The Courier. (Genoa, Nev.) 1899-1904, 1901-08-23
How it Feels to be Dead.


can J. A. Portiere is probably the oaly
man in that place who ever persisted
on the desert, and after being praeti-
cally dead for week, returned to life
and yigor so he could tell about it. he
says be has realized fully every sensa-
ton of a man who perishes of thirst
with the burning sunshine beating
down upon him. He was found and
resnscitated, but no had long passed
beyond the period of consciousness
before help came.
He was north of the Colorado and
was going to Arizona by way of the
Virgin river and was shown the road.
When he got down into the valley
he missed the trail but kept travelling
all that day and the following night.
Some time the next morning when
the sun got pretty hot and he was al
most exhausted, he stopped to make
some coffee, still having one canteen
of watc. left. He was holding his
mule by the bride when along came
desert whirlwind and enveloped them,
frightening the mule, which dragged
him through cactus plant, and break
ing away from him started back over
the trail. He followed the mule for
couple Of miles, then gave up the chase
and started toward the Virgin river on
foot and without water or anything
else save an unauenched thirst.
Just how long he wandered he does
not know, but before night he began
to get delirious and after that he re-
membered nothing except the hallu
cinations that passed through his mind
before he became unconscious. He
was, oh, so thirsty! 1t seemed like his
throat was literally on fire and he was
aching all over his body. He tried
every method he knew of moistening
his throat, but the relief was but tenn
porary. He tore open the cactus plant
and everything that gave promise of
containing the slightest bit of moisture
but his thirst seemed to be an ever in
creasing one. He could think of moth
ing but water.
Finally, as his strength gave way,
pleasant dreams began tC fit through
his mind. He fancied he saw the Nj
agara Falls and the vastness of the
rapids below them. Then he seemed
to face the broad expanse of great
fresh water lake. He could not see
across it. 1t looked so cool and re-
freshing he could not restrain himself
and waded into it clear up to his neck.
Then he fancied he could feel fish
cavorting about his beet, and every
thing seemed SO peaceful. He was
perfectly happy and contented; did
not know whether he was alive or
dead, and did not care.
About week later when he recov-
cred consciousness, he found himself
in the camp Of some cattlemen who
had found him some hours after he
lost track of himself. His lips were
swollen and full of cactus thorns where
he had chewed up the priekly pear in
his desperate thirst. The cattlemen
said that when they found him he was
stark naked, doubtless having disrobed
and thrown his clothes away he fancied
he was going down into the lake. His
fingers were raw and bleeding from
wounds made while digging in the
sand for water.
He says the agony that comes over
one when he first begins to realizethat
he is about to perish for water is simply
indescribable, and it increases every
minute till he begins to lose conscious
ness. But when the body gives up the
struggle the mind seems to become I'M
naturally active in its efforts to soothe
by seemingly furnishing that for which
the body suffers, and the final hours of
the thirsty victim are hours of sweet
est anticipation.