed out low-IQ immigrants.   One of them, Howard Andrew Knox, published an article in 1913 in the Journal of the American Medical Association which pointed out how inappropriate it was to use tests developed for schoolchildren on immigrants with limited English skills.   As he pointed out:

To the uninitiated using routine tests for defectives nearly all the peasants from certain European countries appear to be of the moron type; but of course this is a fallacy. If these peasants are questioned about conditions existing in the land from which they come most of them will show average intelligence.

But Knox and his colleagues were still eugenics supporters themslves and endorsed the political call to week out the "feeble-minded".  As he stated in another article  published that same year, it was more important to identify morons than people who were insane since morons would "immediately start a line of defectives whose progeny, like the brook, will go on forever, branching off here in an imbecile and there in an epileptic, costing the country millions of dollars in court fees and incarceration expenses."     All that remained was to come up with a reliable method of identifying these mental defectives.

When Goddard's researchers visited Ellis Island in 1913 to test 165 immigrants, they still hadto decide how to interpret those results.   When Goddard finally published his findings, he stated that a disproportionately high number of immigrants were identified as mentally defective.    In talking about his findings, Goddard stated that "one can hardly escape the conviction that the intelligence of the average ‘third class’ immigrant is low, perhaps of moron grade."  He charitably suggested that this was due to the poor environments from which they had come rather than their genetics though.

But the controversy was only just beginning...

After the researchers visited Ellis Island in 1913 to test 165 immigrants, it was still up to Goddard to decide how to interpret those results.   When he finally published his findings, Goddard stated that a disproportionately high number of immigrants were identified as mentally defective.    In talking about his findings, he stated that "one can hardly escape the conviction that the intelligence of the average ‘third class’ immigrant is low, perhaps of moron grade" though he charitably suggested that this was due to the poor environments from which they had come rather than their genetics.

Despite the controversy, there was enough political support for the idea of  IQ screening for immigrants, except for the pesky problem of language.   Since the Binet scales were primarily verbal in nature, using them for immigrants with limited English was a challenge that needed to be overcome.   Even relying on interpreters proved risky as the interpreters themselves often had difficulty understanding the concepts used in testing.

Fortunately, there was already a potential solution available.  Psychologists working with hearing impaired patients and children with language deficits had developed specialized performance tests relying on nonverbal skills.   Many of these tests involved “form boards” requiring test-takers to fit geometric figures into similarly-shaped impressions in the board.   The most famous of these was developed by Edoard Seguin and it was already being used for nonverbal performance testing in children with language needs.   Other tests included jigsaw puzzles and “picture form boards” that attempted to avoid verbal testing as much as possible. 

The doctors stationed at Ellis Island  incorporated many of these non-verbal tests into the battery used with new immigrants and also developed several new tests as well.  Howard Knox developed two non-verbal tests which he described in as 1913 article.  The first of these was a “Visual Comparison Test”  using line drawings to match for size and complexity.  The second one, the "Knox Cube Imitation Test", required test-takers to tap a series of cubes in a sequence shown to them by the tester.    

In a 1914 paper, Knox wrote that he had conducted the tests on "over 4,000 suspected defectives in the last eighteen months and many more made by my associates ... all were considered sufficiently near the required standard to be allowed to pass, except 400 certified as feeble-minded and (in a few cases) as imbeciles."    Different versions were used including an "Imbecile test" for people with a  a mental age of less than six.   There was also a "Moron test"  which could only be solved by someone with a mental age less than ten.    Knox recommended that these tests be given several times to ensure that immigrants didn't pass the test by accident.

Since the number of potential immigrants identified as feeble-minded was far greater than what the doctors had detected before the intelligence testing began, this was regarded as proof for the value of psychological testing at Ellis Island.   Still, Howard Knox repeatedly stressed the difficulty involved due to the limited English skills and cultural differences.   To minimize these problems, he developed a test procedure to be used on immigrants which included a careful interview to ensure they had basic cognitive skills.   In most cases, immigrants received only a cursory examination with only those failing the interview being passed on for more in-depth testing.

Though Knox had left Ellis Island by 1916, he continued to publish in various eugenic and public health journals and played a role in expanding the definition of mental deficiency to include paupers, criminals, epileptics, and other "persons possessing stigmata and deformities."   He also argued that male immigrants should meet fitness standards at least equal to what would be demanded by the U.S. Army.    His tests, which were later produced by commercial test publishers, would become  standard use in screening immigrants.

By 1921, the U.S. government established a quota system and shifted responsibility for immmigrant screening to U.S. embassies or consulates around the world.   While Ellis Island continued to be used for immigrant detention and deportations (including thousands of "enemy aliens" being held there during World War II), the facility was finally closed in the 1950s.   It eventually reopened to visitors as a tourist site in 1976 and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened in 1990.   Visitors to the museum can still see many of Knox's intelligence tests on display, along with other reminders of the countless thousands of immigrants who passed through the system during its heyday.

