Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-07-27
FLUNG INTO THE SEA
Experience of a Man Struggling
 in Midocean.
SENSATIONS OF DROWNING.
A Tansie of Wild Thoughts Combined With Vague Notions of Time and Spaee-The Dreamy Doze, the Res cue and the Knife In His Back.

Witn vague Notions or lime and
 Spaee-The Dreamy Doze, the Res cue and the Knife In His Back. Standing on a chair near the deck rail of an ocean liner. a sudden Iurch of the vessel flung me into the Atlantic. Instinctiyely as went over held my arms out for the dive, and while was still falling heard the cry ring out. Man overboardw
 Down. down sank. for the fall was from considerable height Being able to swim little, I was spared the first mental agony experienced by the non swimmer who unexpectedly finds him. self in deep water. The surprise caused by the suddenness of the fall filed my brain. but as l struggled to regain the surface, my lungs almost bursting. the horrible thought of the propeller churning out its 100 revolu- tions minute flashed upon me.
 Should be mangled beyond recogni tion In second? Oh, for another years sweet life! Would my leg be cut clean off or
 could see the sky again. and took a great breath of fresh air, though sick with fear. Then saw the steamer had passed, was spared mutiation to die slowly by drowning.
 How rapidly the steamer was vanish ing! could catch a glimpse of it when a green wave lifted me high in the water. l would only be able to swim for ten minutes-ten little min utes!-though l was still in the prime of life. Surely that cry as fell would have reused somebody to action. And yet 1 was alone in the Atlantic. with possibly two miles of water between me and the bottom.
 looked round anxiously to see whether n lifebuoy had been thrown. There was nothing in sight but a wide waste of water and the fast disappear ing steamer.
 My arms were growing heavy. All tried to do was to keep my head above water. but seemed to have been do- ing that for an hour. My legs. too. were refusing to bend. The end could not be far away.
 My arms must both be broken. for they would hardly move. and they ached terribly. What a long time man could keep afioati I was vaguely glad I could not swim very well. be- cause 1t would have meant waiting for the end such long time. It made one drowsy.
 Another wave lifted me up. and I saw the steamer had changed its posi- ton. It must be going back to Eng land to tel, them at home what had happened to me. How soothing the sea was! If only could stop trying to work my arms that aching pain in them would cease and might go to sleep.
 Sometimes when I saw the ship. which Dever seemed to get any farther away now. l remembered l was fight ing for another minutes life. It had been harder at first. but now the sea lulled me into happiness.
 What on earth were they playing at on the steamer? had nearly caught it up again. only somehow I had got in front of 1t It grew bigger quickly. and 1t was coming straight on. If those ridiculous people were not care. ful they might run over me yet.
 Perhaps it would be better to go to sleep. after all. My arms were easier. and did not want to breathe so much now. It was getting dark and ever so much colder than it was last night The steward must give me an extra blanket.
 Why was everything so hay and the room stuffy? could hardly breathe. And yet 1t didn't matter. Nothing mattered. but l wished dreamily that some one would stop digging a knife into my back. for was just dropping off to sleep nicely.
 
 Next day found the knife" had been the point of a buat hook with which they picked me up as came to the surface. The steamer had turned fin a circle and arrived just in time ondnn Aneuorq