Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1879-11-13
A FOOLISH WAGER.
On a Bet of Five Dollars Young
Man Suffers the Torture
Of Hanging.
LcadyilIe Herald.

I
ested in. the property had gon
out to look at their claim and in
dulge in anticipations of the pros
pective millions in the hole, anC
. while their workmen were dis
Fcussing their dinner in neigh
, boring cabin, sat at the mouth
of the hole conversing on gener-
al topics. In the course of the
talk death by strangulation came
up, and one OF the parties ex-
pressed the opinion that by the
of exercise a little judgement and
nerve u man could sustain life
for considerable length of time,
even when suspended by the
neck from the end of a rope.
Of course this position was vig-
orous combated by his compan-
ions, who said that a man when
undergoing the hanging process
had no control whatever over his
muscles, and that therefore he
could not prevent the rope from
cutting off his wind. The pro-
ponent of the idea insisted that
he was right, and instanced sew
eral cases Of which he had read,
in which the parties hanged had
prevented the rope from COM
pressing the blood vessels by
vigorous exercise of muscular
power, a hole in the wind pipe
giving the air necessary to sus-
tain life. He claimed that all
that was necessary was to hold
the head in such a position that
the pressure of the rope should
come upon the back of the head,
instanclng trapeze performers,
who hang unharmed from a moose
by simply holding the head well
back. To a challenge to illus
trate his theory in his own per-
son, he replied that he was per-
fectly willing to do so, and offer
ed to bet So that he would per-
nit his companions to haul him,
suspended by the neck from the
end of the bucket-rope, from the
bottom of the shaft, seventy feet
deep, to the surface, and that he
would then walk off rnharmed,
except for the abrasion Of the
skin. The bet was foolishly ta-
ken, and the foolhardy theorist
at once descended the shaft and
commenced preparations for the
hazardous experiment. Tying
the rope around his neck, he
threw his head back firmly upon
the knot and gave the signal to
hoist away. The signal was o.
beyed, and in an instant he was
swinging in the air. Instead of
the pressure of his head upon the
knot having the desired effect it
caused the moose to contract, Us
anyone gifted with common sense
could have told him, and in a few
seconds he became painfully IL
ware that he was in immediate
danger of sacrificing his life to
an idiotic theory. He tried to
call out to his associates, but the
pressure of the rope upon his
throat made this impossible. The
rope still contracted, the blood,
impeded in its passage, filled his
head almost to bursting, his eyes
protruded from their sockets, his
swollen tongue began to make
its way between his lips, and then
he became unconscious.
His friends, to do them justice,
having no faith in the expert
ment, hoisted as fast as possible,
and the ascent was made i'll u
much shorter time than it usually
takes in the passage of a bucket
of ore for the same distance. BY
the time that their inanimate buI-
den reached the surface it pre-
sented an appearance Of the most
horrible character, and almost
paralyzcd with fear, as we'll as
worn out with the violent and
unaccustomed exertion,th were
unable TO draw their friend from
the shaft. Fortunately the cab
i'll was but a short distance off.
and by a vigorous yell the work.
men were brought out, and drag
ged the body out on the platform.
At first it was thought that
the young man was dead, but
careful examination Of the body
convinced a miner of experience
that life wasn't extinct, and a Wig
orous rubbing,with the additional
Influence Of liquor poured down
the throat, had the effect Of re-
storing consciousness in a half
an hour. After a rest Of several
hours the young man recovered
sufficiently from the fatigue Of
his perilous journey to ride to the
city. One-more experience has
been gained, and he is now con-
vinced that hanging will produce
death as suddenly as Il bullet,
and when a man has q rope a..
round his neck and is suspended
thereby, he has no control what
........ Al.