So what can I say about Howard Knox?   While his intelligence tests had a significant influence on the early history of intelligence testing, his name has been largely forgotten except by psychology historians.   Many of the nonverbal test elements he developed continue to be used in different intelligence tests and he is rightly regarded as a pioneer in non-verbal intelligence testing.  Still, while some of his ideas about how language and cultural barriers can interfere with intelligence testing are valid enough, his beliefs about eugenics are hard to defend.   He was certainly not the only eugenicist of that era though but the critical role he played in how potential immigrants would be screened made him one of the most influential.

As for the human cost of Knox's work, that is harder to determine.   We will likely never know what became of  the many immigrants identified as feeble-minded by Knox and his fellow testers.   Certainly many of these same "feeble-minded" immigrants were routinely allowed into the country before intelligence testing became the norm and without the dire predictions of the eugenicists coming to pass.   That a disproportionately high number of immigrants regarded as being inferior came from non-English speaking backgrounds and cultures only helped reinforce the prevailing belief in the genetic superiority of "true" Americans.   

Along with rigid quota systems in place for potential immigrants, the eugenics movement would claim other victims as well.   Many of the same policies advocated by Knox and his fellow eugenicists would be used to implement compulsory sterilization on thousands of "inferior" men, women, and children in the United States and Canada.  It would take decades, and the horrendous example of the Holocaust in Europe, to eventually overturn the eugenics laws although many still remained in place until the 1960s or later. 

The price of these laws, including restitution payments made to the victims, would ensure that their influence would continue even today.   In an era of anti-immigration furor and calls for deadly force to be used to prevent even immigrant children from entering the country (including putting them in cages),  the xenophobia that turned Ellis Island into a proving ground for racial  politics a hundred years ago is still alive and well today.

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

While the famous lines by Emma Lazarus inscribed on the Statue of Liberty continue to proclaim the welcome offered to immigrants coming to the United States, the reality has always been somewhat different.  

Even though potential immigrants traveling in first- or second-class often managed to enter the country with only a rudimentary assessment, passengers traveling in steerage were processed through the immigration station at New York Harbour's Ellis Island.   First opened in 1892, the inspection stations of Ellis Island acted as the central processing point for  millions of immigrants arriving from Europe and other parts of the world    Thorough medical  examinations by physicians appointed by the Public Health Service were required to check for contagious diseases or other medical problems  and immigration officials often relied on medical evidence to weed out "unsuitable" candidates. Based on an 1882 immigration law, any immigrant deemed to be "likely to become a public charge" could be blocked from entering the United States.    That included any medical deformity or condition that would make an immigrant unable to earn a living.   While many physicians objected to their medical findings being used to screen potential immigrants, immigration officials often justified their decision to exclude "unsuitable" immigrants.

In that same legislation, "imbeciles" and the "feeble-minded" were included as being unfit to enter the United States.   Not only were the feeble-minded considered to be prone to various social -problems including drug abuse and crime, but they also pose a danger to the genetic health of the nation (due to their inferior genes being passed on to future generations).   Immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were regarded as a particular concern for Americans worried about the eugenics of immigration.  

Due to widespread concerns about "feebleminded" immigrants,  having the physicians who examined immigrants test for low intelligence seemed to make good sense to the immigration officials and politicians imposing limits on who could be allowed into the country.  Except for the problem of how to test for intellectual problems, that is.  Though early intelligence scales had already been developed for use with children needing special education, providing something equivalent for immigrants, many of whom could not even speak English. was more difficult.

It was psychologist, Henry Goddard, who first  traveled to Europe in 1908 to learn how to use the new intelligence test first developed by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon.  After returning to the United States, Goddard translated and revised Binet's test for use at the training school where he worked.  He also developed an early classification system for the intellectually impaired children at his school, i.e., any children with an intelligence quotient (IQ) of less than 70.   For children with a score between 51 and 70, the term moron was used.   All children with scores btween 26 and 50 were labelled imbeciles and any child with an IQ of 25 or less was labelled an idiot.   Though these are considered offensive terms today, Goddard's classification system matched his own theories about eugenics and how low intelligence should be dealt with. 

Goddard also established his credentials as an authority on feeble-mindedness through two well-known books highlighting  the genetic risks associated with allowing people of low intelligence to breed.   His 1912 book, The Kallikak Family, traced the genealogy of two branches of one family, one "feeble-minded" and the other normal.    Though modern reevaluation of Goddard's findings suggest that Goddard understated the role of environmental factors, his book proved to be highly influential, especially with early eugenicists such as Madison Grant and Charles B. Davenport.  

