The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1880-10-01
Human Action Under Excitement.

Human Action Under Excitement.
As ferryboat from New York wal
entering the slip In Jersey City, a mar
fell or leaped overheard. He narrowly
escaped being crushed between the boat
and the bridge, and in less than a Sec
ond was hidden from the sight of the
people who rushed 10 the edge of the
bridge and those who were on the boat.
The deckhands shouted to the pilot, and
then the passengers and people on the
bridge caught up the cry, and the pilot
signaled TO the engineer. The boat was
backed and the man was revealed,
struggling in the water, beneath whose
surface he once disappeared for a mo-
ment. The bridge hands acted quickly
and with judgment tempered by the cir
cumstances. One dangled short haw-
ser over the head of the struggling man.
another poked at him with a pole, ,and a
third ran for ladder, which he after
ward placed in the pit of the mans
stomach, while the man hung on to the
rope. In the meantime the behavior OF
the spectators became exceedingly in
teresting. The men made no effort
toward rendering assistance, but pushed
and almost fought for places in the fore
most ranks ou the boat and bridge. The
women behaved most strangely. Half
dozen of them spent several minutes
shouldering their way past all the men,
peering over the edge of the bridge and
then forcing through the throng again
until they were beyond the hindmost
line of people. Once there, they
turned and made their way to the front
again, all the time uttering sounds and
exclamations Of sympathy or lamenta-
tion. This they did over and over again.
Others became impressed with the idea
that their male companions were bent on
leaping into the water after the strug-
Cling man.
Don't, John, please. i pray you,
don't, john" pretty girl cried, as she
flung her arms around the neck Of
stolid-looking young man who had
made no other motion than to peer bo-
tween two heads in front of his. Hs
disengaged her arms, and the girl re-
doubled her commands to him not to
jump, not to 60 after the man, not to be
drowned himself, and finally not to be
"a fool" At the same time half
dozen feet away another young woman
was clinging to the arm OF her compan-
ion and sobbing loudly.
"You won't take your coat of, will
youP You won't, will youP" Probably
the tears in her eyes prevented her see.
ing, as the others did. that he would not
1t was evident that nothing was likely
to tempt him to.
The man in the water seized the rope
and lifted his neck and shoulders above
the waters surface. Then it was that
one of the bridge-tenders poked him
with the pole and the other lunged at
him with the ladder. A colored man
who stood on the deck of the ferryboat,
and who was terribly excited by the
scene around him. perceived large,
round, brown paper bundle lying at his
feet. 1t had been dropped by the man
in the water. The colored man seized
the bundle and hrandished it over his
head.
"He-ah! he-ahv" he shouted to the
man in the water, "you los you bundle.
Heah's YOU bundle"
He flung the parcel at the man just as
the bridgemen were drawing his drip
ping figure up by means of the rope, the
ladder and the pole The bundle foated
away and was overlooked.