The Holbrook news., 1910-09-09
WHEN FACING DEATH
ST. LOUIS ARCHITECTS HELPER
 TELLS HOW IT FEELS.
Odd Things Came to His Mind as He Thought He Would Surely Fall
 From Tall Building.

confronted by the grim destroyer,
 what great peril will do to your ner- vous system? Probably you have had some close calls in your day and know something of the emotions of a per son who thinks his time has come. If 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, 1t was my duty to measure buildings which were to be altered or enlarged. and one windy day I went to see one of these, which was three-story and basement brick house with the usual area and railings in front of it. Ad joining this was a little higher build ing and 1t was necessary for me to get kne exact dimensions of the brick wall ard chimney that projected above the roof of the house was measuring.
 T found very large and heavy skylight in the attic, which required all my strength to push up and out to open. It was held open by pivoted stick of wood and by climbing through the opening I saw that I could stretch myself out on the roof and by holding fast to the edge of the skylight open ing with my right hand I could reach out with my left and measure the gable wall with my six-foot folding rule.
 ''I was sprawled out in this manner, face down on the. slate roof. with my left arm and the rule extended at full length, when I suddenly became conscious that the wind had shaken the skylight loose from the stick that held it open and that 1t was falling shut. If I did not withdraw my hand instantly it would catch and crush it. If pulled my hand out I would fall
 When I first noticed that the sup port had given way the skylight had already begun its descent and it had not more than four feet to fall. Dur ing the time that 1t fell those four feet had ample time to review the conse- quences of losing my right hand if held on and the result of falling three stories If let go. There was nothing at the edge of the roof but a little half-round gutter held up by . few holdfasts.
 Tt occurred to me that 1t 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 possi- bility of being able to hold my place If I withdrew two or three fingers and sacrificed the others; but I concluded that they would probably be cut clean off by the edge of such a heavy sky light and that I should slide down to the street anyway.
 This idea of the insufficiency of mangled fingers to support my weight on such a sloping roof suggested that it might be better to stick my arm into the opening and that perhaps the injury to it might not be so severe as to require amputation. I distinctly remembered trying to recall whether the muscles should be firm or relaxed, and thought it best to hold them firm.
 AS well as I can remember, the outcome of my deliberations was de- termination to change hands and to sacrifice the left instead of the right. had no sooner come to this conclu- sion than it struck me that there would not be time to make the change and that might lose my hold alto gether. It seemed to me that I had already changed my opinion as to the respective merits of the two hands at least a dozen times.
 All this time, remember, the sky light was falling shut. As look back at 1t 1t seems incredible that I did not spend at least half an hour thinking over the pros and cons of the situa- ton, but 1t must have been less than a fifth of a second. My final resolve was a determination to hold on, as there was no time to change hands, and to trust to the shreds of my man. gled fingers to hold me on the roof.
 "But when the crash came and the skylight actually fell shut my hand was not in the opening. I was sliding down the roof on my way to the street below
 "The edge was at/least ten feet be- low me and I was gaining speed at every foot.
 T distinctly remember the railing around the area and also the absence of any cornice on the cave of the
 
 gutter The thing could not remem- Der, although I made desperate efforts to do so, was whether or not that area railing had spikes in it.
 q knew I should fall directly upon those railings and the spikes bothered me- The minuteness with which I re- called everything about the house-its number, the alterations that were made in it, the sketches we had pre- pared, the new ideas we had talked overall these things were reviewed In the effort to recall in connection with one or other of them something that would answer the question. Were there spikes on that railing or not?
 "I suddenly became conscious that [ was no longer sliding down the roof. It was exactly like waking out of a dream. I then realized that my toes, in dropping over the edge of the slates, had caught on the little half round iron gutter.
 ''In another minute the skylight was