The Newtown bee., 1889-06-21
An Afflicted Family.
THE ONLY REMAINING CHILD OF MIR AM

| MRS JOHN SCHUMACHER DROWNED Not for months has Sandy Hook and. indeed, the whole town, suffered such a shock as on Monday, when it was learned that Charles Rudolph, the only remain ing child of Mir and Mrs John Schu- macher, had been drowned in the Poh- tatuck river. Sympathy, always active in the American people, was more ten derly expressed because in January, 1888, Frederick, eldest son of Mir and Schumacher, then but 26 months old, fell backward into a tub of scaIding water and died in horrible agony. Ex- pressions of sorrow were heard on every side.
 It appears that the boy, who was P months old and an active little toddler, had followed his uncle Gottlieb to the barn, but had not been observed by him. His absence was soon discovered and a hurried search began by the anxious parents, but no trace was found until Blacksmith Patrick Kelly, inquiring the cause of the commotion, was told that the baby was lost. From the south door of the shop, Mir Kelly scanned the race way of the dam, which, flowing back of MT Sehumacher's barn, rejoins the main stream just before reaching the shop. Nothing was there, but across the river, lodged against a large stone close under the overhanging bushes on the opposite chnrn nf fhn riy hot made his heart leap; it was the baby's body! The father saw it almost in- stantly and, with wild cry, darted across the stream, snatched up the child and returned, weak and almost fainting. :. A messenger was at once despatched for Dr Sites, while restorative measures were vigorously but vainly used; had any spark of vitality remained in the boy when rescued, it had fiickered and died before it could be famed into life. running water, the animal heat had not left the body and it had apparently been in the water 10 to 15 minutes. He was missed about 12 30 and was found 15 or 20 minutes later. When convinced be- 1 yond question that his baby was dead, I MT Schumacher gave way to violent passion of grief and could not be quieted. His cries and lamentations were heart rending.
 Opinions differ as to how he got into the water. His father and many others
 think that he passed through the barn, both doors being open, and fell from the foot plank while trying to cross the raceway. The water was high and the current bore him swiftly on, over rocks l and all other Instructions, and even the dam caused no delay. The force of the current sends it across the more quiet
 stream and here, in pool just outside I the rush of waters, he was found; a large stone kept him from drifting fur | ther.
 On the other hand, some say that the
 boy crossed the raeeway in safety; then, perhaps with the thought that Gottlieb
 had gone to Mrs Wenzel's, across the
 river, the boy started to follow to his
 grandmother's. About 400 feet from the
 barn, the brook can be crossed on foot
 and here, probably, he fell, was unable
 to rise and was slowly carried down
 by the stream. Those who adhere to
 this theory say that he could not have
 gone through the raceway to the spot
 where he was found, nearly 400 feet
 away, without being bruised badly, and
 his face showed but slight scratch.
 Besides, they say, the body was found Eabove the current from the race. But
 the water was high and the body was
 caught, so that either hypothesis is
 plausible.
 The funeral was held, Tuesday at ? 30 p m, from the house, Rev A. tP. I Chapman officiating. Burial was in I Berkshire cemetery.