The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-07-12
EARLY DR0WNINGS.
An Almost Exact Counterpart Of the Strange
Accident Of Last Sunday.

The drowning of young Henry Ernst in the
midst Of thirty companions, while all were bath
ing in Fall creek on Sunday afternoon, and the
singular fact that no one missed him or suspected
the disaster until all dressed and his clothes
were found undisturbed, recalls very similar
catastrophe among the earliest of the cases of
drowning in this city About the year 1912 the
favorite "Old Swimmin' Hole" of the young men
and we'll grown boys-especially the ''Old Sem
mary boys-was in the river, very near the site
of the present st. Louis railroad bridge, where
the snag Of log that had lodged there formed
the jumping off place for the boys.
One summer evening little more than forty
years ago, large number of the cold Seminary
boys of larger growth and young men of the
town, full fifty at the least were in full frolc at
| the ''snag," splashing each other, ducking each
other, diving and catching legs and pulling each
other under, shouting, laughing, pretending to
be drowning and yelling ''helpT in woeful tones,
climbing On the snag dozen at time and
pitching off with yells and noisy splashes, and
making an uproar that would have drowned any
serious call for help, and unhapply it did A
very promising young dentist DR.. Brown. prob
ably the first professional dentist in the city, ex-
cept DR.. Soule son of Bishop Soule, and brother
in-law of Joe Lawson, of local renown-was
bathing in the shallow water on the bar
a few yards above the ''snag," and in the
waning light of the evening, and his ignorance
of the locality, he got off the bar into the deep
water below. He shouted for help, in mortal
terror, no doubt, but a score of others were
shouting as loudly for fun, and nobody noticed
him, or if any one did, he thought the unfortu-
nate fellow was fooing the others He drowned
right in the midst of fifty young fellows, any
of whom could have saved him as easily as he
oOI116 hav0 off, ha Ha Ot
missed till all, or most of the swimmers had
come out and dressed. Then his clothes attracted
attention. Inquiry discovered that he not
in the water with the very few who remained.
So it was settled that he was drowned Some
one recognized his clothes, probably his
name marked on them, and at once the prac-
ticed divers" began exploring the bottom of
the deep water for the corpse 1t was
too dark to see even the white corpse of a
drowned man in twelve-foot water, and the
search was carried on by cropping and feeling
about A large fire was built on the bank, at
the edge of the water, but that gave little help.
The drowned man was not discovered till the
next morning, when, it being Sunday morning,
all the school boys and others had a chance to
engage in the search. In a very little bit after
the morning search began, John T. Morrison,
son of the late Judge Morrison, then ''semina-
ry 10y" and an older one, came up from ii long
dive, holding the dead body by the ankle. A
dozen others Joined him in an instant, and the
unfortunate young dentist was taken to the
shore. where an inquest was held the same
morning
In those early days there were two brothers
conspicuous for their success in saving life In
peril of drowning and rescuing the bodies that
couldn't be saved Both were as familiar with
the river asEany street-car driver with his route.
They were held to be nearly amphibious. One
was the Rev. Amos Hanway the other his
younger brother Sam, county treasurer some
years ago. Sam could drive clear across White
river at the cold ferry" or at least from the
east bank to as near an approach to the west
bank as the shoal water would allow He was
sent for in nearly every case Of drowning when
the corpse had sunk could not be seen from
the surface. His last achievement in that way
was at % picnic of the public schools in the
summer or spring of 1856. 1t was held in the
military ground" then used as the State fair
ground. Across considerable portion of the
west end a mill-race extended from the present
race along the south side of Military Park to
near New York street, where tumble" let the
water down into an extension that turned first
west and then south, and ran into the river,
making the present water-works race. In this
number of the school boys went swimming. The
water very deep, and the bottom covered in
many places with brush, and in others dug into
irregular holes. Two little boys were drowned
while their comrades were looking helpessly on.
Mr.. Sam Hanway was speedily sent for and very
soon recovered both little corpses, but too late
for any possible chance of resuscitation.