Given the concerns over allowing potentially feeble-minded immigrants into the country, it was not surprising that Henry Goddard was invited by the Commissioner of Immigration at Ellis Island to advise staff on the best way of assessing immigrant intelligence.  Though Goddard's initial impression was that concerns about feeble-minded immigrants were likely exaggerated, he conducted tests of his version of Alfred Binet's test for use with immigrants.   Comparing his own test results with what immigration doctors were reporting, Goddard concluded that his own trained staff were more accurate in detecting immigrants with low intelligence.   On that basis, he recommended that Congress allocate funds to provide Ellis Island with staff trained in measuring feeble-mindedness. 

Many of the immigration doctors themselves objected to the use of Goddard's intelligence tests to weed out low-IQ immigrants.   One of them, Howard Andrew Knox, published an article in 1913 in the Journal of the American Medical Association which pointed out how inappropriate it was to use tests developed for schoolchildren on immigrants with limited English skills.   As he pointed out:

To the uninitiated using routine tests for defectives nearly all the peasants from certain European countries appear to be of the moron type; but of course this is a fallacy. If these peasants are questioned about conditions existing in the land from which they come most of them will show average intelligence.

But Knox and his colleagues were still eugenics supporters themslves and endorsed the political call to week out the "feeble-minded".  As he stated in another article  published that same year, it was more important to identify morons than people who were insane since morons would "immediately start a line of defectives whose progeny, like the brook, will go on forever, branching off here in an imbecile and there in an epileptic, costing the country millions of dollars in court fees and incarceration expenses."     All that remained was to come up with a reliable method of identifying these mental defectives.

When Goddard's researchers visited Ellis Island in 1913 to test 165 immigrants, they still hadto decide how to interpret those results.   When Goddard finally published his findings, he stated that a disproportionately high number of immigrants were identified as mentally defective.    In talking about his findings, Goddard stated that "one can hardly escape the conviction that the intelligence of the average ‘third class’ immigrant is low, perhaps of moron grade."  He charitably suggested that this was due to the poor environments from which they had come rather than their genetics though.

But the controversy was only just beginning...

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

While the famous lines by Emma Lazarus inscribed on the Statue of Liberty continue to proclaim the welcome offered to immigrants coming to the United States, the reality has always been somewhat different.  

Even though potential immigrants traveling in first- or second-class often managed to enter the country with only a rudimentary assessment, passengers traveling in steerage were processed through the immigration station at New York Harbour's Ellis Island.   First opened in 1892, the inspection stations of Ellis Island acted as the central processing point for  millions of immigrants arriving from Europe and other parts of the world    Thorough medical  examinations by physicians appointed by the Public Health Service were required to check for contagious diseases or other medical problems  and immigration officials often relied on medical evidence to weed out "unsuitable" candidates. Based on an 1882 immigration law, any immigrant deemed to be "likely to become a public charge" could be blocked from entering the United States.    That included any medical deformity or condition that would make an immigrant unable to earn a living.   While many physicians objected to their medical findings being used to screen potential immigrants, immigration officials often justified their decision to exclude "unsuitable" immigrants.

In that same legislation, "imbeciles" and the "feeble-minded" were included as being unfit to enter the United States.   Not only were the feeble-minded considered to be prone to various social -problems including drug abuse and crime, but they also pose a danger to the genetic health of the nation (due to their inferior genes being passed on to future generations).   Immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were regarded as a particular concern for Americans worried about the eugenics of immigration.  

Due to widespread concerns about "feebleminded" immigrants,  having the physicians who examined immigrants test for low intelligence seemed to make good sense to the immigration officials and politicians imposing limits on who could be allowed into the country.  Except for the problem of how to test for intellectual problems, that is.  Though early intelligence scales had already been developed for use with children needing special education, providing something equivalent for immigrants, many of whom could not even speak English. was more difficult.

It was psychologist, Henry Goddard, who first  traveled to Europe in 1908 to learn how to use the new intelligence test first developed by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon.  After returning to the United States, Goddard translated and revised Binet's test for use at the training school where he worked.  He also developed an early classification system for the intellectually impaired children at his school, i.e., any children with an intelligence quotient (IQ) of less than 70.   For children with a score between 51 and 70, the term moron was used.   All children with scores btween 26 and 50 were labelled imbeciles and any child with an IQ of 25 or less was labelled an idiot.   Though these are considered offensive terms today, Goddard's classification system matched his own theories about eugenics and how low intelligence should be dealt with. 

