The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-02-15
Sensations Of Drowning and Freezing.

st. LOuisan, of such a nature as TO be
deemed worthy of reproduction. The
story is here given as nearly as poss.
ible in the words of the narrator. ana
strikingly illustrates the truth OF state
ments often made regarding the sensa.
tiOns experienced when in mortal peril I
of certain kinds:
My experience has been remark
able one. Twice have suffered death,
and still live. | have gone through
all that constitutes death, except the
actual extinction of the vital spark.
Both times I was considered dead, and
so pronounced by medical experts, and
both times passed and renamed 1or
some time beyond the point OF sensl-
bility. The first time was by drown
ing and the second by freezing. The
sensation of both instances are as
fresh and vivid in my memory as they
were when the events happened, years
ago. | was crossing a bridge over
wide but shallow stream, IN lonely
place, and accidently fell off. When l
say shallow, mean for such a wide
body of water. 1t was over my head
by two or three feet. I saw nobody
near me and could not swim a stroke.
knew how deep the water was, and
gave myself up for lost. The quick
ness of the senses when sudden death
seems impending has frequently been
noted, but, still, without experience,
no one can realize it. 1t is as II ones
whole life were spread out IN panor.
anna before him, every portion OF
which was visible at once. Even MIN
ute details of things long forgotten,
and which when they happened were
so trifiing that they apparently maze
no impression on the memory, Slanu
out in sharp and bold outline. | re.
membered, for instance, games OF
marbles played when | was boy, ana
= futile attempt once made to trans
mute a "commoney' into ''Whlte
alley by greasing it with lard, wrap
ping it in rag, and roasting it in the
fire. | remembered how the marble
bursted in the operation and how a
piece of it struck and cut the cheek OF
the boy who had beguiled me into the
experiment and the satisfaction | ex-
perienced at the retributive justice.
it seemed as if everything | had ever
done. suffered or thought, was present
ed to nv memory at single flash.
Then | struck the water. when a
sound. which | have since learned to
liken to the roar of Niagara, burst Un
nv ears and stunned me with It's over
whelming volume. | remember q
brief instant of struggling and clutch
ing. and then sense OF sinking
sinking-sinking-until had reached
depth of thousands OF fathomS.
neither suffered pain nor felt alarm
but had vague feeling Of being IRE
sistibly borne to some catastrophe, thu
climax to which would be terrible
Suddenly found myself possessed o
the power of floating, or waiting my
self along by mere volitlon. With
delicious feeling of languid indolenc'
suffered myself to float alOng-not il
the water, but in the air-skimmin'
over the surface of ground in whateve
direction chose, hither and thlther
asa hayward fancy led. was con
scious that it was new power, and
eXulted in its possession and reaSOne
on it's nature. | found that my bod
was us light as the air in which 1T NOV
ed. and imagined that a thistle-dOw
would feel as | did, if possessed Q
consciousness. Then | was in tn
water again, and everything around m
had a roseate hue, which speedil
changed to green, then to violet, an
finally to utter darkness, and then a
was blank.
AS subsequently learned. some me
in skitf half mile away had seen III
fall into the water and hurried to m
assistance, but had disappeared lor
before they reached the spot. Man
minutes elapsed before they found N
and full half an hour afterward befol
the physicians, who had been sun
moned. arrived. They pronounced n
dead, and that they made any atteml
to resuscitate me was due solely to tt
persistence of an intimate friend
mine who had accompanied them.
Nearly dozen years after the aboN
experience became a citizen OF II
West, and commenced opening ne
farm in sparsely settled countr
The place was about ten miles fro
the nearest town, and one pleasant d;
near the last of December | went
the latter in light spring wagon
get some supplies for Christmas fe
tiyities. The day was so mild that
ulU nOU even veal dA oNCASooo' AAoo
the time started home, which was
little after shutdown, it began
grow suddenly cold and pre-
emily storm, almost amounting to
hurricane. broke from the mort
bringing with it the temperature
Nova Zembla. In this region
marked climatic vicissitudes | new
before or since knew any so gre;
The mercury fell in an hour to for
degrees below zero. Under ordina
circumstances | could easily ha
made the ride home in that time. bu
was going in the teeth of the wind,
that could make but little over HI
the usual speed. | suffered sever,
from the cold. but not more than
had many a time before and ha
many a time since, but as you may i
agine was anxious to. get home
quickly as possible. When | was wi
in couple of miles of there. fou
the weather growing pleasant aga
My ears, that had stung and smart
with the cold, no longer troubled 4
Nv hands, though still numb, ha(