In the summer of 1875, Sir Cecil Edward Denny, an inspector with the North-West Mounted Police, encountered what modern paranormal enthusiasts might label a “time-slip,” an event so out of the ordinary that it left him puzzled and without explanation. This phenomenon, as described in his 1905 memoir, occurred near the Oldman River in Alberta, Canada, where Denny witnessed an entire Indian camp vanish after a sudden storm. Here’s an exploration into why Denny found this event incomprehensible and what we understand about time-slips today. Cecil Edward Denny, 1850-1928, was born in Hampshire, England. In 1874 he came to Canada and enlisted in the recently-created North-West Mounted Police. He made the historic trek west. He rose to the rank of Inspector in the force, and was a signatory of Treaty 7 in 1877. In 1884 he resigned from the Mounted Police, and became an official of the federal Indian Department. During the 1885 Riel Rebellion (North West Rebellion) the Department placed him in charge of western native peoples. In 1905, Denny published memoirs titled “The Riders of the Plains: A Reminiscence of the Early and Exciting Days in the North West.” In chapter titled “A Strange Adventure,” Denny describes an experience he had in the summer of 1875 that we today would call a “time-slip.” He was traveling along the Oldman River near Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, to the foothills of nearby mountains in order to do some fishing and deer hunting. Young Sir Cecil Edward Denny A Strange Adventure While camped about noon the weather began to look threatening, heavy banks of clouds gathering in the north, and now and then the growl of thunder in the distance could be heard. As I was not more than half way, I started again on my downward journey as soon as possible, but the farther I went the darker it grew, and I soon saw that I was in for a heavy storm, which, to say the least, was by no means pleasant. The thunderstorms along the mountains, although seldom of long duration, were often very severe while they lasted, and by the look of things, I was in for one of the worst. I however made my way steadily down the river, and after a while the storm came down with a vengeance. There was a heavy wind, with hail, rain, and perpetual lightning, followed by deafening peals of thunder, seemingly right overhead. I found it difficult with such a light boat to make any progress, as the heavy wind would drive me from one shore to the other, and the river was lashed into quite heavy waves, so that, although the boat could not sink, I was sitting in water up to my waist, and sometimes sheets of water would be blown right over me. As it was getting quite dark, although not more than four o’clock in the afternoon, I found it impossible to make my way, and I determined to land and wait until the storm was over. In rounding a bend in the river I saw on the south ban a good clump of timber, and determined to take shelter in it. I made for that shore, and as I approached the fury of the storm for a moment lulled, and in the stillness I could plainly hear the drums beating in an Indian camp, and the sound of the Indian “Hi-ya” mingling with it. The sounds came from beyond the clump of trees, and I congratulated myself upon meeting with an Indian camp where I could take shelter from such a storm. I concluded that this was the camp I had been told had gone up the river. I therefore landed and drew up the boat into the brush, tying it securely, and, taking my gun, made as quickly as possible through the wood towards the point from which the sounds could now be plainly heard. The storm had now come down worse than ever, and the lightning was almost blinding. I made my way through the timber as fast as possible, it not being any too safe in such close proximity to the trees, and coming out into an open glade of quite an extent, I saw before me the Indian camp not more than two hundred yards away. I could see men and women, and even children, moving about among the lodges, and what struck me as strange was the fact that the fires in the centre of many of the tents shone through the entrances, which were open. This surprised me, as you do not often find the Indians moving about in the wet if they can help it. They generally keep their lodges well closed during a thunder storm, of which they are very much afraid. They look upon thunder as being the noise made by one of their deities called the “Old Man,” while throwing great boulders from the mountains. There were, I should consider, about twenty lodges in the camp, and a band of horses could be seen grazing not far off on the other side of the camp. I stood for a few seconds watching and considering which lodge to make for, and had taken a few steps towards the one nearest me, when I seemed to be surrounded by a blaze of lightning, and at the same time a crash of thunder followed that fairly stunned me for nearly a minute, and sent me on my back. A large tree not far off was struck. Piegan Indian camp in Montana, 1893 (Associative photo). I could hear the rending of the wood, and it was afterwards found nearly riven in half. Some of the electric fluid had partly stunned and thrown me down. I was fortunate to have escaped with my life, and, as it was, it was a few minutes before I was able to rise and look around. I looked towards the place where the camp stood, but to my unutterable astonishment as well as terror, it was not there. It was quite light, although still storming heavily, and was not much after four o’clock. A few minutes before not only a large Indian camp had stood there, and the voices of the Indians could be distinctly heard, but now all had suddenly disappeared, even to the band of horses that were quietly grazing there only a few minutes before. I stood for a moment almost dumb with astonishment, seeing and hearing nothing, when suddenly an overwhelming sense of terror seemed to seize me, and almost without knowing what I did, I ran towards the bank overlooking the river, which was about