Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1905-03-16
\ DEATHS SHADOW.
Louise Michel's Impressions ol
an Extraordinary Experience.
MORE UNEAsTNEss THAN PAIN FELT

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late Wrench Communist Said Her
Senses Were Transformed and as
Death Advanced She Fels That she
Was Returning to Elements From
which She Came-The world Scene
cd So smaIl--A Vision OF War.
A remarkable experience of the late
Louise Michel, the French communist,
y thus described by herself in the Lon
don News:
In all probability each OF us expert
erces when dying certain sensations
which in the main agree, what differ
ence there is being in minor details.
Last February / undertook long
lecturing tour with MY friend Girault.
The tour included about thirty towns
In France, Corsica and Algeria. Cross
ing from England, the first lectures
were given In Calais, Roubaix, Tourc0-
Ing and Liancourt In the last named
town struggled against influenza,
which seized me after severe bliz-
zard. At Troyes, where spent few
days, the doctor and my friends pro-
tested against my proceeding to Chau-
mont, where I was to deliver my next
lecture. did not want to act contrary
to their advice, and yet felt that my
will would be weakened by yielding to
their wishes. Will is like the steel OF
sword--it can be bent too much. I
thought that by going to Chaumont I
might be cured, for 1t was there that I
studied, and Chaumont and Saris were
the only towns ] knew prior to my go
Ing to Caledonia.
On reaching Toulon imagined had
conquered 1.iy illness, and it was with
that conviction that / lectured, but on
returning to the Hotel Terminus, where
intended resting for day or two, /
felt exhausted, and 1T was found that
the influenza had developed into con-
gestion of the lungs.
] rapidly sank into condition that
Is best described in the expression ia
guenille humane human rag
Yes, 1t seemed as If my body hung like
rag, and was able to regard 1t as no
longer belonging to me. AS death ap-
preached became mere sensation and
compared my state to the magnetic
needle seeking the north when dis
turbed by cyclone. My senses were
tranaposed lone discharging anothers
duties. | had the impression OF read
ing a telegram my friend Charlotte
held in her hand through my fingers.
As death advanced nearer / felt more
uneasiness than pain. I was gliding
into the elements with two impress
sions one that Of being carried away
on a stream and the other that OF dis
semination into space. / felt my being
disintegrating into tiny molecules. AS
an aroma spreads itself in the air or
coloring matter In water, so was be-
ing dissolved in space. Memories OF
bygone days returned with great vivid
ity. In Caledonia during d cyclone,
when the sky and ocean were of a uni.
form blackness save where the waves
threw up their white heads to assault
and storm the coast, I used to cling to
the rocks to resist the suction Of the
tempest, thinking that we ourselves
must have been born of the elements.
When dying had the same idea--that
was returning to the elements from
which / came. AT last could only
speak with difficulty.
My voice was mere breath, hardly
capable of creating a vibration In my
throat The sensation OF thirst disap-
peared; my limbs were as heavy as
stone. Nevertheless my spirit was
quite calm, the process seemed quite
natural, and my mind looked down
on my body as upon a frame stretched
In front of it. One wonders whether
| it Will be life or death, and that. Is
all. The world seemed SO small--t0o
small, In fact, for the human race not
to be one people. 1 saw the different
races stretching In concentric circles
around tho bubble caused by Times
dropped stone Before my eyes was a
veil or fog. / could only distinguish
persons in the room by their stature,
| They looked like large shadows.
had a vision of war: the field, an
immense blot Of blood, covered with
the dying and the dead. Rideriess
horses were stampeding away, while in
the distance the battle was In full
swing. Mothers, children and old peo-
& pie crouched together, abandoned Fire
lit up the ruins Of their homes. Then
| saw dens and caverns inhabited by
Wild beasts invaded by prehistoric
men, with torches in their hands. These
took possession, to be In turn driven
out by their successors, carrying the
lights of science and Of art.
How did / return to life2 cannot
say. know It was real and crue
pain to come together again, as 1t were
after the molecules composing my
body had been dispersed--a real pair
20 feel the current against me, whereas
4 had been floating with 1t. Was 1t th'
sympathy coming from my friends X
me combined with the good care ol
Charlotte and the skill DC the learhet
Or. Bertholet which restored me7 Ons
thing struck me that must try ant
deserve that sympathy sympath,
sarge for any one uersorl Mhel
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