The Washington herald., 1910-11-14
FALLS FROM GREAT HEIGHTS.
Some Instances in which They Have,
Not Proved Fatal.
From The Lancet

From the Lancet
Falls from great heights, not neces-
sarily fatal in their results. are be-
coming so frequent in these days OF
aeroplaning that it may prove OF in
the subject. which. however. are not
as ample as might be expected
Writing in 1S41 OF fall from an i'm
mense altitude which did not result in
death, French observer. NJ. Manzini
declares that he had searched IN vain
IN tile annals OF science for a similar
case. We can well believe il. The vic
tim or patient was a tapissier, who had
been engaged in putting up decorations
on the occasion of the belated obse-
ahies Of Napoleon the Great in the lofty
dome OF the Church Of the Invalides
in Paris.
When busy moving a ladder on the
top OF a high scanolding he overbal-
anced himself and in obedience 10 some
obscure instinct jumped clear OF the
ladder and the platform. crying 10 his
fellow workmen. as only a Frenchman
would ITEMS. me VOLTA partl. With
these cheerful words on his lips he fell
eighty-two feet. bounding in one place
OF the roof OF a little dome when
caused him 10 describe a second para
bola in the air. and landing finally feet
first on the slate roof Of a small sa-
cristy.
Crashing through the states he land
ed astride a rafter, where ne was found
sitting, surprised. but coherent, for he
was able to give his name and address
when asked for them. He had no recol-
Of md nfr
when put TO bed shortly afteTward un-
der the care of the great PasQuier. His
insensibility lasted very short time.
however, and he made an eXtraordi-
narily rapid recovery, having sustain
ed no apparent injuries, either external
or internal At the end OF a month
Pasquier found him quite well.
Manzini also records the case of his
own fall from a great height when
child. and describes the feeling Of
blindness that came upon him due 10
the rapidity of his descent also the
anguish Of recovering his breath after
It, Others. however, describe their
sensations during a tremendous fall as
being far from disagreeable.
Thus, some nine years ago, Prof.
Heirn, the geOlOgist OF Zurich. de-
scribed the food of thought that ira
a ~
fall. which began on an inclined plane.
He saw beautiful scenes and visions OF
his past life. as he fell, and reflected
nationally on his death or the chance OF
escape He felt no pain on striking the
ground. but he heard a thud. which was
the impact of his own head on a rock.
Another Alpine faller thought about
his insurance and his family "Of the
iosing OF my, breath, OF which the peo-
pie talk there was no suggestion, and
only the heavy fall on the snow-coy-
cred ground caused me TO lose suddenly
and painlessly all consciousness" Both
these Alpinists insisted on the absence
OF anxiety from their minds when fall
ing, while one certainly described sem
sations similar TO those felt by the
drowning.
Among classic English falls may be
mentioned that of steeplejack, who
in 1850 fell from the top of the Church
of St George in BoltOn-le-Moors TO the
ground. the whole distance traversed
being some 120 feet. The mans skull
struck some sheet lead upon the earth
and left its impact upon il, but though
this fall was quite unbroken as in the
previous cases by scaffolding. rocks,
and so forth, the man was only slightly
injured and resumed work in a few
days. Recently a man with his boots
on fell from the top of a cliff at Dover.
the height of which WAS afteward
found 10 be 400 feet.
lie was picked up floating insensible
in some FIVE feet OF water but his boots
were off. which proves that he must
have retained sufficient consciousness
on reaching the water to enable him
TO draw his boots from his feet. Both
these cases are well attested. We wish
we could be as sure OF the truth of the
story told of an aurrier who fell from
a fourth floor window, and who, as he
passed a lower one. was heard 10 re-
mark with great rapidity and clear
ness, Ca va bien jusqua present pour
ru que ca dure"