Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1893-03-16
HOW IT FEELS TO DIE
EXPERIENCE OF A MAN WHO BE-
LIEyEs HE WAS "sToNE DEAD"
His Whole Life Did Not Flash Before Him
as He Sank Into Unconsciousness-Ther
Was No Mental Pain Whatever-The
Fear of Death Is Physical Dread.

as He Sank Into Unconsciousness-Ther
Was No Mental Pain whatever-The
Fear of Death Is Physical Dread.
All nv life long have been singularly
destitute, l believe, of that physical shrink
ing from death which so many human
beings feel so acutely. do not mean to
say / am in any hurry to die; as long as
things 90 tolerably well with me in the
world l have no oinsupportable objection to
living. but whenever | stand face to face
with death, as happened to me several
times in the course OF my career, regard
the prospect Of annihilation with perfect
| equanimity. ] can honestly declare that
| on all such occasions my own doubts and
fears have been for the safety and pecuni-
ary position Of the survivors, especially
those more Immediately dependent upon
me.
For myself have never felt one mo-
ment's disquiet. And l attribute this en-
| tire absence Of fear of death to the unusual
fact that have already tried dying and
| found it by no means painful or terrify-
ing experience l mean what l say quite
| literally. / have not the slightest hesita-
tion in asserting that once in my life
really and truly died-died as dead as it is
possible for human being to die, and that
afterward / was resurrected. l have felt
and know the whole feeling of death-not
part of it only, but the actual end of dying.
/ did not stop half way. l died and was
done with, and when l came back to life
again it was no mere case of awakening
from what is foolishly called suspended
animation" but a genuine revival, res
toration of vitality to man as dead as he
ever can be or will be.
1t happened in this wise, and though it
was good many years since | have still
q most vivid IeCOlleatiOn Of every moment
of it: / had been skating on a lake in a
very cold country | am Intentionally
vague because do not desire to disclose
my personality. The surface was smooth
as glass and perfectly free from snow or
ridges. But not far from where | was
skating some men had been cutting out
great blocks of ice the day before for sum-
mer use.
During the night this open spot of blue
water had frozen over slightly-perhaps
an inch thick. | skated incautiously from
the solid ice on to this thinner piece, and
moving with considerable impetus went
through it at once and was carried on un.
der the thicker and firmer ice beyond it.
The first thing l knew was that | found
myself plunged suddenly into ice cold wa
ter, and struggling for my life in skates
and winter clothes against chill and drown.
ing.
went down like lead. When came up
again it was with my head against the
solid ice. If / had had full possession OF
| m fnanltiaa I xupt1l hara aha
for the hole by which l broke through and
endeavored to swim under water for it,
But was numbed with the cold and stun.
ned with the suddenness of the unexpected
ducking; so, instead of looking for the
place by which l had got in, tried inef
fectually to break the ice over my head
by humping and butting against it.
In so doing, do not doubt, | must have
made matters worse by partially stunning
, myself. At any rate l could not break it
| and was soon completely numbed by the
: cold Igasped and swallowed great dea
, OF water
felt my lungs filling. A moment Of
; suspense, during which / knew perfectly
well was drowning, interviewed, ana ther
) l died. Twas drowned and dead. knew il
8 then, and | have never since for a moment
doubted it.
t Just before died, however, noticed
s deliberately noticed, for am pshycholog
5 ical bynature-that my whole past life die
: not cone up, as had been given to under
: stand 1t would, in single flash before me
3 On the contrary, felt only sense of colo
t and damp and breathlessness, n fierce, wilt
= struggle, a horrible choking sensation, anC
then III was over.
| WIS taken out stone dead Unless ex
S tremeremedies mad been applied | woulC
have lemaineI stone dead till the presen
momnt Il nothing more had been don,
my bIdy would have undergone no furthe
chanje till decomposition set in. Hear
and hngs had ceased to act. [ was trul,
= dead; there was nothing more that coulC
happen to me to make me any deader
However, friend who was skating will
me iaised the alarm, and / was shortl,
after pulled out again, still dead, with
, boatlook. They tried artificial respira
.. tion, brandy heat-all the recognized
means OF reviving a corpse after drowning
Afte awhile they brought me back. l be
gan to breathe again.
. lfthere had been no artificial respiration
= | would never have revived again, and m,
bod, would have undergone dissolution il
) due course, without any return of con
, seio1sness whatever. So far as conscious
: ness goes, therefore, was then and ther,
= dead, and never expect TO be any deader
And the knowledge that have thus ono,
!, experienced in my own person exactly wha
!, o@tth is, and tried it fully, has had grea
a o'sl to do, / think, with my utter physica
q Indifference to it. know how it feels, anC
t1lpugh 1t is momentarily uncomfortabl,
isn't half as bad as breaking your arm
orhaving tooth drawn.
In fact the actual dying itself, as dying
Is quite painless-as painless as falling
asleep. 1t is only the previous struggle
the sense OF its approach-that is at ali un
, comfortable. Even this is much less un
, pleasant than | should have expected be
: fo'ehand, and noted at the time thai
there was a total absence of any crayeI
! shrinking-the sensation was mere phys
ieal one OF gasping and choking. When
> ever have stood within measurable dis
lance OF death ever since my feeling ha.
oen the same-l have been there already
and see no cause to dread it. OF cours,
enc might strongly object to painful end
On account of its painfulness. aud on,
night shrink, and ought to shrink. from
. having ones family, especially if young o,
r lAsufhciently provided for, but death it.
sf, as death, it seems to me, need have
, absolutely ~ terrors for a sensible per
I on.-Pall Mall Budget.
Outwitted Their Friends.
A terribly pretty Boston bride. a,
darvard called her, found when sbe ,r;tb