Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1866-05-04
A DISTRESSING CALAMITY.
A Vile and Mother browns Herself In
the Cedar River.


/ On Monday last Mr.. Thomas Chad
wick, of East Waterloo township, when
he awoke- in the morning, about five
O'Clock, was surprised to discover that
his wife was not by his side. On getting
up he found that she was not in the
house nor about the premises, and at
once became solicitous to ascertain her
whereabouts. No member of the fami-
ly had seen her that morning.; but the
lady's brother, Mr.. John Dexter, said
he heard the outside door open in the
night, and the lady's little boy, several
years of age, said that his mother came
and kissed him sometime in the dark
ness. Mr.. Chadwick was puzzled by
this evidence, and was entirely at loss
to give any satisfactory explanation of
his wife's absence. The neighbors were
informed of her disappearance, and Il
search for her Immediately began. In
the direction of the river, on field of
plowed ground, the tracks of some one
in stocking feet were discovered leading
toward the burying ground, which lay
near the banks Of the stream. 1t was
thought she might be at the grave of
her child who died in February last of
diptheria. But she was not there. A
neighbor went on to the bank of the
river; and there, in the merciless water,
n mile and a half from home, was the
fol Of al,
wife and mother had committed suicide
by drowning herself! The only expla-
nation of the cause which impelled the
unfortunate lady to this rash act is CIV
en- as follows: Since the death of her
child, she seemed constantly under con-
viction that she was i'm some way charg-
able with neglect of duty to the little
one that had been taken away. She
frequently upbraided herself, and day
and night mourned the child's DEATH
Not great while ago, while visiting
with q neighbor, she referred to this
matter, and in the course of conversa-
ton remarked that she sometimes felt
that she would like to drown herself in
the Cedar River. Her husband, how
ever, never entertained the remotest
idea that she ever contemplated self-de-
struction; neither does it appear that
any friend or acquaintance supposed
that there was any more probability of
her committing suicide than there was
of any other person in the neighbour
hood. Itseems, too, that there was no
good ground for her self.reproach but,
on the contrary, it appears that by her
own efforts and the efforts of others
everything possible was done to save
the life of the child. She had never
given any Indications of insanity, and
it is not claimed thatany other dcrange-
ment than that naturally attendant up
on nervous excitement was instrument
tai in bringing about her unhappy
death. 1t seems Sue got up in the dead
of night, kissed her sleeping children,
went to the grave of the little one that
died, and from there to the. place where
she so rashly threw off all of lfe's heavy
burdens. There is something touching
in the testimony of the little boy-His
mother came and kissed him in the
night! Mrs. Chadwick leaves a hus-
band and two children-the little boy
we have referred to and babe Dr.
Pierce summoned a Coroner's jury on
Monday, and held an inquest on the
body. The verdict returned was in ac-
cordance with the facts set forth above
4 Nice Pidce.-The most attractive
spot around Cedar Falls is Mr.. j. NJ.
Overman's property, on the hill just
west of the city limits. Mr.. Overman
has about twenty-five acres of ground
there, commencing at the foot of the
hill and extending back over its crest
This he has long intended for a home
stead, and two years ago he employed
an experienced English gardener, nam
ed Baker, to lay off about two acres into
garden. Last fall Mr.. Overman put up
the walls of stone building intended
hereafter for barn, but now being fin
ished for temporary use as residence.
The garden is beautifully laid out, and
is being much improved this Spring by
Mr. Baker. II commands an excellent
view of the city. A large amount of
shrubbery, trees, &C., have been set out,
which are doing finely. Just back of
the garden is tlourishing young Or
chard of about eight hundred tees. Mr..
Overinan is putting in about an acre to
grapes, and intends to have a good
grapery. During the season he will
plant willow hedge on the south
Those of our citizens who desire to see
a nice place, and Mt the same time get a
good look at Cedar Falls, should take a
walk up to J. NJ. Overman's. ..-.
FfencNs Agricultural Warehouse and
Seed ,Storc.-Farmers, we know, will
be interested in the advertisement Of
the Iowa Central Agricultural Ware
house and Seed Store which appears in
our paper this week. AS an index to
the business which this house is doing,
we may say that French has sold an av-
erage of four or five plows day for the
past II onth. At one time he received a
full car load. In other things an equal
ly good showing could be made. Mr..
French's sales last year reached the
large sum of S35, 097.s1, and his sales the
present year will probably be much
larger, having now the advantage of
the business lately conducted by Mr.. A.
ID. Barnum. Our readers shall have
the pleasure of seeing Mr.. French's re-
port at the end of the season, and in the
mean time we trust there may be a gem
eral desire to make the figures as large
as possible.
D@ DR.. King, Dentist, who has sue