The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-03-14
Sensations of Drowning.

To stand hclplessly on the river
shore and witness the struggles of a
drowning fellow-being is narrowing
experience, and little less heart-rend-
ing to contemplate, but, in matters of
this kind, like many others, "things
are not what they SEEM" At any
rate, death by drowning is not as hor-
rible as it may seem to the onlooker.
The thought Of being dragged along
the muddy bottom Of the river and
found later in some out-of-the-way,
willow tangled spot is what adds to
the horrors of such a death. The
dread Of such a fate is really worse
than the fate itself. I once left this
world by that route as nearly as one
can and get back. 1t was an accident,
and was some twenty years ago.
A companion and myself were bath
ing in the Ohio River. At the point
where ne were large raft Of logs was
lashed to the bank, and for quite a
long while we amused ourselves
by jumping from the raft into
fifteen feet of water to see who could
bring up the largest number of white
gravels each time. We went down
| several times with varying success.
The last time made the effort filled
my lungs with air and leaped far out
into the river and went to the bottom
head first. I groped about for a hand
full Of gravels and spent more time in
the search than I should have done.
The water was warm, however, and |
had no fears of drowning. When l
could stay down no longer I started
| swiftly for the surface, and when
within foot or two Of the top Of the
water my companion, not knowing ex-
actly where was, jumped headlong
into the river. His head struck me
squarely between the shoulders and
kno,ked the last ounce Of air out Of
my lungs, and deluge Of water at
once took it's place. The weight Of
his body falling on me produced a ter
| rible. shock, and I sank to the bottom
Of the river like a stone. That is
where I got my experience in drown
ing. When the water rushed into my
lungs and stomach it felt for all the
world like a pleurisy pain, which has
| also given me tussle in later years,
but was over in q second. Then my
body settled quietly to the bottom and
my arms fell limp at my side.
In my half-conscious condition l
| could see all my relatives and ac-
quaintances crowding about and look
| ing down on me with fearful faces.
All the events, it seemed, of my prosy
career passed slowly in review, and
the good, bad, and Indifferent acts
stood out before me in bold relief.
Even little school boy tricks claimed
attention. I knew I was drowning
and remember thinking, "Why, thisis
not so hard after all r. I wondered
where my body would be found, and
shuddered at the thought that it
might never be found. I also won
| dered whether or not my companion
had become alarmed and run away and
left me to my fate, or whether he was
diving here and there to find me.
Then I pictured my burial, and how
the clods would resound on my coffin
when it was lowered into the chilly
grave, and my fate would be pointed
out to other boys by anxious mothers
as warning
At the next stage I could hear bells
softly ringing in the distance, together
with little tinklings and chirrups
sounding in my ears. Then I began
to see pretty pictures. The colors Of
the rainbow danced before my eyes
and intermingled and formed into all
sorts of odd shapes. I had no pain
and no fear Of what was expected to
fellow. I seemed to be. enchanted at
the scene before me. Everything was
light and calm and moved about with
out any visible impellingforce ltwas
like looking into a large mirror with
every beautiful thing that the most
imagination could conjure up revealed
thereby. The last stage which en-
tered increased the beauty Of the sur
roundings. All discordant noises
ceased and was superseded by the
softest, sweetest music that could be
thought Of. Apparently I had been
transported to place flooded with
bright, calm sunshine. 1t was neither
too hot nor too cold, but seemed like a
clear autumn day. Then [ seemed to
rise from the ground and float off into
space like thistle down. Higher and
higher T went until I seemed to look
down on the world from great height,
and then came a blank. The next
thing I knew I was. lying on the raft
with my companion looking down on
me with pale face. After several
unsuccessful attempts he had succeed
ed in finding me and getting me out Of
the water. By vigorously rolling me
over a log he had succeeded in re-
kindling the spark Of life that remain
ed. For the next half hour l think I
suffered great deal more than for the
same length of time before or since.
lT ebolI never forget how II feels tn