The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-07-07
REVERE OF A FALLING MAN.

What Anderson Was Thinking of Dur
 ing His One Hundred Foot Drop.
 John Anderson. the former naval jackie who, while painting ironwerk be- meath the high bridge a month ago, was severely injured by fall. is rapidly recovering at the city hospital. Both his thigh bones were broken, his left leg was fractured near the ankle, a portion of bone was torn from his right hip, and he was wounded about the crown of his head. But he will not be permanently maiIned or dlsfgured.
 On the afternoon of Nay 20 he was swinging happily. like bird oS- twig, within sling" six feet below the roadway Of the high bridge and about one hundred feet above the Mississippi river. The seat of swing is Q short piece of plank. It is attached at each end to ropes, which, passing through a block, return to the sling as 6 single rope By lengthening or shortening this rope the man in the sling can lower or elevate himself.
 T was hanging close to one of the steel rods" said he yesterday, ''a rod that was painting. My rope was good and fast. I had no warning of any danger, when the sky and the clouds, and the bottom of the bridge in the middle of it all. dashed past my eyes and the air whistled In my ears like Q typhoon on the China seas. knew was going down head first. No. wasn't frightened. said to myself, Now I'll strike the river before long. and if keep going this way I'll hit the water head first, which will be just as good as diving; and being good swim mer I can easy get ashore l won dered, too, if I'd beat my paint brush down. Funny what little things fel- low will think about at these times in- stead of worrying about his own neck.
 But about sixty feet down--I didn't measure the distance then-I struck one of the cross rods a slanting blow with my head. But my legs, sort O huddled up as l fell probably, came down full force against the rod. could hear the bones crack. They made quite a loud noise like percussion cap. Still, it was the blow on the head that hurt the most. Then, though not be- fore, I thought to myself, Well, it's your last cruise for sure and things got black before me. I guess I tainted. But the cold water brought me to. bobbed up as natural as harbor buoy. I soon opened my eyes and l suppose l smiled. I thought, just as if I was a1c die this watch. did you?' I know felt awful good about it. But soon as made it, found that both my legs were hanging as heavy and dead as shot in canvas bag. They didn't pain me, though. And when l found l couldn't swim felt my gun was spiked for sure. But just then l heard the crew up aloft on the bridge hollering Good boy, Sailor! You're all right! Keep it up. Boats coming! Keep a. paddling, Jackie!' It did sound fine and hearty, let me tell you. And so I kept a paddln' until a man reached me in boat fifteen minutes after I dropped down.
 T was pretty nearly done up. know how my legs would hurt me if he tried to pull me over the gunwale of the boat, and I tried to make him tow me along side. But he couldn't manage that and he did haul me in, though it was a mighty tough experience. I didn't faint again, and after I was once in the hos pital began to feel quite comfortable. I've had very little pain; they take such fine care of patients here. "-St. Paul Pioneer Press.