a quarter of a mile away, dropping my gun as I ran. I did not stop until I reached the top of the bank, and there I had to rest for want of breath. Here I managed to gather my wits together, and to think of what had taken place. The open place where the camp had stood was in plain sight from where I was, with the clump of trees behind towards the river, but it was empty, and not a tent or human being in sight. There was nothing but the trees tossed by the storm and the driving rain, and now and then a flash of lightning. I could even then hardly believe my eyes, but there was no doubt about it, and I did not remain long in sight of that spot, and being afraid to go down to my boat, I determined to walk down the river bank to the fort, which must have been a good fifteen miles away. It was one of the hardest journeys I ever undertook. What with the shock from being thrown down, and then the most astonishing and inexplicable disappearance of the camp, and also being soaked to the skin, I was in a most uncomfortable condition. The storm continued until night, when it cleared up, and I made my way into the fort at about midnight, completely fagged out, turning into bed at once, with no explanation to anyone. In the morning I told my story at breakfast to my three brother officers. I was not much the worse for my experience of the previous day, but the more I thought over the matter, the more bewildered and astonished I became. As I expected, I was only laughed at by my companion, who called it imagination. But this I am firmly convinced it was not. I was not unduly excited when I first heard the Indian drums. I did not expect to find a camp there, but when I emerged from the wood and saw the camp before me, everything seemed perfectly natural, and in no way out of the ordinary. But the sudden and complete vanishing of the camp I could in no wise explain. I however determined to again proceed to the spot that morning, and bring down my boat and gun. I therefore took an Indian and our Blackfoot interpreter with me. We found the place without trouble, but it was vacant, and look as we could no sign of any recent camp was to be seen. A few rings of stone partly overgrown with grass showed where an old camp had been many years ago, and on questioning the Indian, he stated that the Blackfeet had surprised and slaughtered a camp of Cree Indians at that place many years ago, and in fact we came across two bleached skulls lying in the grass. The Indian did not seem to have any superstitions regarding that place. We found where a tree had been struck by lightning, and the boat and gun we brought away. I have, until now, but seldom mentioned this circumstance, but I am to-day as firmly convinced as ever that the Indian camp, together with the men, women, and the horses, was most certainly there, and that I suffered under no hallucination whatever, but account for it I cannot, and look upon it as one of those inexplicable riddles which cannot be solved. “Time slips” are paranormal episodes during which someone—or a group of people—somehow experience traveling through time without knowing how or why it occurred. Understanding Time-Slips A time-slip, as understood today, is a paranormal phenomenon where an individual or group of individuals seem to travel through time, experiencing another era for a brief period. These events are often spontaneous and leave those who experience them with a sense of disorientation. Theories attempting to explain time-slips include: Some suggest these could be hallucinations or vivid memories triggered by certain locations or emotional states. From a more speculative scientific angle, quantum mechanics offers a playground for time anomalies. The idea of multiple universes or the concept that time might not be linear but more like a “lake” where different times coexist could theoretically allow for such slips. There might be unique environmental conditions, like electromagnetic anomalies, that could distort one’s perception of time or even physically alter time’s flow locally. From a modern scientific standpoint, Denny’s vision could be analyzed through several lenses. He might have experienced a transient neurological event, where his perception of time was altered due to stress, fatigue, or an unknown environmental factor like electromagnetic fields which are known to affect human perception. The storm he described could be linked to unique atmospheric conditions that might create illusions or affect cognitive functions temporarily. Although highly speculative, if we entertain the idea of quantum mechanics or string theory, perhaps there was a natural, albeit extremely rare, occurrence where different times intersected due to some quantum event triggered by the storm. Given the isolation and the harsh conditions of his work, a psychological explanation might involve a dissociative episode where Denny’s mind briefly detached from his current reality, interpreting his surroundings through a historical or cultural lens familiar to him. The Incomprehensibility of Time-Slips in Denny’s Era During Denny’s time, the understanding of time was predominantly linear, influenced heavily by Newtonian physics, where time was an unchangeable and consistent progression. Concepts like relativity, quantum mechanics, or any notion that time could be non-linear or that different times could intersect were not part of the scientific discourse. Einstein’s theory of relativity, which introduced the idea that time could be experienced differently depending on one’s speed and gravitational field, was still decades away from being formulated. Thus, an experience where time seemed to fold upon itself, allowing glimpses into another era, would have been beyond the scientific or even popular imagination of the late 19th century. Denny, therefore, lacked any conceptual framework to interpret his experience as anything but an inexplicable mystery. The post Sir Cecil Edward Denny and His Story of a Possible Time-slip Incident appeared first on Anomalien.com.