TALES OF GREAT FALLS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2968, 1 February 1911, Page 80

TALES OF GREAT FALLS.

SOME MARVELLOUS ESCAPES FROM DEATH. "Falls from great heights, not necessarily fatal in their results, a,re becoming eo frequent in these days of aeroplaning,'' says the Lancet, "that it may prove- of interest to refer back to the classics of the subject, which, however, are not as ample as might be expected. Writing in 1841 of a fall from an immense altitude whicn did not result in death, a French observer, M. Mansini, declares that he had searched in vain in the annals of science for a similar case. We can well believe it. " The victim or patient was a tapissier who had been engaged in putting up the decorations on the occasion of the belated obsequies of Napoleon the Great, in the loi'ty dome of the Church of the Invalide.s in Paris. When busy moving ia ladder on the top of a high scaffolding he overbalanced himself, and, in obedience to Some Obscure Instinct, — jumped clear of the ladder and the platform, crying to his fellow-workmen, as only a Frenchman would, ' Tiens, me voila parti!' " With these cheerful words on his lips he fell 82ft. bounding in one place off

the roof t>f a little dome, which caused him to de-scribe a second parabola in the air, and landing firmly, feet first, on thejjilate roof of a small Bacristy. Crashing through the slates, he landed astride a rafter, where he was found sitting, surprised but coherent, for he was- able to give his name and address when asked for them. He had no recollection of this, and became unconscious when put to bed shortly afterwards under the care of the great Pasquier. His insensibility lasted a very short time, however, and he made an extraordinarily rapid recovery, having sustained no apparent injuries either external or internal. At the end of a month Pasquier found him quite well. "Ivlansini also records the case of his own fall from a great height when a child, and describes the feeling of blindness that came upon him, due to 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, Professor Heirn, the geologist of Zurich, described ' the flood of thought' that traversed his mind during a typical Alpine fall, which began on an inclined plane. He saw Beautiful Scenes —■ and visions of his past life as he fell, and reflected rationally o)n 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 Jailer thought about his insurance and his family. 'Of the losing of my breath, of which people talk, there was no suggestion, and only the heaw fall on the snow-covered ground caused me to lose suddenly and painlessly all consciousness.' Both these Alpinists insisted on the absence of anxiety from their minds when falling, while one certainly describes sensations similar to those felt 'by the drowning. classic English fails may be mentioned that of a steeplejack, who in 1800 fell from the top of the Church of St. George in Boltcn-le-Moore to the ground, the whole distance traversed being some 120 ft. The man's skull struck some sheet lead upon the earth, and left its impact upon it, but though this fell was quite unbroken, as in the previous cases, by scaffolding, docks, and so forth, the man was onlv 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 afterwards found to be 400 ft. He was picked up floating insensible in some sft 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."