The Montana plaindealer. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1906-1911, 1910-10-21
WHEN FACING DEATH
ST. LOUIS ARCHITECTS HELPER
TELLS HOW IT FEELa
ODD Things Came TO His Mind as He
Thought He Would Surely Fall
From Tall Building.

St Louis, Mo.-Have you ever faced
death7
Do you know what It means to be
confronted by the grim destroyer,
what great peril will do to your ner-
vous system? Probsbly you have had
some close calls in your day and kno"
| something Of the emotions of a per
son who thinks his time has come.
II not, the following incident related
by George Bush of this city may give
you an idea OF the thrill Of facing
death:
Being an architects assistant. II
was my duty to measure buildings
which were to be altered or enlarged.
and one windy day | went to see one
Of these, which was a three-story and
basement brick house with the usual
area and ratings In front OF It. Ad-
Joining this was a little higher build
ing and It was necessary for me to get
the exact dimensions Of the brick
wall and chimney that projected o
the roof Of the house | was measuring.
"I found a very large and heavy
skylight in the attic, which required
all my strength to push up and out to
open. II was held open by a pivoted
stick Of wood and by climbing through
the opening / saw that could stretch
myself out on the roof and by holding
fast to the edge of the skylight open
ing with my right hand | could reach
: out with my left and Measure the
gable wall with my six-foot folding
rule.
: 81 was sprawled out In this amer
face down on the slate roof. with my
left arm and the rule extended at
full length, when l suddenly became
. conscious that the wind had shaken
the skylight loose from the stick that
held It open and that It was falling
shut. II | did not withdraw my hand
instantly II would catch and crush It
II l pulled my hand out l would fall.
when I first noticed that the sup
port had given way the skylight had
already begun Its descent and 1t had
, not more thar four feet to fall. Dur
ing the time that It fell those four feet
had ample time to review the conse-
quences Of losing my right hand II
held on and the result of falling three
a | bIOElbh IL 4 let 81. AhNAO "6
at the edge OF the roof but a little
a half-round gutter held UP by a few
holdfasts.
"It occurred to me that II might be
- possible to pull out my right hand and
insert my left, as 1t would be better
to lose my left hand than my right.
- also discussed with myself the posi-
bility of being able to hold my place
"A II withdrew two or three fingers an
sacrificed the others; but | conclude.
~ that they would probably be cut cleal
- off by the edge OF such a heavy sky
light and that | should slide down t
the street anyway.
This idea of the insuflclency o
mangled fingers to support my weigh
on such a slipping roof suggested tina
l4L IL might be better to stick my arr
into the opening and that perhaps tn
:. injury to It might not be so severe a
IA to require ~amputation. | distinct
remembered trying to recall whethe
the muscles should be firm or relaxed
"a and thought It best to hold them firm
a. "As we'll as | can remember, tn
outcome of my deliberations was n d.
termination to change hands and I
sacrifice the left instead OF the RICH
had no sooner come TO this concl1
I'M sion than It struck me that ther
would not be timo to make the chang
YER and that I might lose my hold alt
gether. II seemed to me that | ha
already changed my opinion as to n
respective merits of the two hands
the least a dozen times.
N. "All this time, remember. the SIX
light was falling shut As l look ba'
hat at II It seems incredible that did n
too spend at least half IN hour thinkir
tile over the pros and cons OF the stu
hot ton. but It must have been less thu
leir a fifth Of a second. My final resell
tile was a determination to hold on.
there was no time to change hand
the and to trust to the shreds Of my ma
ned gled fingers to hold me on the TO,
and But when the crash came and I
ept. gkvlight actually fell hut my ha
nod was not in the opening. was slidi
may down the roof on my way to the sire
ash below.
, be THE edge was at least ten feet
low me and I was gaining speed
low every foot
--old 81 distinctly remember the rail-
around the area and also the absen
rder OF any cornice on the cave OF I
sub roof-nothing but a rusty old d
hool gutter. The thing l could not RENE
the Der, although ! made desperate enc
ands 10 do so. was whether or not that al
AIRED railing had spikes in It.
and. 81 knew I should fall directly VI
view those ratings and the spikes bothe'
me. The minuteness with which
Let called everything o the house
like number. the alterations that "
any made In II, the sketches we had
pared, the new ideas We had tai
same overall these things were revie'
table in the effort 70 recall in connect
Inv. With one or nther Of them someth