Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1854-01-06
HOW A NAN FEELS WHEN HE'S
FR0ZE TO DEATH.

for Trenton at 4 o'clock next morning |
was midnight Of cold bitter night in De
cember. The ferry boats had all cease
their trips. The ice was running rapid y
l must cross, or wait till daylight, ant
I could not think of that: {: so l hirei ;
boatmau, with heavy bribe, and prem
isc Of more if We crossed successfully within
IN hour, and we left the shore. 1t wa:
very dark and clustering. The tide was
not As furious iu the river as now, for the
piers we're theu fewer, and not extended
into the channel; but the Northwest wihd
added heavy sea to the danger Of the
night, and taking all things together, the
prospect was poor. But ( had been in
rough seas and running ice before, and
taking an oar l pulled 4 stroke that evil
IDENTIFY surprised my boatman, and added
to his hopes Of a successful voyage. 1t
was one o'clock when We lcf: the shore.
At half past three We were under the lea
of Governors island, coming up the butter
milk Channel on the return Of the floc1.
At four o'clock We were making the shore
near the old Brooklyn distillery, when a
cake of ice came ir on the sea, and clos I'd
around our egg shell Of boat, and it
cracked, aud crushed, precisely as ) GU I'VE
crushed an almond in nut cracker. Un-
fortunately, there was no one to pick the
valuable contents out of the broken shell
and if we had not beeu remarkably quick,
and the ice remarkably strong, l am not
altogether certain that l should have been
here to-day. On the the contrary, think
might have gone out to sea on the next
ebb tide, under water instead of above il,
on cake of ice, as now seemed probabls.
By this time Was cold, as you may ina
gine. Rowing was out Of the question, an
had been forced TO beat my hands until
they were sore, in vain efforts to keep up
some sort Of warmth in my numb fingers
And now, on this cake of ice must keep
still, motionless, or should go through
So sat down, holding the oar which had
never left my grasp, and looked about for
my boatman. He was missing A shout {
brought back reply. The ice had parted,
and We had parted company, and We did /
not meet again till some weeks afterward.
We had no time or inclination to exchange |
parting salutation or good wishes In truth
l had no good wishes for him. I reserved /
them all for myself l was thinking Of
no one else, and his fate formed 10 part Of !
my apprehensions. Let me tell you that
freezing to death is painful affair, after
all. 1t has none OF the delicious sleepy
Quiet .s0ut 1t that some persons imagine.
1t is no lotus-eating death passing away
into dreamy listlessness and then into pro-
found slumber. 1t is worse than night
mare, thousand fold 1t is the struggle
of prisoner in an iron cell, fierce furious
str1ggle, mad struggle, terrible struggle
l felt the grasp Of death, cold, Tightening,
chilling, deadening on wrist and ankle, on
neck and wais t, on brain and heart. s..
motionless, and fought as no man ever
dreamed of battling except in just such
case hut of wha. avail is j. to resist when
the weight Of world is pressing you
steadily down? 1t was just that feeling.
l saw star over me, and i: seemed to come
down to me, and to grow larger and larger,
and the silver point became ball, globe,
3 sphere, world, hiding everything else;
and all / could sec was, that one great
CLEAN of light silvering my eyebalss
over, and ten thousand sharp pains aar'ei
through every Part Of me, and l fancied
shrieked aloud, lonesome cry that might
startle the gulls in The ha.bor from their
rest on the floating ice, and a momentary,
flashing thought Of the startled seabir
rising on his white wings was in my mind,
and then bIackness of indcscribable agony
ending in insensibili.y took possession Of
me. was frozen to death.
Ny next sensations were the thrilling
pains of recovery, sharp, shooting piercing,
stabbing, twisting, il fact every sort Of
pain conceivable. was surprised to fin
myself alive. This was my first ineligible
thought, for believe l had known that
was frozen /; and having deliberately given
up after struggle, was rather astonishel
at finding myself likely to thaw out after
all But had fallen into good hands.
nal gone ashore below Red Hool, and been
J'c'.-l up BY some scamps who cleaned out
n.y p,csets, aud took my coat and the chief
par: Of my clothing, for certainly did no.
seen to need any of ii. But better sae-
eimeu of humanity followed them and TOOK
me to his house, where Dr. Davidson, who
then lived in the neishborhood, found me
aud resusc;ated me. His attention was
unwearying, and believe be saved my
life dozen times that day. shall a.
ways remember that fearful night. a,n
now past the meridian Of life Thea was
young and full of hope-Corrcspondence
ofde Journal Of Commerce.
DRowNED-Two Irishmen we're drown
i "A