Goddard also established his credentials as an authority on feeble-mindedness through two well-known books highlighting  the genetic risks associated with allowing people of low intelligence to breed.   His 1912 book, The Kallikak Family, traced the genealogy of two branches of one family, one "feeble-minded" and the other normal.    Though modern reevaluation of Goddard's findings suggest that Goddard understated the role of environmental factors, his book proved to be highly influential, especially with early eugenicists such as Madison Grant and Charles B. Davenport.  

Given the concerns over allowing potentially feeble-minded immigrants into the country, it was not surprising that Henry Goddard was invited by the Commissioner of Immigration at Ellis Island to advise staff on the best way of assessing immigrant intelligence.  Though Goddard's initial impression was that concerns about feeble-minded immigrants were likely exaggerated, he conducted tests of his version of Alfred Binet's test for use with immigrants.   Comparing his own test results with what immigration doctors were reporting, Goddard concluded that his own trained staff were more accurate in detecting immigrants with low intelligence.   On that basis, he recommended that Congress allocate funds to provide Ellis Island with staff trained in measuring feeble-mindedness. 

Many of the immigration doctors themselves objected to the use of Goddard's intelligence tests to weed out low-IQ immigrants.   One of them, Howard Andrew Knox, published an article in 1913 in the Journal of the American Medical Association which pointed out how inappropriate it was to use tests developed for schoolchildren on immigrants with limited English skills.   As he pointed out:

To the uninitiated using routine tests for defectives nearly all the peasants from certain European countries appear to be of the moron type; but of course this is a fallacy. If these peasants are questioned about conditions existing in the land from which they come most of them will show average intelligence.

But Knox and his colleagues were still eugenics supporters themslves and endorsed the political call to week out the "feeble-minded".  As he stated in another article  published that same year, it was more important to identify morons than people who were insane since morons would "immediately start a line of defectives whose progeny, like the brook, will go on forever, branching off here in an imbecile and there in an epileptic, costing the country millions of dollars in court fees and incarceration expenses."     All that remained was to come up with a reliable method of identifying these mental defectives.

When Goddard's researchers visited Ellis Island in 1913 to test 165 immigrants, they still hadto decide how to interpret those results.   When Goddard finally published his findings, he stated that a disproportionately high number of immigrants were identified as mentally defective.    In talking about his findings, Goddard stated that "one can hardly escape the conviction that the intelligence of the average ‘third class’ immigrant is low, perhaps of moron grade."  He charitably suggested that this was due to the poor environments from which they had come rather than their genetics though.

But the controversy was only just beginning...

A Tale of Two Books

Since 1258 when Pope Alexander IV first called for the prosecution of witches as heretics, the Church wholeheartedly accepted its role in stamping out witchcraft across Europe.

Along with the arrest and punishment of convicted heretics, the Inquisition's role in the prosecution of those suspected of witchcraft (usually women) would last for centuries.  Despite,   papal bulls and official Church pronouncements, there continued to be active dissent over how witches could be properly identified. It was only in the 15th century, when Heinrich Kramer first wrote what would later be known as the Malleus Maleficarum (the Witches' Hammer), that a true handbook for witch hunters became available. Kramer had been an active witch hunter in Austria whose anti-witch activities had been actively suppressed by the local bishop. Along with his colleague James Spenger, Kramer later arranged for a papal bull in 1484 to support their writings and their own witch-hunting efforts.

Many theologians actually opposed the Malleus at first since they viewed Kramer's methods as being unethical and illegal. Although Kramer was denounced by the Inquisition in 1490, his public lectures and widespread popularity of his handbook led to its formal acceptance. We can probably thank Johannes Gutenberg for the popularity of the Malleus since the invention of movable type made the book widely available across Europe. Between 1487 and 1520 alone, it was reprinted thirteen times and the anti-witch persecutions began in earnest.

The Witches' Hammer is divided into three sections: the first section addresses the "mistaken" belief that witchcraft didn't exist. Kramer and Spenger were emphatic in linking witchcraft to sexuality (primarily female sexuality). Since women were more "concerned with things of the flesh than men" and "all witchcraft comes from carnal lust", women were seen as especially susceptible to the Devil's temptations. The second section deals with the powers that witches possess and how they recruit others to join them in their forbidden practices. Witches gained their power by signing their souls to Satan and their actions automatically made them blasphemers who betrayed God. The final section deals with the procedures to be following in "proving" witches and their punishment. Kramer and Spenger laid out a careful description of methods of questioning suspected witches (including different forms of torture), gathering evidence against witches, and the formal charges to be used.

