Omaha daily bee., 1907-02-09
CRAWL FOR LIFE IN SNOW
Struggles of n Man Thrown on a
Train TO Reach Place of
Safety.

In Jack London's gruesome story,
'Love o. Life"-the story of a starving
goidseeker of the frozen north, crawling
and wriggling across a desert of snow
until, a raving mailman, he was rescued
from the edge of the grave-there is moth
ing more terrible than the experiences of
p. K Lowndes of 20 Broad street. New
York City. who lives in East Orange.
After being thrown from the platform
of a Lackawanna train, travelling at full
speed, Mr.. Lowndes awoke to conscious
ness with his hands and feet frost bitten,
his body covered with blood from head to
foot, and his senses so dulled that 1t re-
Quired all his ebbing strength of mind
and body to keep himself awake as he
crawled through the snowdrifts toward
a faint light on the Jersey meadows.
Mr. Lowndes was detained at his ONCE
later than usual last Saturday afternoon.
He got away just in time to catch a $3.50
ferryboat from the foot of Barclay street,
making close connection with Delaware,
Lackawanna e. Western train in Hoboken.
The train had just emerged from the tun-
mel and was speeding toward the Passaic
river when Mr.. Lowndes attempted to
go from one car to another.
As he stepped across the platform,
grasping the iron railing to steady him
self, the train began to turn sharp
CURVE A gust of wind blew on his hat.
Involuntarily. in a moment of careless
ness. he let go the rail- and made futile
grasp for the hat. The train lurched sud-
denly as the apex Of the curve was
rounded.
In an instant Mr. Lowndes was cast
headlong into the darkness. He remem-
bers that he made a wild. fruitless effort
20 cafch hold NJ aonefhfnR Then thera
was a binding moment of horror as he
few through the air, and after that, moth
ing.
II must have been midnight. as nearly
as he can now calculate the time, when
he awoke. For almost i've hours he had
lain in the snow. But he did not realize
this then. All he knew was that he suf-
fered terribly When he tried to move,
his hands and feet stuck TO the snow.
Even the side Of his face was frozen to
the ground.
Loosening one hand with difneulty. he
slowly raised It to his head. When he
drew IT away II was covered with blood
Then he saw in the moonlight that the
snowdrift under him was stained red in
streaks But his wounds had stopped
| bleeding now. Half dazed. though he
was, he congratulated himself that the
blood had frozen over the great gashes
on his head-frozen 30 hard that II formed
a sort OF bandage TO prevent his bleeding
/ TO death.
He wiggled painfully until he no longer
| lay fastened to the snow. He tried TO
| rise, but only sank back gasping. Neither
his arms nor his legs would support him,
and gradually. as he gathered his wits,
| he knew that he was cut and bruised
all over. and that all his extremities were
paralyEed with cold. The only consola.
tion-he remembers vaguely that he once
more congratulated himself-was that no
bones seemed 20 be broken.
But he knew he must make another eff
fort TO move before It was too late
Slowly, gritting his teeth against the pain
he managed TO rise to a kneeling posture
When he found he could do no more hs
began TO crawl
More than once the sleepy feeling re.
turned. When he was half way up. Il
became 80 strong that he almost gave vi
the night; but the memory OF the sigma
tower, the Love o. Life" and the knowl
edge that sleep meant sure death In ths
snow kept him going. Up. up. up One.
more he peered over the embankment
Carefully ceiling his way. he oyercame tn
two-fOot climb that remained. He sat be
side the tracks now. BY stretching out hi
hand he could touch the cold ran.
| A freight train came laundering past