Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-12
DESCRIBED CAS- PLEASANT
SCIENTIST sAYskDEATH BY FALLING
IS NoTs HORRIBLE.
Varying Sensations During Rapid De-
scents Related by Those Who Have
Experienced Great Falls.
From the Chica 20 Tribune.

Scientists say life contains few expert
ences more agreeable and enjoyable than
falling over a precipice or slipping into a
glacier crevasse. Even. the landing which
many plungers throughspace have found a
bit unattractive is said to be free from any
thing of pain or terror Merely a jar and
then Inconsistencies. 1t is true the wise
men say that the awakening is less enjoy
able-is, in fact. unpleasant experience,
and this one shortcoming may be the sin
gle drawback which will suffice to prevent
railing over precipices from becoming a
popular form of summer entertainment.
That the person whose tumble ends in
death cannot furnish the scientists with
much information concerning sensations
goes without saying, but those who have
tallen and by some lucky chance have es-
capped with nothing worse than bruises and
possibly broken bones are able to describe
the emotlons experienced by them while
talllng through space, and it is from the
descriptions of these more fortunate ones
tnat the scientist obtains his proofs for the
assertion that being dashed to death over
preclplce in nowise an unpleasant
method of ending mortal existence. In a
lecture recently delivered by Prof. Heirn,
the geologist of Zurich and an ardent AL
pine tourist the experiences of two persons
VINO met with accidents in the Alps are
cited to prove that death by falling con-
talns horror and pain only for the observer
not for him who falls.
Describes His Sensations.
The first case cited Is that of the Swiss
climber, Sigrist; the second that of Prof
Helrn himself. Sigrist. who fell from the
top or the karpfstock, in Switzerland, de-
scrlbed his sensations to Prof Heirn as
follows:
Inc plunge, which was taken backwards,
,tofJI
such as one has when one dreams of fall
ing. seemed to be borne in the most
peasant manner gently downwards and
nad complete consciousness during the en-
TIRE iall Free from all pain or fear con-
tempiated my position and the future of
my family, which 1 knew was assured by
the insurance l carried. And this contem-
patton was accomplished with a rapidity
Wnlch mad never before known. OF the
losing of my breath, of which people talk
tnere was no suggestion, and only the
heavy fall on to the snow-covered ground
caused me to lose suddenly and painlessly
all consciousness. The bruiSing OF my head
and limbs on the rocks as l fell caused me
no pain. In fact, l did not feel it. can
not conceive of easier, pleasanter death
Inc reawakening, however, brought with
1t entirely different and far less agreeable
sensations"
believed He Was'Dying.
or his own experience Prof. Heirn spoke
ers, went, in 1871, from Saints toward the
Seealp. l was in front. Near the Fehlalp,
at height of about 5000 feet, we came
upon a steep snowfedb which descended at
sharp incline between two rocky points.
The others hesitated, but started at once
to slide standing down the incline l slid
rapidly. A gust of wind took my hat. In
stead or letting it go, | made the mistake
of trying to grab it. This motion caused
me to fall, and l could no longer control my
course. With the speed of the wind l slid
toward the left rock struck on its edge,
and plunged head first tover a sixty-five foot
pIeclplce, and landed on a snow pile at its
foot. As sooE as 1 stumbled when my hat
blew off, l saw that l would be dashed over
the rock, and awaited the shock. l dug
my fingers into the snow in the endeavor to
stop myself but merely tore open my finger
tips causing them all to bleed, but feeling
no pain from SO doing. 1 plainly heard the
striking of my head and back against the
rock, and the thud when l landed Pain,
however. l did not feel until half an hol.r
later, when I revived During the fall came
the flood of thought-what l thought and
felt during five minutes cannot be told n
ten times that space of time.
Thoughts During His Fall.
Every thought and impression was clear,
in nowise dreary and confused, and was
logically connected with the one which fol-
lowed. First: contemplated the prob
ability of my fall and said to myself: The
rock over whose edge I will be dashed evil
IDENTIFY descends sheer, for l cannot see the
ground the other side of it. 1t becomes,
therefore, a question as to whether or not
there is snow at the foot of the rock If So
then the snow will be melted near the wall
and will form a ledge on which / will land
and thus escape with my life; if not then
/ will strike on rocks below and death will
be unavoidable. If l am not killed and am
not unconscious ] must al once take out the
little vial of liquor, which on starting from
Saints didn't leave in the tourists bag but
stuck into my vest pocket, and must drink a
few drops of 1t. My alpenstock l must hold
on to, for 1T may prove Of use to me.
thought that l should take off my snow
glasses and throw them away, for fear they
might be broken and the splntered glass get
into my eyes, but the position in which
was falling prevented my moving my hands
sufficiently to do this.
Another train Of thought busted itself
with the effect my fall would have upon my
companions l said to myself that when I
not 1 must, If possible. call out with all
my might, I am in nowise injured!' In
order that my comrades-my brother and
three friends-might rouse themselves from
their terror and be able to make the diff
cult descent necessary for the bringing of
assistance to me. also thought that would
not be able to deliver the lecture which five
days later was to mark my entrance into
of my death would shock my family. and
in thought tried to console them.
Visions of His Past Life.
"Then I saw, as If upon a stage, my en-
tire life pass like series Of tabeaux be-
fore me. 1 saw myself as the chief actor.
Everything seemed glorified as by some
heavenly light, and all was beautiful and free
from pain, from anxiety and sorrow. Even
the memory of sad events was distinct, but
not sad There was no struggle, no strife
Exalted and beautiful thoughts dominated
and connected the single scenes, and a di-
vine quietude sank like sweet music into
my soul Ever more and more plainly
felt myself surrounded by heaven of glor-
ious blue, filled with clouds Of rose color
and of violet.
II sank gently and painlessly into it,
and saw that l was flying through the air
toward a field of snow. Objective observa-
tons, reasoning and subjective feeling were
INDUCED in clearly and simultaneously.
Then l heard dull thud, and my fall was
ended. At the same moment it seemed to
me that black object rushed by me, and
I called two or three times as loudly as
could: I am in nowise injured 1 took
some drops Of theliquor reached out for
my snow-glasses which lay unbroken be-
side me on the SNOW, felt Of my back and
my limbs to see that NO bones were broken
Then l saw my comsades coming slowly