The book provides a thorough guide to the psychological intimidation tactics used against accused witches. Not only did the book recommend telling witches about the tortures they would face if they didn't confess freely, but also promising worse tortures as the questioning continued. As Kramer and Spenger wrote, "And, while he is being tortured, he [the witch]- must be questioned on the articles of accusation, and this frequently and persistently, beginning with the lighter charges-for he will more readily confess the lighter than the heavier. And, while this is being done, the notary must write down everything in his record of the trial--how the prisoner is tortured, on what points he is questioned, and how he answers." Any evidence obtained through torture was perfectly valid and judges were also permitted to lie to the accused by promising them leniency if they confessed. The authors also instructed jailers to stay with the accused witch at all times, otherwise "she will be visited by the Devil and tempted into suicide."

And now we come to the other book...

Reginald Scot was no Heinrich Kramer. Born in 1538, there is very little known about his life except that he came from an old English family and enjoyed caring for his  beloved hop gardens (he also wrote a book on hop farming). While he seemed like an unlikely rebel against the witch mania that gripped Europe, Scot was moved to act after seeing fourteen women in a nearby village being tried for witchcraft in 1582. After researching how evidence was gathered and used against accused witches, Scot eventually published his findings in 1584 as The Discoverie of Witchcraft. Due to the book's controversial nature, Scot was forced to publish it himself.In his book, Scot argued against the existence of witches and and denounced the prosecution of suspected witches as irrational and "contrary to Christian doctrine".  He also raised the novel suggestion that anyone claiming to be a witch was actually deluded and needed to be "guided in their religious faith" rather than executed.

Scot railed against the Malleus Maleficarum and "witch-hunters" in general, stating that "because it may appear unto the world what treacherous and faithless dealings, what extreme and intolerable tyranny, what gross and foolish absurdities, what unnatural and uncivil discourtesy, what cankered and spiteful malice, what outrageous and barbarous cruelty… what abominable and devilish inventions, and what flat and plain knavery is practiced against these old women, I will set down the whole order of the Inquisition, to the everlasting, inexcusable, and apparent shame of all witch-mongers”. What made Discoverie even more remarkable was that Scot also denounced various popular superstitions including astrology, divination, charms, and witches' sabbats.He even provided a description of "harmless" conjuring tricks that were often linked with witchcraft. Not only did this make his book one of the first true classics of skepticism, but Scot is also credited with one of the earliest known treatises on stage magic.

It should hardly be surprising that the leading theologians and demonologists of Scot's time denounced his book.  Unfortunately, Scot's greatest critic was King James VI of Scotland (later King James I of England). A Protestant convert who took witchcraft very seriously, the King's reign in Scotland was marked by some of the worst witch hunts in British history (James had personally authorized the use of torture and burnings in dealing with witches). His Royal Displeasure with Reginald Scot's book was all too apparent and, when he became King of England in 1603, James ordered all copies to be burned. It was just as well that Reginald Scot died in 1599 since he likely would have been prosecuted for his beliefs. Only a few copies survived King James' purge although the Discoverie would be heavily plagiarized in later centuries.

With critics like Scot being effectively silenced, the Malleus Maleficarum would be the primary reference for witch hunters and judges alike in dealing with accused witches for more than two centuries after it was published. Between 1480 and 1700, an estimated 40,000 (some historians put the number much higher) of convicted witches and heretics (mostly women) were executed across Europe and its various colonies. While it's easy to regard the witch trials as being a thing of the past,episodes of witch hysteria continue to occur around the world. 

The witch hunters aren't out of business yet.

Exorcisms to "Cure" Homosexuality on Rise in Indonesia

Despite a well-publicized call by  President Joko Widodo of Indonesia for better police protection of all minorities, including the country's embattled LGBT population, news stories about the widespread use of exorcisms to "straighten" out people with same-sex attractions are disturbingly common.   In November and December of last year, police in the Indonesian city of Padang arrested eighteen same-sex couples and forced them to participate in exorcisms.  “We have an exorcism expert for LGBTs," said one source closely involved with the exorcism movement in Padang.  "Gay men are usually possessed by female demons. We also have a program that will allow transgenders to train in the military.”

People who have undergone these exorcisms reported being slapped, massaged, and "bathed in  holy salt water."    In a recent story by Vice Magazine, a source identified only as "Syifa" reported that her parents had taken her to an Islamic exorcism centre due to their refusal to accept her being with another woman.   Syifa described her personal experience of the half-hour exorcism as being "hilarious" saying  “It was just so dumb to me, but I tried to appreciate what they were trying to do for me.”   While her own experience seemed relatively benign, Syifa said she heard screams and people being whipped in other rooms. “I was lucky they didn’t do anything like that to me,” she said.    Despite the efforts of her parents and the exorcists, she is currently in a committed relationship with another woman.

