The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1892-08-15
Is DEATHS A KINDLY CLASP:

Is DEATHS A KINDLY CLASP:
\ narration from personal experience
of how it feels to die, says the New York
Sun is an interesting addition to the lit,
tie we know on a matter Of preeminent
interest People who have suffered
what virtually was death by drowning,
have described the sensations of the
struggle and the surrender and a few
who have been hanged into insensibility
have come back to life to tell how it feels
to die. A European scientist, too, has
lately collected much evidence about the
sensation felt by persons falling from
lofty places. The testimony from all
these sources is practically unanimous
that the passing from life to death is
painless, peaceful, and usuallay pleas
urable. The return to consciousness is
usually the reverse Of these conditions,
being often exceedingly painful, a fact
which might be taken by the pessimistic
as an indication that it is better to die
than to live.
An interesting case of a man who has
come back from death to life is that of
MICHAEL BLUME, who, some weeks ago,
was twice strung up to a beam by a rope
around his neck by a mob of lynchers
near Fresno, California. BLUME was in
Jail at Sanger, near Fresno, on a charge
of being implicated in a murder. Feel
ing against him ran high, and one night
a mob of people took him from the poorly
guarded Jail and ~endeavored to eXtort a
confession from him. His hands were
tied, he was made to stand on a barrel,
and a rope was passed over a convenient
beam and fastened in a moose around his
neck. He declared he had nothing to
confess, and after some parley the barrel
was knocked from under him, and at the
time he was jerked up toward the
beam by the lynchers pulling on the rope.
\ few days later BLUME described his
sensations at the end of the rope:
expected to die. They pushed me of. and
| felt my neck crack. Then / heard a harsh,
sound, which | now suppose was caused
by the rope being drawn over the beam as the
men were hauling me mp. Consciousness was
of very short duration. There was no pain
after my neck cracked. seemed to be swim
ming in air that was intensely dark, but |
thought | was in sOTe familiar place. 1t was
like a dream. | seemed TO be floating away
faster and faster. and lighter and lighter, until
| passed into nOthingness.
| did not know when | was let down. re-
turned TO consciousness rs gradually and as
plinlessly as | had passed away. 1t was like a
vision, very strange and wonderful. and grad
ually ! thought / was returning from some
place, did not know where. and by some
means, knew not what. The first thing | re-
member was seeing the eyes of the men who
were standing around me. saw nothing but
their eyes at first; but gradually ] could see
their forms, and knew that they were men:
but still 1t seemed like some dream. At last |
came 10 myself, and was able 10 get upon nv
feet. The rope had been loosened.
Another attempt was made TO extort a
confession, but the dazed and half dead
man declared he had nothing 10 confess.
after Il few minutes spent in this way
lynchers again stood BLUME on the
barrel and again hauled him up:
] think | did not drop so far As before. At
any rate my experience WAS not quite the same.
| was conscious of a painful and somewhat
long struggle. But as | grew weak and ex-
| quit struggling and experienced the
same almost enjoyable sensations. / passed
into nothingness. My return TO
consciousness was about. the same a. before. |
that an acute sense OF distress WAS as
ISOLATED with my other feelings Of dimly see
ing and hearing things.
We ourselves have heard similar ;esti-
mony from a gentleman Of intelligence |
and education, who practically experi-
enced the sensations that sitend dissolu-
ton. He had been sick with a fever.
and 10 all appearances died. He thought
he was dying, and his friends thought
he was dead. II he had really passed
INTO death instead of into the cornse-