Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1858-12-02
From The Neu Orleans Delta, Noc It'll
Terrible Accident and Wonderful
Escape.


An affair occurred last evening at Odd Eel
lows Hall, which was more horrible than
many a casualty attended with much greater
loss of life; aud more thrilling than any acct
dent of the kind we have ever heard OF for
som time. The victim was a young painter
named James Naylon, and his comrade, whose
escape from assimilar fate was truly wonder
full, was also a painter, named Dick Steele. =
Naylon fell from within a few feet Of the top
Of Odd Fellows Hall, on the stone pavement
beneath, a distance Of some eighty or ninety
feet. The right side of his head touched the
ground first, and Of course the conclusion was
instantaneously fatal. The skull was errihly
fractured, the jawbone and vertebre of the
neck broken, and the thigh bone forced from
the socket. The men were engaged at the
time in painting the cornice of the upper win
dow, and were sitting on one of those small
scaffoldings used by painters in carrying on
their business in front of buildings.
The platform or scaffolding is formed by a
short ladder board laid on it to sit upon
held in a horizontal position and suspended
from above by means of ropes, we believe.
running through pulIies, thus allowing the
painter to raise or lower the scaffolding to suit
ho SOnFCuicuCcs Lu6 lOpCo Il AuooOhCO "
the scaffolding by hooks attached to either
end of the ropes, the end of the tongue of the
hook being bound by cording to the main part
of it, SO that each hook when thus secured
could not slip from the ring it clasped, and by
which it held the platform. 1t would appear
that this cord fastening became loose or defec
tive in some way, and that in moving, the
hook got unclasped, and as a consequence tho
end at which Naylon was sitting went
down, Just at that instant Steele was reach
ing to get a paint pot from the cornlce-hao
one hand on the c~orniee, and was holding the
rope by the other. He fortunately had a grlE
of the rope firm enough to hold on by wher
he felt the seat go from under him, and this
grasp and hold of the edge of the cornice with
his left hand, which was not very effective, Oh
account of a hurt he received lately that some
what disabled it, was all shat saved him from
following his cemrade to eternity.
His desperate situation thus suspended, may
be readily conceived; and his feeling, as he
heard the cry of Naylon as he fell, looked
down and saw the lifeless body and blood be
spattered pavement, could not be adequately
described. He told Us that the sight so un
nerved him that he expected every instant
would be the last he could sustain himself, ano
a strong hearted fellow he must have been te
keep in such a perilous position under suct
desperately shocking circumstances. The
scene then--a blood-stained corpse below, anc
above a man almost in the jaws of desth-wai
sufficiently agonizing to those who witnessed
it, and quite a number were about, as 1t wa
early in the evening. On seeing his situation
some thoughtful person hurried to No. y
Hook and Ladder house, and the "boys' Their
had a ladder at the Hall, and were about rear
ing it, when Steele found himself strong enough
to descend by the broken rope. When h
reached the ground he was, as well he nigh
be, as pale as his fellow workman. He subse
quently related an incident illustr alive of thu
idea or doctrine of presentiments. AS the.
were going to their work after breakfast, Nay
Ion told him very seriously that he had a bat
dream the previous night. and said he felt sur,
some accident was about TO happen and Their
was enc indeed.