Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1897-12-30
brow MING.
An Experience Which Shows That It Is
Not q Pleasant Death.

An Experience Which Shows That It ID
Not Pleasant. Death.
Drowning is pleasant death" is
a remark constantly made by those
who never gulped down salt water
into the delicate tissues of their
lungs. AS lad I was bathing. in
rough weather on the beach of wa
tering placein northern France, says
Arnold White in Cassel's Family
Magazine. Swept out to sea, Istrug.
gled, sank, became insensible and
was saved by the courage and skill of
gallant Frenchman, who wrote his
name that day in my mothers New
Testament as memorial of the res
cue. This was all. The circum-
stances were ordinary. A thousand
such may occur. Psychologically,
however, there are points of interest
which arise principally from the
fact that I remember all that hap
pened during period of time which
may have been four or five minutes,
but which appeared to be as many
hours.
Almost Immediately entered the
water, the much resounding roar of
the waves struck me as desolating
and sorrowful-full of foreboding
and terror. Ashamed of this fancy,
I instinctively but foolishly fought
my way seward, and was promptly
out of my depth; not because in
tended to run any risk, for I could
not swim, but because the strong
current had scooped out hollow in
the sandy bottom, which had six
feet of water on the top of it.
Tumbled over by the waves, the
concentrated agony of the moment
when the water closed over my head
for the first time cannot be describ-
ed. 1t was the bitterest point of the
struggle. Cruel and omnipotent
force, without warning or reason,
surrounded me and my frantic and
determined efforts to escape only
increased the pent up passion to
cease holding my breath and to in
hale once more. I felt instinctively,
as I writhed in the cold, black wa
ter, that if once succumbed to the
temptation to expel my breath,
which almost burst the ribs in my
angry efforts to retain it, the end
would come; that should be COM
PEELED to breathe inward while COW
cred with the pressing salt water.
At this time must have given way,
and the dreaded stream of air bub-
bles rose to the surface.
A few weeks before I had watched
the drowning of cat in the clear wa
ter of running stream. The ami
NAL was tethered to stone and had
fought with upturned face for liber.
| ty. When the bubbles rose in sill
yer fountain from the corners of its
mouth, it stood at the bottom sway.
ing in the gentle current, turned
over, and, after one final struggle
gave up the ghost. This scene came
wildly before me. I thought of this
wretched cat, and was half amused
to think that my case was the case
of the cat. There was no fear; the
actual circumstances filled my at
tention, and the piteous longing t.
escape and the inability of my eff
forts suddenly became subordinatec
to the feeling of intolerable pain.
Eyes, chest, limbs, were all one
solid pain. Just then touched the
sandy bottom with my fingers ant
knee, and hastily snatched hand
full of sand and water to thrust il
my mouth to end this struggle fol
air. All I wanted was to end the
pain. No thought of death, excep
as an interesting and immateria
factor in the situation, came ovel
me. It is true that remembered
that I should be missed whe1
dinner time came and l was found
missing, and thinking of the hom,
| people / thought of blue tie
had left on chest of drawers
in my bedroom, which I had in
tended to put on. Then, sudden
ly, l found my eyes above waite
for second, and l saw two blurred
figures near. On this I sank agail
and was conscious of relaxing effor
and sinking out of a conscious stat
to one in which one dreamed with
out knowing what the dreams were
From this l awoke in great pain il
the center of crowd on the beach
whittier my rescuer had borne me.
Klondike Bill's Revenge.
Many amusing incidents OCCUR il
the Klondike camps from time t
| time Tho latoct yyaS on Swift Wo