The Opelousas courier., 1885-06-13
Fatal Leap from the East River
Bridge.

Since the famous leap of 1876 feet b
Sam Patch, at Genesee Falls, in la2s,
no other 30 desperate feat of that KIND
has been attempted until that of May
10, when Robert E. Odlum Jumped to
his death from the New York and
BROOKLYN Bridge. The details con-
nected with the first incident have had
an attaction for the curious the worlo
over ever since-the daring exploits OF
it's principal before that last fatal at
tempt, and the explanation that intoxl-
cation was the most probable reason
for it's then causing his immediate
death. In the case of Odlum there was
no charge of this kind. He was q tall,
athletic young man, an expert SWIM
mer, which he had taught asa proies-
sion, and had come on from Washing-
ton three days previously expressly co
make this leap from the bridge ne nag
before performed similar feats, though.
with the distance not so great, anu
seemed to have no apprehension OF any
serious result to himself. The police
endeayored to prevent him fIom &C.
complishing bis object, and their
watchfulness made postponemene ne
cessary. but Odlum succeeded in elud-
ing their watchfulness, and made the
leap at q point about 200 feet from the
New York pier, and 140 feet above the
water. $ as zza@ ssts
/ he held his right hand above bis
head, and seemed to go down straight
as a spear for nearly the whole dls-
lance. 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 q great splash:
The body was out of sight but a mo-
ment, when it was taken into q boat,
and consciousness, after hard work,
was restored for a moment. The doc
tors report was that the injuries were
such as would be found in q man
crushed to death by the caying in of y
sand bank ; the internal organs were 40
pressed together as to rupture the left
lung, spleen, and kidneys, Whilef Y Of
the ribs were fractured on the lett side,
the first high up onthe chest and the
others irreguIarly down the side and
back, although his spine was not bro
ken.
1t is reported that the time occupied
in the descent was 81 seconds, whichsis
very close to wiiatit should have been
theoretically. The distance through
which a body falls the arst second j.
very nearly 10 feet, and the. distances
for equal consecutive times are l, 3,
S. Y, ETC., which would give for three
seconds l6x4sxs0=IH feet, the figures
varying slightly, according to the reais-
lance of the air. The velocity which
the body had attained at the end OF the
third second was 96 feet per second,
and, its weight being IT'S ponnds, the
force Of striking would be 2 5,20O
pounds. The only theory on which it
Is maintained that such q jump could
be safely made ia that the body may be
held perfectly perpendicular, with the
toes 90 bent down that the body will
enter the water ali wedge, and thus
distribute the impact ove q large sur
face, operating through a longer time,
until the downward momentum ia over
come. In this instance, from the way
in which the body struck the water, it
is impossible to say how great a surface
was exposed to the principal force of
the blow at the moment of impact, but
the body itself barely went under wa
ter and so received the direct blow
with a force quite sufficient TO explain
the DOCTORS statement that "Odlam
was simply mangied to DEATH"
This trial also points out the difficult
ty Of maintaining the body in such
equilibrium as could alone afford any
possibility of success; the principal
weight being in the trunk, the natural
tendency would be for the body, were
it a rigid, inert mass, to turn over, and
descend head first. 0dIum 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, 8 movement which he in vain at
tempted to check.