Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-07-29
DAILY SHORT STORY
A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE.
[Originai-l

lying out at night slowly bleeding to |
death, 1 have been through il. New
ertheless 1 once had a worse expert |
ence. I came out Of the Spanish !
American war alive, which'is saying a
great deal, recovered my health, then
went to work as clerk in q mercantile
house.
One morning I went up into the loft
to hunt for some goods that had been
stored there. In the center Of the loft,
which was open from end TO end and
side to side, stood n huge tank through
which flowed the water that supplied
the building. 1 mounted 4 platform
on which it stood and looked down OH
the water. the surface being some five
feet below the top. Floating about
was a toy bOat-how it came there l
don't know-and il occurred 70 me TO
take it home TO my little boy 1t was
in the center of the tank, and instead
Of getting something with which TO
draw IL nearer 1 leaned over and reach
ed for 1t. l lost my balance and fell in.
l found the water to be up to my
chest, but noticed a mark which indi-
Gated that the overflow point was
about two feet above my head. Next
1 noticed that the water was running
in faster than it was running out Had
1 known how to swim or float 1 would
have had only to wait till;it came-up to
high water mark, when l could have
reached the edge of the tank and pulled
myself out. But was helpless in water
over my head. Therefore when the
surface reached n point above my
drowned.
Now, when l was bleeding my life
away OH that battlefield l soon became
unconscious, and that was the end of
mental or physical suffering for the
time at least, for the ambulance corps
came along and took me in. But in the
tank / had my full faculties-that is,
for appreciation of my horrible situa-
ton. Had been cool might have hit
on an eXpedient for saving myself, but
as 1t was it only occurred to me TO
shout for help. l might as we'll have
shouted on the inside of n Theoretically
floor, and even If the sound could have
got out of the tank it could not have
reached the floor below, which was
shut off by trapdoor.
1t occurred TO me to make Ssome way
for the water to escape as fast rs 1t
flowed in. put by hand in my, pocket
to get out my knife. with which, to cut
hole just below the surface luckily
it was there. l opened the only blade
and hacked away. The tank was OF
pine, and made progress. l hadAcut
hole the size of my little finger when
the blade snapped. The on FLOW reduced
the speed of the rise, making 1t ex-
tremely slow. l dived several times,
hoping to recover the lost blade, but
failed signally. 1 made n. water mark
on the side of the tank and found that
the water was rising, according to my
uncertain estimate. but about an inch
an hour. l had only prolonged my suf
ferings.
BY this time the WATERWAYS up to my
chin. 1 was completely ,unnerved. In
battle l had commanded my company
and was so intent upon. keeping my
men up to their work that 1 felt no
fear whatever. Yet here was needing
all my faculties to save my life, and I
had lost control of them. LAS the water
slowly rose and reached my mouth
tilted back my head. then began to
raise myself on my toes.
People have suffered inCipient drown
ing and described their sensations. /
was in n more agOniZing position than
one drowning who sinks beneath the
surface and is soon unconscious. 1 was
rather like one who is about to suffer
death by torture. The most dreadful
sensat ton l experienced was from the
inclosure-those horrible sides of the
tank that held me in. Now that 1 was
obliged to hold my face upward
could look at the jOists and roof above,
and 1t was better than looking set my
little prison. But 1t was all dreadful.
had seen rats drowned in such man.
ner and remembered their fTightful
leaps-leaps from water that furnished
little resistance. The water rose above
my mouth and nose when 1 stood on
tiptoe, and l began to make spasmodic
leaps. 1t was remarkable how far 1
could rise above the surface, but the
farther 1 rose the worse it'was for me
on the return.
Still there was no sound. Fancy
made me hear people hurrying up to re-
lease me, but could not stop TO listen.
L must struggle on till Inconsistencies
came to end my sufferings. Theretwas
a buzzing in my ears. a tingling inlmy
finger tips, while I danced a dance .of
death on my toes on the bottom of tie
tank
Then suddenly something happened
I felt current catch my toe, and in a
twinkling ii was sucked into a hole.
Was II life or quicker death? In a
second 1 saw that 1t was quicker death.
My toe had stopped the outflow of
water, and it would now rise rapidly.
But, bark! The first stroke of n city
clock. 1 counted twelve strokes. There
was a ray Of hope. The clerks all went
to lunch at that hour, and many Of