“Men with Queer Nerves”: The Jumping Frenchmen of Maine

Home Essays Collections Explore Sources Shop Support PDR About Blog Search Search The Public Domain Review Essays “Men with Queer Nerves” The Jumping Frenchmen of Maine By Ross Bullen In the late nineteenth century, visitors to Maine observed something strange: French-Canadian lumberjacks who, at the slightest stimulus, seemed to jump, strike out with their limbs, or mimic languages they could not speak. Ross Bullen introduces us to these so-called “Jumping Frenchmen” and to their greatest investigator, George M. Beard, who saw a link in their behavior between religious frenzy and neur

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