The Colorado statesman., 1907-05-11
THE LAST MOMENTS
WHEN THE SPIRIT CROSSES THE
BORDERLAND.
Passing of a Life as Seen by One
Who Is Not Physician-Death
Rattle Shock to
Listeners.

One afternoon reporter for the
New York SIN was 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
he had taken from a case.
An orderly entered and said: Doc
tor, think he is dying nowv
Are his brother and mother here?"
asked the house surgeon.
mo, 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 fiat on his back on the mar
row iron cot was young man, per-
haps little more than 80. The bed
clothing was in perfect order. The
narrow counterpane was spread
smoothly on the cot and folded over,
with the sheet across the patients
chest
His arms lay straight on either
sids His face did not indicate enact
alton. His breathing was irregular,
and there seemed to be a 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 long has he been uncon-
scious?" the physician asked
"A little more than an hour" re-
piled the orderly.
'Wc may talk" said th, doctor, "he
won't hear u.s." But this was spoken
in low tone, as befitted speaking in
the presence of death.
Does every person die uncon-
scious?" 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 second,
minute, million years-there is
no difference SO SO far as he is con-
cerned."
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
word that comes nearest to designat-
ing this sound Because, maybe, of
the silence of the death chamber, it
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.
ID lC hhCly " lC6diu COuSClOuS-
ness, even for a moment?" the ply
sician was asked.
'I 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. Tile 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 jerk of the head as if from
strangulation. The jaw of the patient
fell and his eyes. which had opened,
stared ct 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 fin
gec of one hand pushed down the eye
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