Long considered a taboo subject in Indonesia, public discussions of same-sex attraction or any other form of "unconventional" sexual behaviour  continues to be condemned by the country's religious leaders.   A 2017 survey conducted by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) revealed that 87.6 percent of a sample of 1,220 Indonesians perceived members of the LGBTQ community as a "significant threat" and verbal harassment remains common.  While not technically illegal under Indonesian law, police routinely harass sexual minorities, including transsexuals and cross-dressers, under vaguely-worded "public indecency" laws.   At the local level, provincial laws are often used to fine or imprison homosexuals and cross-dressers.   In parts of the country where sharia laws are closely filed, including the state of Aceh, anyone caught having gay sex can be sentenced to receiving 100 lashes.

As for the rising use of exorcisms, Yuli Rustinawati, current head of Arus Pelangi (one of Indonesia’s few LGBTQ non-governmental organisations), warns that the normalisation of such conversion therapy can have dire consequences.  “The moral doctrine used against the LGBTQ community leads to unbelievable violence towards them. Then the police join in and force them to undergo exorcisms,” Rustinawati told BBC Indonesia.    Some members of the LGBTQ community even request exorcisms themselves in the hope of "curing" their same-sex feelings with no real success.

While most Indonesians are becoming more aware of gay issues due to foreign news agencies, movies, and television shows from other countries, this increased awareness shows no sign of improving hardline attitudes.   For now,  members of sexual minorities continue to be viewed as "misfits" who have no place in traditional society.   Only time will tell whether this will change in future.

The Case of the Counterfeit Princess

While identity theft is often regarded as a modern-day crime, history is filled with famous and not-so famous cases of confidence artists posing as members of royalty or other famous figures, usually as a way of bilking the public.  

And so it was with Sarah Wilson, a.k.a. "Princess Matilda".   While little is known about her early life aside from probably being born in London, she began working as a maid during her early teens and, according to different reports, had made a career out of "travelling through almost all parts of the Kingdom, assuming various titles and characters, at different times and places: she has presented herself to be of high birth and distinction, as well foreign and English, and accordingly stiling herself a Princess of Mecklenburgh, Countess of Normandy, Lady Countess Wilbrahammon, &c. &c."   Though she briefly married a man named Thomas Boxall, this marriage later proved to be invalid (and possibly part of another swindling scheme).    Despite the draconian punishments often faced by convicts during the late 18th century, Sarah was usually able to talk her way out of trouble. 

That is, until August, 1770, and the crime that would eventually lead to her being transported to the American Colonies.   It was then that she managed to find her way into Buckingham Palace and the very private apartments of Queen Charlotte.   While she was likely hoping that the apartments would be unoccupied, she accidentally wandered into a social visit between the Queen and her guest, the Duchess of Ancester.   Both women were startled to see an unknown woman enter the apartments uninvited though  Sarah  seemed perfectly at ease at being caught out by the Queen herself.    When the Duchess rang for a page  remove the strange woman from the palace, it didn't seem to be a particularly important infraction.   Until, that is, when someone later broke into the same apartments and stole many of the Queen's jewels as well as a costly miniature portrait of the Queen.    

As the most obvious suspect, Sarah was quickly caught and arrested.   During her trial in  she was sentenced to death (theft was a capital offense at the time).  Fortunately, due to the influence of one of Sarah's former employers, she was instead sentenced to be transported to America to spend seven years as an indentured servant.    While indentured servitude was common in British North America with many Europeans signing indentures to pay for their passage, many convicted criminals were often sent into servitude as an alternative to hanging.   

In Sarah's case, she was sent out in 1771 on a ship that arrived in Maryland.  On her arrival, she was put on display with the other indentures and promptly purchased by a Maryland farmer, William Duvall.   Under the terms of her indenture, Sarah was expected to work as a maid for seven years before finally receiving her freedom.   Though life as an indentured servant was hardly pleasant, there is nothing to indicate that Sarah was abused or mistreated.  But she had other plans...

Not long after being sold to Duvall, Sarah soon found an opportunity to escape.   After leaving Maryland, she travelled across Virginia and North Carolina before arriving in South Carolina.  After deciding that she was safe from arrest, Sarah assumed the name and title of Princess Susanna Matilda Caroline, sister to Queen Charlotte.   She bolstered her claim by displaying the jewels, clothing, and miniature portrait of the Queen that she had stolen and somehow brought with her from England. 

But the grand impersonation scheme actually worked.   According to one news story, she "travelled from one gentleman’s house to another … and made astonishing impressions in many places, affecting the mode of royalty so inimitably, that many had the honour to kiss her hand; to some she promised governments, to others regiments, with promotions of all kinds, in the Treasury, Army and in the Royal Navy … [and]… levied heavy contributions upon some persons of the highest rank in the Southern colonies."   For many of the colonists she managed to charm, the prospect of entertaining royalty and earning royal favours likely seemed irresistible.

