The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1875-09-02

life, you know-which refers to two
men on plank at sea. |, stood out
before me, in the pressure of the mo.
ment, as distinctly as if the book
were in my hand, and | think | can
recite every word of it yet" Mr..
Donaldson's memory was somewhat
inaccurate. We give the passage as
ii stands in Blackstone, Vol. ", page
1873: "There is enc species of homi-
eide, Sc de1eado, where the party
slain is equally innocent as he who
occasions his death; and yet this
homicide is also cxcusab'e, from the
great, universal principle of self
preservation, which prompts every
man to save his own life preferably to
that Of another, where one Of them
must inevitably perish. As, among
others, in that case mentioned by
lord Bacon, where two persons. being
shipwrecked, and getting on the
same plank, but finding it not able to
save them both, one of them ,hrusts
the other from it. whereby he is
drowned. He who thus preserves his
own life at the expense of another
mans is eycusable through unavoida-
bic necessity, and the principle Of
self defense, since their both remain
ing on the same weak plank is a
mutual, though innocent attempt up
on and endangering Of each Others
lie.
"Men think very rapidly at such
times, sir; and all this occurred more
quickly than ! can tell it 10 you.
How the matter would have ended
in my mind cannot say. had not
seen at that moment Mr.. Grimwood
trying to draw a Derringer from his
pocket. His hand trembled SO that
| have 10 idea, now, that he could
have nit me; but the movement was
sufficient to end my hesitation. All
the instinct of elf-preservation
leaped to my muscles, and it seemed
to me but simple wave of my hand
before Grimwood was falling toward
the lake. and the balloon shooting up
above the storm. The scream of
agony which the poor wretch trailed
down to the water was horrible, horri-
bic. can hear j. yet; bu. do not
regret what | did. Ii was my life
against his; and my life was the bet
ter of the two"
The remainder of the narrative is
full of interest, but too discursive for
our space. Once in the quieter air
and relieved of Grimwood's weight
the balloon pursued its course up the
lake and across the straits of Macki-
mas into Canada, thence returning
again in direction little south of
east, 1t was undoubtedly the same
balloon that was telegraphed from
Aurora, Ontario, to the Associated
Press, on July 2l, it having passed
over there two days previous. Don
aldson, then, according to Mr.. Will
sons narrative, must have been lying
unconscious in the bottom of the
basket, the basket itself being ca
reened in consequence of the break
ing of the netting on the side where
Grimwood was thrown out. The
aeronaut was reused from his faint by
the crashing of the baske; among the
tree tops, but reused only to be
thrown violently TO the ground, with
the injuries before mentioned. But
for his broken limbs, there is little
doubt that his great physical endur-
ance and nerve would have carried
him safely out of the wilderness; but
injured as he was, death was only
matter Of few days. Some pro-
visions, rescued from the wreck of
the balloon, together with such sus-
tenance as he could gather from the
forest, kept body and soul together
for a short time; but, once in the
hands of his fellow beings, and his
story told. the will which had sus-
tanned him seemed to fail, and quiet
death soon followed. Mr.. Wilson re-
turned immediately with the report,
and his comrades are following more
slowly with the remains.