Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1889-11-08
A REMARKABLE PHENOMENON.
A Mother singularly Notified That Her

A Mother. singularly Notified That Her
Little Boy Had Drowned.
Two years ago family named Viii
liams, consisting of father, mother
and three children, were residing in
Pittsburg. The youngest child, boy
of 8, more than usually bright and
smart, was especially near to the
hearts of his parents. One afternoon
about this period, as Mrs. Williams
was seated in the rear yard Of her
dwelling with few of her acquaint-
ances, the boy came bounding forward
to ask if he could go off and play
with knot of his chums. The an
swer was given that he could do SO,
but must not go near the river, the
Monongahela, which was close by.
Within few minutes of the boys
departure one of the women was
struck with the white compressed ap-
pearance of Mrs. Williams lips and a
strange look in her face of gathering
concern and bewilderment. She ask
ed if anything was the matter, when
Mrs Williams raised her hand as if to
brush something from her face, at the
same time saying:
81 do not know what ails me. There
seems to be cloud l can't see through
all around me-"
The next instant she threw up both
arms and screamed:
"Oh. my Godl my boy is drown
ingl"
One of the women said: "Oh, no!
don't think that; it can't be. He has
only just gone"
With a quick motion the mother
clasped both hands to her side and
moaned:
81 tell you he is drowned. He
caught his two little hands here and
begged me to save him out of the riv-
er!" then fell back in dead swoon.
She was borne within her dwelling
and laid on bed, and restoratives APP
piled until she recovered, her face
deathly white and drawn into deep
lines Of agony. When again sought
to be cheered by assurances that she
must be laboring under grievious
mistake, as the boy had not been away
long enough to be drowned, the mo-
Their persisted in voice of pitiful tor
ture:
"My poor boy is drowned can
feel his hands clasping me here, as he
begged his mother to save him. Take
my clothing down and look"
She was stripped to the waist, and,
to the establishment and speeches. awe
of the attendant women, the marks OF
ten little fingers-five on each side
were distinctly visible on the skin in
dark purple streaks, just as would
have been had the boy in his death
struggle caught hold of his mother to
save himself.
Just then some men came into the
house bearing the dead boy, only fif-
teen minutes before in the full enjoy
ment of vigorous life, drowned as his
mother had cried. In jumping into the
water the poor little fellow had struck
his body on the end of sunken pile
and sank to his death.
Strangest of all, the livid marks of
his fingers, imprinted on the waist of
his mother, are still visible, after the
lapse of two years, and were seen only
a few days ago by lady friend Of
mine in Cleveland, when Mrs. Will
liams paid visit to married daugh-
ter residing near by. The marks are
so plain that any beholder would be at
once impressed with the thought that
they had been caused by the actual
grasp of living hands at a moment OF
intense dire extremity. leave all
comment to others.-W. Whitworth
in Religio-Philosophical Journal.