Daily Republican., 1882-07-20
| A SAD CASE.
voDY OF MICHAEL DOWNS
hn hanrC0VEMED AND TAAEN
TN PHII,AD ELPHIA.


TO PHII.AD ELPHIA.
,.moon 3 and 8 o'clock yesterday
beGmO :"" Captain j. W. HolS, OF the
pSIn,ms' 9nona% "Mary Augusta," bound for
CapTToOdoiphia. from st. Johns, New
nnswick nllauik loaded with railroad ties
lapI ~ hin knees, when near Deep wafer
hu on, ,p;thin a short distance OF Beile'
Uo OlD" about five miles from this CITY,
aw uT an object floating In the river
~Sicb % had the appearance OF pelng .
nI nnU The sails of the schooner were
Cous CosSrod and the boat anchored, when
oNaraI owU. mel put out in o row boat 10
etoL 1,oh the object, which proved to DO
CsSVn Nv WV w. of a man. Much trouble was
nronarienced 10 UG in catching the body as a
nG3ft current was running at the time;
W. bOdy was caught, however, ana
amoJ nO J to the shore when Coroner We'll
~ s;~ vas notified by telephone. While
naiting u inc for the telephone 1t was asc"r..
oinad that the body was that OF
SMrSael % Fl. Downs, who fell Off the
nohr "Buckalew," on Monday, the
PARTICULARS Oh WElou "Pp~rI - =
brpTpIICAN of Tuesday. The yacht
from @ which the unfortunate man fell,
naino anchored opposite Bellevue. The
Uau1 "ambsrs of the Pickering Bay Club, OF
~Sicb the deceased was q member,
MARE notified of the fact and the body
,vas towed to the schooner.
While waiting for Coroner Weldin,
word was telegraphed 10 Philadelphia,
when Lieutenant Geo. Moore, OF the
~oNre % tug, W. S. Stockley, after max
iug his usual report to the proper au-
tboritieS at 10 O clock, also reported the
6ndinp of Mr.. Downs body, ,whereupon
Chief Of Police Given, by authority OF
Mayor King, ordered the Lieutenant Of
tbe tug to proceed at once to the scene
sDd render all necessary assistance to
fbe Coroner and others interested. Ar
riyipe at the place where the schooner
was anchored, 1t was aScertained that
tbe Coroner had not yet arrived, when
they Immediately started for Whining
ton after him. Upon landing at French
street wharf at 2 o'clock, several gen
tlemen were dispatched after the official
and we're Just in time to catch him as
he WIS about embarking on the train
for Bellevue. He was taken on board
the tug boat StocSley, together with a
reporter of the REPUBLICAN,, and the
boat started of, making a quick run to
where the body was. Upon arriving,
the coroner examined several witnesses
as to the cause of the accident, their
testimony being such as to leave no
doubts in the minds of the most critical
but that the accident was purely acCi-
dental and a certificate of death from
accidental drowning was accordingly
rendered. Among the persons who
came down on the Stockley was Mr..
Peter Monroe, member OF Select Coun-
ell from the Third ward; Lieut.. George
Moore officer In charge; Mr.. Andy
Johnson, of the Third ward and one of
the deCeased's most intimate friends,
and Wm. G. Gillingham, of the Ameri-
Gus Club. Each of these gentlemen
were boon companions of the unfortnn.
ate man, and when interviewed by the
REPUBLICAN, reporter, they could not
maintain tn cir feelings and their eyer
were wet with tears, SO firm had the
friendship between them and the de-
ceased existed. Too much praise can
not be bestowed upon Lieutenant
Moore, who was in charge of the boat
for his courtesy and kindness in thus
lending aid to the members of the be-
reaved club as well as to the family,
Credit is also due to Chief Given, o1
Philadelphia, for his prompt action in
the matter.
After the certificate of death had been
given the corpse was taken from the
water and placed on board the Stockley
and taken to Queen street wharf, Phil.
adephia, where an undertaken was in
waiting. Notwithstanding the corpse
had been in the water but about A
hours, the body was in q deCOmposed
state. The face, especially the eyes,
were very much disiRured by fish and
crabs, and it was hard to tell whether
theman was struck by the tug when he
iell overheard or not, but the general
SuppoSition is that ne was, as he was
good swimmer.
The saddest part of the death of Mr..
Downs, was the blow te his aged
mother, who had not seen him for 19
years, but was expected to arrive in
rhlladelphia on Thu rsday, the Goth
INST. She arrived in New York on Sat.
ufday last where she was visiting John
Downs, a brother of Michael, whom she
nad not seen for 18 years. The news of
nls death was a severe blow to her as
well as to all who knew him. Shortly
@,ter tne party sailed out of Philadel-
pnla, t1e mother of the deceased tele'
sEsphed that she would be in Philadel.
pnla on Thursday, when almost imme-
ul@'ely thereafter his wife received the
sad news of bis death.
~ Mr; Downs was highly esteemed by
o. %tl VINO Knew him as he was man in
Ii iio 'Eue sense of the word. None knew
nan, am out 10 love him, and his death has
T~% aov Sau gloom over the entire com
manity where he resides,
tbe a peculiar feature Of the finding Of
Uuo oTuy as witnessed by the reporter,
ina was tne actions of small dog, belong.
in Ing So W 'he deceased, who appeared to be
nIonP IIueeP sorrow, and when the body was
s%"ss "Uou on the boat, he seemed to be
"Glo +" an Oh The sad fate of his master, and
nions nT nau 10 be carried by force from the
praSe waS ~ Whore the body lay. -Four times
frou0 nO 'nls ms act repeated, the dog jumping
w;th % one D at to another in order to be
loas sI us nlS master. If the dog felt his
who yUpo now much more did his friends,
WY were human, feel it?
eiShto uo hundred and seven dollars and
dSSy'nVe cents were taken from the
of fImIeu Nv mans pockets and taken care
bi0 y S, LIZ friends. 1t is probable that
6ara .uaGral will take place to-Gay. The
oS sS ss VI Doth boats we're at half mast out
" respect to the deceased.
Slhln nH nA.s. trn-