Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1885-06-06
FATAL LEAP FROM THE EAST RIVER
BRIDGE.
from the Scientific American.

Since the famous leap of 126 feet by
Sam Patch, at Genesce Falls, IN 1928,
no other so desperate feat OF that klnd
has been attempted until that OF May
l6, when Robert L. Odlum jumped to
his death from the New York and
BROOKLYN bridge. The details
ed with the first incident have had an
attraction for the curious the world
over ever since-the daring exploits OF
its principal before that last fatal at
tempt, and the explanation that intox-
ication was the most probable reason
for its then causing his immediate
death. In the case of Odlum there was
no charge of this kind. He was a tall,
athletic young man, an expert swirl
mer, which he had taught as a PROBES
sion. and had come on from Washlhg-
ton three DAYS previously expressly 10
make this leap from the bridge; ne a
before performed similar feats, though
with the distance not so great, and
seemed to have no apprehension OF any
serious result TO himself. The police
endeayored to prevent him from &C
comprising his object,an their watch
fulness made postponement necessary
but OdIum succeeded in eluding their
watchfulness and made the leap, at a
poipt about 200 feet from the New
York pier, and 140 feet above the wa
ter.
lie held his right hand high above
his head. and seemed to go down
straight as Il spear for nearly the whole
distance, but. about forty feet from the
water, his head and body appeared to
bend backward, and to the left, and he
struck the water with a great splash.
The BODY was out of sight but a mo-
ment, when it was taken into a boat,
and consciousness, after hard work,
was restored for Il moment. The doc
tors report was that the injuries were
such as would be found in a man crush
ed to death by the caving moi a SAND
bank: the internal organs were SO
pressed together as to rupture the lcit
lung, liver, spleen and kidneys, whiie
five of the ribs were fractured on the
left side, the first high up on the chest
and the others irregularly down the
side and back, although his spine was
not broken. -.
1t is reported that the time occupied
in the descent was 81 seconds, which Is
very close to what it should have been
Theoretically. The distance through
which a body falls the first second is
very nearly 16 feet, and the distance
for equal consecutive times are as i, ),
5. Z, etc, which would give for three
second I6&lS&S0-144 feet, the figures
varying slightly, according to the re-
sistarce of the air. The velocity which
the body had attained at the end OF the
third second was 90 feet per second,
and. It's weight being 175 pounds, the
force of striking would be9GX96+9,2l6X
64-14Ix175=25,2 200 pounds. The only
theory which it is maintained that such
Jump could be safely made is that the
body may be held perfectly ~perpendic
ular, with the toes SO bent down that
the body will enter the water as a
wedge, and thus distribute the impact
over Il large surface, operating through
a longer time, until the downward mo-
mentum is overcome. In this instance,
from the way in which the body struck
tile water, it is impossible to say how
great a surface was exposed to the
principal force of the blow at the mo-
ment of impact, but the body itself
barely went under water, and so re-
ceived the direct blow with a force
quite sufficient to explain b doctors
statement that "Odlum was simply
mangled to DEATH"
This trial also points out the Difficult
ty of maintaining the body in such
equilibrium as conld alone afford any
possibility of success; the principal
weight being in the trunk, the natural
tendency would be for the body, were
it Il rigid, inert mass, to turn over, and
descend head first. Odlum seems to
have had some conception of this, from
his holding his right arm straight up,
but this did not prevent his body from
partly turning over before it struck the
water, a movement which he in vain
attempted to check.
1t is to be hoped that the fatal results
of this last bid for nOtorIety will effect
ually put ii stop to such attempts tor a
good while to come. Its success could
hardly have been other than accident
al, and in that case nc one knows how
many lives would have been ultimately
lost by the fo~olhardincss of wOuld-be
imltators.