The Great Falls leader. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1888-1890, 1888-09-29
A STUDY OF SUICIDE.
WHAT LIFE REScUER O'BRiEN aYs
ON THE SUBJECT

Observations Of Chicago Man Who Has
Saved Thirty Human Lives-People Who
Want to Drown Themselves-1fetlDds
Of tho Genuine Self Killer.
"When am free and at leisure & to
Lincoln park. The lake shore ther il
my field of operation. Most of the
drownings take place in the lake off lin.
coin park. Dozens of young people ARE
out boating there every day, and one in
awhile life hater turns UP, determined
to bury himself in the waves. Forone
who is really tired of life it is inded
good place. The water is clear, cooland
inviting. The confusing roar and 1oise
of this busy city life is far of. Pace,
tranquility and rest reign all around. The
place is just made for life haters yho,
you know, are often capable of waxing
miles in order to terminate their life III 8
shady and green spot. Along that very
shore rescued about dozen people, and
at least FIVE of them were would beself
murderers.
During the many years l devoid to
this peculiar occupation Of mine-tht is,
to saving the drowning-I observedthat
not only place and time but also the
weather has q great deal to do wit the
occurrence Of drownings. Those who
drown themselves in the spring and
autumn usually have a weakness for tir
weather. They are visionaries suffering
from inborn melancholy, and often poes
with ruined, dissipated talents. TIE
great majority, however, are poor cre-
lures for whom sunshine is rather il.
vigorating than productive of desire
die. They think Of dying for long time
but they do it as soon as the weathe
changes for the worse. If the weather
too bad, if it rains or SHOWS heavily, the,
will wait. They do not like too bai
weather.
'The days OH which the drownings anG
suppose, suicides in general are mos
numerous, are in most cases those OF
which the sky is enveloped in gray clouds
Everything then seems gloomy and mel
ancholy. An inexplicab1e heavy pressur,
upon the breast makes the blood Aov
slowly and lulls the brain into a dull
stupor. The thoughts get confused
Deep sadness seizes the unfortunate suf
ferers, and whatever unpleasant and bit
ter their past life contained forces its wa,
out of the depth of recollection, ane
bursts forth in one agonizing feeling o.
despair and disgust with the world
Those who try to plunge into the here
after on such days offer grim resistance
when one comes to their rescue, and with
out preliminary precautions to rescue
them is dangerous undertaking.
MANY of those who resolve to drown
themselves often come to the spot they
select for the accomplishment of their re-.
solve, long before taking the final step.
They walk up and down along the shore,
gaze at the sky, look around shyly, the,
they begin to stare at the water, en-
deavoring to measure its depth. When
they are about to make the fatal move
ment they halt suddenly and listen. Ths
chirp of a bird, the splash Of fish, the
whistle of steamer, any sound. any
tritling matter unsettles their resolve.
They turn round all Of sudden and walk
quickly away A few days afterward they
come back and seem to reproach them.
selves for having been so cowardly before.
Instead of walking up and down they now
remain standing on one spot. They stare
at the water. In their eyes there is not 4
spark of thought. They have the ap.
pearance Of somnambulists. They can
neither see nor hear anything. Suddenly.
it seems, something startles them. The
IluV AIOA4 WIG ucsAA, 1uo COS4b AIOul tu0
shoulders, and-there-they are strug-
Cling with the waves.
''Most of them appear on the surface
before they finally go down. A genuine
self killer will fold his arms, shut his
eyes and go down without any noise. He
is half dead already before the unavoid-
able apoplexy strikes his brain. Those,
however, who 60 into death with some
hesitancy, at this dreadful moment are
overcome by powerful fondness of life.
They cry and kick and trample with their
arms and legs, and when one comes to
their rescue they cling to him like a polyp.
To die is not so easy a thing after all, and
he who attempts to take his own life will
not soon repeat his attempt.
Gwen the hours of the day are of great
importance to the suicides. Generally
they choose the afternoon hours, when it
begins to grow dusky. Only small pro-
portion suicide in the morning. At day
break, when only the street cleaners are
at work, in Chicago as we'll as in other
large cities, you can sometimes notice
people of all ages and stations of life walk
down to the lake or to the river. They
look pale and weary, their hair is con
fused their clothes in disorder. thew look