The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-12-16

SAu Enuths Oh u SkNtins frOtir.
-FOUR CHILDREN DROWNED SEVEN OILERS
NARROWLY ESCAPE DEATH--A DISTRESSING |
SCENE.
Thursday evening the ice on Abbott's
pond broke under a skating party Of chill
dren. -Four OF them were drowned and
seven others made narrow escape from
similar fate, The drowned are Johanna
Carey, aged ten; John Snowden, aged
ten, Violet Baker, aged fourteen, and
Thomas kendle, AGED fourteen From the
Philadelphia papers we take the following
particulars Of the sad affair.
The ice which covered the pond was
about an inch and 4 half thick and porous.
Between ana 8 O'Clock fully two dozen
children and young women were skating
and sliding upon the lee PLAYING about it,
edges. The children who were drowned
were PLAYING on the ice with Alice Rachel
Lawson, fifteen years OF age; Samuel Law
son, the nine-year-old brother OF Alice;
Ann Elizabeth Barker, the eighteen-year
old sister OF Violet, who was drowned;
Mary Driscoll, aged eleven; Jennie V.
Ernshaw, aged thirteen; Maggie ClaIey,
aged twelve, and j seven-year-old sister OF
the drowned Carey child. Half dozen Of
all PLAYING a game called " catcher" The ice
cracked once or twice during the play and
several children prudently left the pond.
Those named, however. continued their
game. The ten were endeavoring 10 catch
John Snowden. When in the middle OF
the pond and ten or fifteen feet above the
breast of the dam young Snowden fell and
the little Barker girl fell over him. The
In. MI
several of them tlImbled down. While
they were scrambling about and laughing
| the lee for space OF dozen feet about
| them gave way and down they went 10 the
bottom.
STRUGGLE FOR LIFE.
Where they went down the water il be-
| tween six and seven feet deep. On COM
inc 10 the surface the children fought and
struggled desperately. Clinging 10 the
cakes OF lee. they screamed for help ut the
ton Of their voices. Violet Barker and
Johanna Carey appeared to have remained
under the water, for those who escaped did
not see them come up. When the Ice broke
the children on shore and several young
women who were with them were 80 ter
ritied that, instead OF Offering to assist
those in the pond, they fled, screaming,
toward Queen lane. Archibald Lawson,
who was working three or four hum
| dred wards away, was the nearest man 10
the pond. He heard the cries ana ran TO
the scene OF the accident. When he AZ
rived several Of the children were clinging
10 the rim of ice which surrounded the
centre OF the little lake. lie dashed boldly
info the water. Ii was nearly SIX feet
deeD. but he managed 10 land bis children,
| Alice and Samuel, before Policemen smith,
MAY. and HOskins came up, broke through
tbe shore lee, and saved five other nearly
exhausted little ones. People came run
ming from all directions. aud before the
bodies Of the drowned were laid upon the
banks-hai an hour later-fully 5000 sur
rounded the place.
A DISTRESSING SCENE.
II was at first reported that dozen chill
dren were under the lee near the dam, ant
NOT until it was broken away and CAREFUL,
dragged would the excited multitude be
lieye the contrary. The cries OF the rela
lives OF the drowned made the scene pain
mi IN the extreme. Warm blankets got a
the nearest houses were brought ant
wropped about the shiyering children wh'
| were rd\tu, anu WV '''''' ~
, homes. The dead were also removed e
the homes Of their bereayed parents
Even after the lee around the edges o
/ the pond was broken and the last bod.
/ removed great crowd Of peopl
. remained about the place, anu AFTER uarl
: hundreds came from Manayilnk ana hoN
borough TO look upon The scene Oh III
calamity. The Falls Of sehuylkill was IL
, Gloom. and nothing else was talked OF las
night but the accident, which is the mos
, distressing one Of the kind that has &C
: Cured in that neighborhood since Febr'
lary. 1867, when three boys and ma
. NAMED Prentess, who tried to save then
I. broke through the ice on the Schuylkl
river and were drowned. Miss Lawson
the eighteen.year-old girl, who was saved
= saws that she was standing at the edge
I The pond when the ice broke. She did M
0 hear any of the warning cracks spoken
: by the other children. To use her ow
n words, the "ice broke into bits and a