St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1857-11-26
G9e gntellieenter.
L" Who hath Woe" :"

The strange and horrible power O
intoxicating drinks to paralyze all tn
kindly affections of human nature
furnishes one of the most effective ar
guments for their disuse. SO man,
instances of this terrible truth ar,
seen on every hand that no man cal
doubt it. 1t was brought freshly t.
our notice few davs since in the
very brief account circulated in tho
papers, of a mother driven to the mur
der of herself and child by the cruel
ty OF an incorporate husband. The
story is quickly told but most affect
ing.
The body of Mrs. Treat and hen
child were recovered from the river at
Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, after they
had been mysteriously missing several
days. For some time previous to her
sudden disappearance she had cndeav.
ored to find some one to adopt hel
child. Failing in that, it would seem
she determined to free it from further
neglect, brutality and ruin, and, in
pursuance of this idea, fastened it to
herself with a rope, which she passed
around the bodies of herself and child
and tied in a knot. Thus they were
found-thc child with one of its arms
around its mothers ncck-thc mother
with both arms clasped tightly around
her child. The husband and father
manifested entire Indifference during
her absence, and after her bonnet had
been found by the side of the river,
and while the ncighbors were drag
ging the river for the bodies, he lin
gercd about the tavern, stupefying'
himself as usual with liquor, and man
ifcsting no more feeling than a brute.
1t is easy to fill up the story. Prob
ably Treat had not been long a brute.
\ few years ago, who can tell what a
wealth of young love hc lavishcd on
the fair girl who consented to be his
for better OF for worse. Who can
paint their parental JOY at the birth
of the child, destined ut length to
share its mothers watery grave
Treat had learned to love the excite
mcnt Of the intoxicating cup. As the
habit grew upon him and he became
its slave, the love of wife and child
withcrcd and died beneath its fatal
blight He became gradually indiif'er-
cnt to their happiness, then morose,
then positively cruel. The heart of
his poor wife was broken, and in des-
pair for herself and child, she madly
sought release for both from life
made wretched by husbands cruel
ty. Treat was not worse, very like
ly, than other men. Liquor did the
terrible work, changed the man to a
brute, and made the once fond hus.
band the prosecutor OF his helpless
wife and child, even unto death
Why do not these frequently rccur.
ring lessons Of the pcrils of dram
drinking have their effect? How can
sane men rush into this vortex of ru.
in? Is it not because no man sees his
own peril till it is too late, till habi,
has made him its slave, and he sees
but feels unable to resist the intluenc,
that is gradually Transforming him in
to its own detestable image Lei
the young man who drinks for gooG
companionship and innocent cxhilara
tion, beware. Let him look at the
picture before us-the mother anC
child drawn from their watcry grave
and the brutalized husband and fatheI
callous to the sad spectacle-and ash
if there is no danger that his prcsen
agreeable indulgenccs must not a
some time make him the central fig
ure of a similar picture. "Who hatl
woe" like that of the drunkard's wifi,
and children?