Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-04-25
FOUND DEAD In BED.
ma. HENRY sCHERER's SUDDEN DEATH
YEsTERDAY MORNING.


AHethsr Death Resulting Fren Expert
snees In the Fiood-The Awful Scenes
H,shsly Reappeared and Caused Sleep
Isssnsss--The Fatal Remedy.
Mr. Henry Scherer for years before the
food resided on Portage street, opposite
che Gautier Works. The family con-
sisted of Mr.. Scherer, his wife, three
daughters, and son. The food of May
81, 1889, swept their home away. and
Mrs. Scherer and two of the daughters,
Emma, aged twenty-three years, and
Mary, aged eleven, were drowned. The
bodies have not been recovered.
After the flood Mr.. Scherer got to
boarding in Cambria borough, and the
past two or three months was at the
house of Mr.. John Miller, No. 820t Chest
nut street, now the Sixteenth ward. For
about two months he has not been at
wsrk, having been afflicted with rheuma-
tism. He formerly worked at the Gau-
sier Works and later in the blacksmith
shop of the Cambria Iron Company.
On Saturday he came up to the central
part of the city and drew some money
out Of the bauk and called at DR.. Zim
merman's drug store about 2 o'clock p,
H., and asked for something to make him
sleep. He told the doctor he was not
able to rest at night, and frequently saw
many of the terrible sights witnessed at
the time of the flood. During the nights
he imagined he heard his wife and chill
dren calling for him to save them.
The doctor. put up some chloral and
bromide of potassium in q two-ounce
bottle-about one hundred and twenty
grains OF chloral. He told Mr.. Scherer to
take teaspoonful Of 1t before retiring
and II he did not go to sleep to repeat the
dose every three hours. He cautioned
him about the use Of the drug and wrote
the directions on the bottle in German.
After he returned to Cambria lie paid
some small bills he owed there, and is
believed to have gone to his room about
O'clock in the evening. Between 10
and II o'clock Saturday night MIR.
Michael Weiz, aged about twenty two
years, who boards at the same house and
occupied the same bed with Mr.. Sherer,
retired to his room. He says about 8
O'Clock Sunday morning Mr.. Sherer got
mp and went to the window and then got
back to bed. In the morning he was
awakened at z o'clock and found that MI.
Sherer was dead. The bottle that had
contained the chloral was found empty
sitting on the window-sill. 1t is thought
that he was unable to sleep and that the
visions of the great food we're appearing
before him, and that in the hopes of
getting sleep and rest he drank the con-
tents of the bottle. Thirty or forty grains
under ordinary conditions would be
enough to kill man.
Twenty-Five years ago MIR. Scherer had
a shoemaker shop on Clinton street, on
the present site of the Conemaugh Valley
Furniture Company, and was considere
at that time an expert workman. He was
. native Of Klinern, Prussia, and came to
this country over thirty years ago. He
was aged fifty-six years last August.
About twenty-six years ago he was mar.
ried to Miss Catharine Fox, who, as was
mentioned, was drowned in the food. A
daughter and a son survive; the daugh-
der, Miss Lena, is employed in Mr.. Scott
Dibert's shoe store, and makes her home
with her aunt, Mrs. A. DANCES, sister of
the deceased. The son, Harry, has made
his home with his aunt, Mrs. Martin Fox,
on Centre street Mr.. Fox was drowned
in the food and was brother of his
mother. There are also surviving him a
sister, Mrs. Henry Kurtz, of Baltimore,
and brother, Carl Scherer, of Evansville,
Indiana.
Mr.. Scherer was member OF the Ger
man Lutheran Church and the Harmonic
Singing Society. The funeral will take
place this afternoon, at 4 O'Clock, from
the residence of Mrs. A. DANCES at 564
Market street.