Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-07-20
DROWNED IN THE SURF.
Two LittIo Boys LOGO Their Lives at AtIanl

Two LittIo Boys Loee Their Lives at Atlantic
City.
At Atlantic City the first drowning
tragedy of the season resulted about half
past nine o'clock Thursday morning in
the deaths of Josie Patton, of that city,
and Johnnie White. Of Philadelphia. The
day was fine, the water warm and no
clouds on the horizon betokened any at
mospheric disturbance or violence of cur
rents. The two boys wandered down to
the beach from the home of Mr.. Patton,
and for long while no alarm was felt at
their absence
Mr.. Samuel White, the father of Johnnie
White, lives at the corner of Blair and
Otis streets, Kensington, Philadelphia,
and is the brother-in law of Mr.. Joseph
Patton, proprietor of the Patton House, at
No. 10 Arkansas Avenue, City, they
having married sisters The two cousins,
the White boy, only years old, and the
Patton boy, about 8. strolled through the
crowds on the board walk and began play.
ing ball on the beach about quarter of a
mile below the Excursion house, iu front
of bath house No. 13.
IE little while they were seen to go
farther down, towards the Fortesoue
house, and one was heard to say to the
other, "Oh, josie, got my feet wet !;
I'm afraid mamma won't like it," This
was the last heard from either of the boys.
Soon afterwards they were missed from
the waters edge, and anxious inquiries
were made of the volunteer life guard,
Captain Clark, whose tent is in that vicin-
ity' Soon afterwards young man, giving
his name Or William Marley, swan out
some little distance from the beach, and,
on " letting down." for bottom, touched
with bis foot human body. He uttered
a violent shrek and attracted at once q
crowd of people already moro or less anx-
ious about the missing boys. Marley
came in in hysterica' excitement, and
Captain Clark at onco went out to where
he had been swimming.
After diving once or twice he brought
up and carried to shore the body of Josie
Patton. He was warm, but gave no other
evidence of life, although experts said that
he had not been under the surface more
than ten minutes. Returning to the ocean
Captain Clark found, not long afterward,
the body of Johnny White, floating, but
near the bottom. He at once took him
ashore. and Drs. Bennett and Riley, who
had been hastily summoned, used every
known surgical expedient to restore ami
nation to the limp forms which had a
short time before been thu pride of two
families. The children were dressed in
the clothes they had worn away from
homo in the morning.
The scene was heartrending as Mr.. Pat
ton came running to the waters edge,
calling almost unconsciously the name of
his boy. Hurrying into Captain Clark's
tent, as he saw the pale but lifelike form
of his darling child, he became as white
as the canvass and chilled into deathlike
silence, with q look of such appalling
agony that number of ladies burst into
hysterical weeping. Mr.. Patton looked
for one moment at the cOrpses, said quiet
ly That is my child" and then, looking
at the other, and that 10 my sisters
child" Scarcely q pint Of water was OK.
tracted from either body, and for long
time hopes of resuscitati0n urged the
attendants to the most strenuous exer
t:oDs, but all in vain.
When asked about the drowning, Cap.
tain Clark said:
81 was just pushing my boat into the
water when gentleman told me he had
just stumbled over body in the surf. l
swan out, and found the bodies just
beyond the second breaker. There was no
current or undertow, and no reason can
be assigned for the drowning that know
of, except the strangulation and fright OF
the boys on being suddenly carried out
beyond their depth by breaker"
The bath house keeper, in front OF
whose place the boyshad been playing, said:
az saw them got their feet wet, and
then they seemed to conclude that it would
do no more harm to get wet all over. 80
they waded ont farther, and I saw q wave
break all over them. Then I saw them
m moraO