Western Kansas world., 1907-05-18
THE LAST MOMENTS
WHEN THE SPIRIT CROSSES THE
BORDERLAND.
Passing of a Life as Seen by One
Who Is Not a Physician-Death
+ Rattle a Shock to
Listeners

One afternoon a reporter for the
New York Sun wss sitting in one of
the rooms of the house surgeon of a
hospital in New York city, smoking a
cigar and chatting with the doctor
while the latter busted himself with
looking over some instruments that
ce had taken from a case.
An orderly entered and said: "Doc-
tor, think he is dying now
Are his brother and mother here?''
asked the house surgeon
No, they said they were coming.
but they are not here yet
Its a case of severe operation"
said the doctor to the reporter. He
took his ether all right and rallied
from the shock, but he has been
losing ground for two days. Will you
come along with me?'
The reporter followed the physician
into one of the small rooms devoted
to private patients.
Lying fat on his back on the mar
row iron cot was a young man, per-
haps little more than so. The bed
clothing was in perfect order The
narrow counterpane was spread
smoothly the cot and folded over,
with the sheet across the patients
chest
His arms lay straight on either
side. His face did not indicate enact
alton. His breathing was irregular,
and there seemed to be considerable
interval, sometimes longer and some
times shorter, between the end of an
expiration and the beginning of an
inspiration. The orderly stood at the
foot of the cot
How 1nn0 he
scious?" the physician asked.
"a little more than an hour" re-
piled the orderly.
I'VE may talk said the doctor, che
won't hear u.s." But this was spoken
in a low tone, as befitted speaking in
the presence of death.
Does every person die uncon-
Ecious?'' he was asked
Many persons are conscious when
they believe they are dying. They
become unconscious, and they may
or may not regain consciousness and
lose it again before death takes place.
"A period of Inconsistencies is i'm
measurable to the subject. A second,
minute, a million years-there is
no difference so so far as he is con-
cerned"
1.-THE death rattle" whispered the
orderly.
The intermittent breathing of the
man on the cot had given way to a
sound that was strange to one not ac-
customed to hear it-a sound so far
from human that it is made but once
in lifetime, and that is when one is
passing to the other side of the bor-
derland of human existence.
''Unearthly'' is perhaps the one
hot 70
ing this sound. Because, maybe, of
seems loud to ears not acquainted
with it. 1t seems even loud enough
to be heard through the brick walls
and out in the street.
The sound ceases, and the watchers
turn their eyes toward the face of the
physician. 1t begins again, as if the
dead were awakening.
They will not come before he
dies, said the doctor.
.1s he likely to regain conscious
ness, even for a moment?" the ply
sician was asked.
Il don't think so,'' was the reply.
May 1 hold his hand, so that if he
does be may feel that he is not
alone?"
The physician nodded assent
The mans finger tips seemed very
cold to the warm hand that took them.
There was no sign of permission or
resistance. The death rattle contin-
ued with longer intervals between
the breathings.
For how many minutes this con-
tinued cannot be told; it seemed an
age. The strange, unearthly sound
ceased. and two faces were turned
toward that of the physician.
Then there was convulsive move
ment of the body on the cot, followed
by a jerk of the head as if from
strangulation. The jaw of the patient
fell and his eyes, which had opened,
stared at the wall
There had been no sign of response
from the hand of the dying man.
The orderly stepped to the head of
the cot, and with the thumb and a fin
ger of one hand pushed down the eye
lids over the sightless eyes.