The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-19
BIG FALLS NOT FATAL
THAT IS, HERE is A LONG RECORD
OF JUST SUCH CASES.

From how great II height may a Der
son fall and live? This question was
suggested by the experience Of DIR.
Helm, the Zurich professor, who told
how he fell great distance down a
glacier in Switzerland and lived to re-
late his sensations His ai.e was to prove
that sudden death was not painful. The
other phase of the question-how far
may we fall unhurt--is just as interest
| ing, however.
The we'll known Alps wanderer, ST.
grist, fell backward off the crown of the
Korpfstork Alp, Switzerland, and land
ed Oh the rocks at the foot of the glacier.
OF course his fall was somewhat broken
| as he bounded from spur to spur, but
the fall was Il great one nevertheless.
Of the persons who have fallen from
balloons no record has been kept, but
the accidents have been sufficiently dan
| gerous to prove that great fall does not
always end human life. In July last
The Post Dispatch recorded the feat of
negro who, to escape punishment for
stealing u ride, jumped over the Della
| ware bridge OH the Erie railroad ut Port
Jervis, n. Y. He fell distance of so
feet, and though striking OH his head in
bed of gravel covered only by six
inches of water. he escaped serious in
| jury.
| George Petorski, n young Polish boy
| aged II, went ont for huckleberries on
! the HOneypOt mountain, near Port Jor-
Wis, n. y. BE ventured too near tho
edge of cliff known us Eagle Nest,
and, slipping OH stone, was hurled
over. The descent is nearly perpendicu-
| lar and the lad rolled and bounded over
| the jagged rocks distance of 400 feet
to the railroad tracks below He was
| picked up torn and bleeding from q hun
| dred wounds and unconscious. but still
alive.
That case had youth in it's favor. Here
| is case of age. Mary Cerma, aged 20
years, recently fell 80 feet from win
dow of 257 Camden street, Newark, n.
j., and escaped with only badly
bruised hip. She lost her balance while
shaking a busting cloth from the win
dow and fell upon hard ground in the
back yard.
Here is n case of an infant AT Rock
away Beach, n. Y, George McVey, 3
years old, tumbled out of third story
window without receiving any injuries
except bruised eye and skinned nose.
He crept TO the window while his moth
er was asleep. His fall was broken by
an awning.
Women seem especially able to drop
from any height and receive little or no
injury. In France recently Il woman
tried to commit suicide by jumping
from high bridge. She was hardly in
jured. Near Niagara falls woman fell
over precipice and landed some hun
dred feet below, alive and able to tell of
it.
Mrs. Annie Keeney leaped out Of Ia
fifth story window of 1875 East One Hun
dred and Eighth street, New York, and
sustained only Il few slight bruises on
the face. The woman was half asleep at
the time and walked over the roof of her
own house to that of her neighbours.
She swung eff the roof to q fire escape
and asked the occupants Of 1875 for
brandy. On being refused she leaped to
the ground. Clotheslines stretched
across the yard between the tenement
windows, ard the woman rebounded from
one of these 10 another i'll her fall, until
she finally landed, badly shaken up, but
otherwise unhurt.
August Johnson, joiner, residing i'll
Middletown, Conn, fell from the fourth
story of building on which he was
working, turning complete somer-
sault and striking with his head on
some boards which projected from the
first story. He managed to catch hold
of the boards, to which he chung until
l..x J., ell 8.
was not injured in any way.
Edward Christie fell from a scatfold
| which gave way at the fourth floor Of a
new building at Madison avenue and
| Seventy second street, New York. AL
| though he fell four stories, lie sustained
no more than q fracture Of the thigh
and right arm. Christian Jensen, Il
painter, Of White Plains, n. Y, fell
| from ladder to the ground, distance
Of 40 feet, and is alive to tell it. George
| Falley, II years old. fell through tho
fire escape of 772 Tenth avenue, New
| York. from the fourth TO the first floor
and received not the slightest injury
Such is the elasticity Of youth.
Express Messenger Edward Stevens
Of Water Valley, Miss. was doing and
fell from his car door He was not missed
until 20 miles had been passed. A mes
sage was sent back TO the effect that he
must have fallen from his car. A hand
car was rugged up and several men
started down the track to look for him.
They found him three miles away, lying
within two feet of the track, sleeping
He a%oke as soon as they touched him
and asked what was wanted. He said
he had no recollection of falling, and