And there was a lot of royal favours being handed out by the intrepid escapee.   To various women, she promised a place in her retinue or in the Queen's court.   As for the men, she handed out royal appointments to assorted government ministries (including the Royal Treasury) as well as military ranks.  Many of her new friends entertained her lavishly, as well as advancing her large sums of money to cover her operating expenses.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and, in Sarah Wilson's case, the end came when news of "Princess Susanna" spread northward and reached her one-time master, William Duvall.  Realizing that the descriptions of the Princess matched his runaway bondwoman, Duvall set out to reclaim his property.   Following accepted procedure, he posted the following advertisement in a local newspaper:

"Ran away from the subscriber, a Convict servant named SARAH WILSON, but has changed her name to Lady Susanna Caroline Matilda, which made the public believe she was Her Majesty's sister.  She ha a blemish in her right eye, black roll'd hair, stoops in the shoulder, and makes a common practice of marking her clothes with a crown and B.  Whoever secures the said servant and takes her home. shall receive five pistoles, besides all costs of charges.   Wm. Duvall.   

I entitle Michael Dalton to search the city of Philadelphia, and from there to Charleston, for the said woman." 

Even in a pre-Internet era, Sarah Wilson knew that her time as a bogus princess was almost up.   With Dalton on her trail, she soon fled from her base of operations in Charleston.    Despite Dalton's pursuit,  she still managed to find people credulous enough to lend her money and put her up for a day or two as she continued to avoid arrest.  There also seems to be some mystery over what happened to Sarah at this point.  Though there is no way to determine whether Dalton managed to find her.  there's no record of her being listed as an escaped fugitive afterwards.  The most likely explanation was that she managed to pay off her former master, either directly or through Dalton and earned her freedom at this point, possibly using money she received during her time in the southern colonies.   Unlike African slaves, this was often an option for indentured servants providing they could raise the needed funds.  

Whatever the circumstances, William Duvall and Michael Dalton soon dropped out of the picture and Sarah was free to travel to New York where she would stay until November, 1773.  It probably said a lot about public interest in her case that newspapers followed her movements as she moved from town to town.   In one newspaper account published in November, 1773, she was described as "the lady who has passed through several of the southern colonies under the name and character of CAROLINA MATILDA, Marchioness de WALDEGRAVE, &c." following her arrival in Newport on her way towards Boston.

Despite having defrauded countless people, there doesn't seem to be any record of Sarah facing any charges for her impersonation of royalty.  It probably helped that the rising tensions between Great Britain around this time ensured that British officials  had more important concerns than one wayward servant.    While news of Sarah's activities eventually leaked back to England, there doesn't appear to been any real reaction (aside from the Queen who was reportedly amused by it all).    As far as they were concerned, Sarah Wilson wasn't their problem as long as she remained overseas.  

While in Boston, Sarah continued her masquerade though more than a few people must have suspected the truth.   A Boston newspaper,  the Massachusetts Spy, wrote of her that "Tuesday last the Princess Carolina Matilda, alias, the Princess of Cronenburgh, alias, the Marchioness de Waldegrave, who has travelled incog. through all the Southern Provinces, and has resided in this metropolis for about a month past, sat [sic] out for Portsmouth, New-Hampshire. She is certainly the most surprising genius of the female sex that was ever obliged to visit America." 

With the outbreak of formal hostilities, newspapers were suddenly running more important stories and Sarah pretty much faded into obscurity.  Considering that the American colonies were breaking away from British rule, people were no longer interested in her promises of royal patronage.   After eventually settling in Berwick, Maine, she died in 1780 (cause of death unknown).    An obituary published in February of that year read: 

"Departed this life on Wednesday morning last, at the house of Mr John Costelloe (of this town) a strange lady, who called herself the Dutchess of Cronenburg: But is supposed to be one Sarah Wilson, a convict, who about nine years past travelled through the State of South-Carolina, imposing upon the public, under the name of Lady Carolina Matilda, and called herself own sister to the Queen of Great-Britain. The generosity of Mr Costelloe in taking in this distressed person, after she was forsaken by every one, is really worthy of being noticed: As also the tender treatment she received from Mr Costelloe’s Lady; who notwithstanding her being convinced, in her own mind, of her being an imposter, with an easy grace peculiar to herself addressed her by the title she assumed; and during her sickness gave her that attendance a lady of that character might have expected. And although Mr Costelloe was not at home at the time, the most decent preparations were made for her funeral; which was this day attended with the greatest solemnity, where Mrs Costelloe appeared as chief mourner."

No record remains of where Sarah Wilson was buried or how old she was at the time of her death.   Still, the notoriety surrounding her career as a royal impostor helped guarantee a certain fascination over how convincing she could be.  Not only did her years as a maid in high society give her access to all sorts of gossip and inside information about the aristocrats, but she was also a superb actress who could mimic accents and mannerisms perfectly.   Even after being unmasked as an impostor, she continued to be welcomed because notoriety had made her a celebrity of sorts.   Despite her habit of turning up uninvited, she never failed to win people over with her stories.   

Whether it was all an act for Sarah or whether she made herself believe that she was a princess on the run, Sarah Wilson never failed to make an impression.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going Berserk

They were probably the most fearsome shock troops Europe had ever known.

From the late eighth to the early eleventh century, most Europeans lived in fear of the Vikings who could strike at any point along Europe's coastlines in their warships. Although the Viking reputation for fierceness was legendary, the most terrifying of them all were the berserkers.

The actual origin of the word is open to dispute and may have referred to the hair shirts that the berserkers wore into battle (the term literally means "bear fur shirt"). They were a very special breed of warriors who became gripped with "berserker rage" and often plunged into battle without fear or armour. Known as bärsärkar-gångbb ("berserker-path"), the fit of madness that descended on berserkers caused them to be capable of almost superhuman strength and endurance. In addition to using swords, berserkers were also famed for ripping into their opponents with their teeth and fingernails. Their custom of wearing wolf or bearskins fed into many of the superstitions of the time and gave them the reputation of being werewolves or warriors possessed by an animal's spirit. Some authorities suggested that berserkers were part of a cult dedicated to the god Odin (they were commonly known as the "chosen ones of Odin") and added to their fierce image by dying their bodies, drinking wolf or bear blood, and wearing animal masks.

Descriptions of bärsärkar-gång tend to be unreliable since there were so few eyewitness accounts. According to one fascinating article on bärsärkar-gång, "This fury, which was called berserkergang, occurred not only in the heat of battle, but also during laborious work. Men who were thus seized performed things which otherwise seemed impossible for human power. This condition is said to have begun with shivering, chattering of the teeth, and chill in the body, and then the face swelled and changed its color. With this was connected a great hot-headedness, which at last gave over into a great rage, under which they howled as wild animals, bit the edge of their shields, and cut down everything they met without discriminating between friend or foe. When this condition ceased, a great dulling of the mind and feebleness followed, which could last for one or several days".   Suffice it to say, berserkers were not fun to be around.

Berserker war bands seemed unstoppable and became the basis of numerous sagas and legends (which is why"going berserk" is still part of our language). Just about every Viking king had his own group of berserker bodyguards and used berserker gangs to expand territory. Berserker rage was hardly limited to the battlefield however. Vikings who were susceptible to barärsärkar-gång often became uncontrollable in any situations that caused them to lose their tempers. Viking warriors who committed murder or rape while affected by berserker rage were executed or exiled. By the eleventh century, even Viking societies had enough of their special warriors and the berserkers were banned from Iceland and Norway. Organized berserker bands were eventually outlawed and barärsärkar-gång became virtually unknown by 1200.;

Later sagas and legends often tended to portray berserkers as being superhuman and, at times, even supernatural. Descriptions of their ferocious nature were likely exaggerations (there were no real berserkers at the time for comparison). One 13th century saga described a berserker named Otrygg who "feared neither fire nor sword" but who was killed after a Christian warrior struck him with a crucifix before cutting off his arm with a sword. The Ynglinga Saga told of berserkers who "went into battle without armor, like mad dogs or wolves, biting their shields, strong like bears or bulls, mowing down everything in their path, immune to fire and iron". Propaganda or not, it certainly made a good story.

There have been different theories relating to bärsärkar-gång and what triggered the incredible berserker rage. The most commonly accepted theory relates to the use of the fly agaric mushroom (amanita muscaria). According to one source, the mushrooms would be fed to sacred reindeer. After the reindeer metabolized the mushrooms, the urine became a powerful natural amphetamine which the berserkers would drink just before going into battle (don't try this at home kids). Modern researchers examining amanita muscaria poisoning have reported episodes of irrational violence, profuse sweating, disorientation, vertigo, and a subsequent "crash" very similar to accounts of berserker range. Other psychoactive substances that have been suggested include bog myrtle, bufotenin, or just plain alcohol. Although explanations such as epilepsy, hysteria, or genetic predisposition to violence have also been suggested, the lack of any modern berserkers for comparison makes the question academic.

It's tempting to suggest that bärsärkar-gång may have been a culture-specific psychosis similar to amok syndrome but, again, we'll never know for sure. While there is a recognized psychiatric condition known as episodic dyscontrol syndrome characterized by episodes of impulsive violence and irrational behaviour, there's no way to link it to bärsärkar-gång. It's ironic that countries populated by descendants of the same berserkers who once raged across Europe now have some of the lowest rates of violence in the world.

Whether their ancestors would approve or not is another story.