The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-01


the Drowning of the ST. Louis
Student Who Lost His Life While
Undergoing the Preliminary In
ftiatiOn Into Their 0rder-Par-
ticulars of the Case.
GENEVA, N. Y, Oct. BIN the death
by drowning Edward Fairfax Berkeley.
OF st. Louis hard blow has been dealt
college fraternities Of the select stripe.
cornell undergraduates and alumni con-
TESS THIS, yet they assert that the death
Oh the young man cannot be attributed
IN any way to the Kappa Alpha society
TO which he was about to be initiated
when he was drowned
Berkeley was going through tbe nraIin,
inaries Of the initiation when he mot bts
death. This preliminary is not set down
al the ritual or the society. and formed
no part OF the ceremony proper, but new
er.neless II Is an unwritten part of the
mutation, the Idea being to put the can
uloate through severe physical tests of a
hlno that would make him pliable az tho
iormal ceremony behind closed doors
LII the words of one Of the undergrad
yates. We tire the. candidates ont CO
the serious part of the initiation ia mado
more impressive"
ne same fraternity lost another SIN
oeht IN much the same way several vaa re
@eo' Inc candidate then was well,in o
oiiiiuioioeo With two Of the "Kaps" along
the edge OF one of the high cliffs ~
Athaca. He was startled by some suaden
NOISE and breaking away from his com
Pdniohs Tell over to his death. The in
cldent caused immense Excitement 3, +l,o
college world, but few of <the de+o,1a
came known, because the fa+bar 49,
mother OF the young man were nrann+1v
pUt ousn the entire initiation cere-
ln0ny' and were convinced the death WAS
accidental ..-....
DAe-ey was nineteen years old, six
lan' intelligent and courageous. He
vas ali only son of family which for
ntaly generations has been distinguished
Ills grandfather, Edward Fairfax Berk-
eiey' baptized Henry Clay into the Enis-
0opdi church, was the lifelong friend ~
tnat great statesman, and when (vav
u1ed onlclated at the funeral. DIR Rerl,o
icy reached here this morning from Ct
LOUIS half crazed by the sudden ,nisfor-
ouN0' "A lew minutes before Mr. and Mrs
1lief'aro Knapp, uncle and aunt Of the
wy arrived from New York. They foo
AVe III 81. Louis but had been VISITING ra1
a'lVes with Mrs. Berkeley, the bov,s
mother, in Brooklyn.
berkeley and seven other candi5o+
admission to the Kappa A1nbs sooia+-.
ret'cEed here en- Friday at 3.9S -
teit iIhaca' forty miles away, at ?
e1ocN. IheY were escorted by elgven
othef Cornell students. In all there W.,
nineteen in the party. Richard H Cam
we'll of Pittsf1eld, Mass, was at The
head of the party
HahlWeH assigned Il separate condu 7tcr
TO each Of the eight men. Thu ,,,,
doctorS We're, of course, members of rho
society, AMI for the most mart
uents IN their third or fourth wear ~ ,
EyoulS oerke!ey he assigned Philin 6
DG1IAll'aan, OF Denver a third year man.
@dHlWel started each conductor and
ms. charge off in different direction
" Hat each candidate would have Ia do
up TO 3 o clock depended upon tha 10 - ;,
OF The conductor. ~
Dickinson and Berkeley were sent down
the Lehtgh Valley railroad tracks in an
eaSterfy Greet on. They STARRED off ~, -
ing, Berkeley, who was also serorg md
no difficulty III keeping up
Ihey continued down the ra:1roo 4
tracks for nearly mile, then, unSer he
direction Of Dickinson. they turned off IN
the right. They crossed a small brid 70
over the Seneca canal, which runs para,
lei to the tracks, and continuing snu x
into the lake road, which 1uns along Ibs
edge Of the lake parallel to the canal and
the railroad tracks
Inc conductor and the candidate con
tlrued down the lake rca1, running and
walking, for nearly another niie
Dickinson halted and eyed q field in
which the black soil was heavy and sos gy
ard the burrows were deep To Walk
over them was a hard task; to ,un over
them was worse. Dick nson fished a
scrap of paper out of his pocket an
scrubbed some words IN pencil.
do you see that bridge ovar there
Well, take this note and pin it to the
bridge and III meet YOU down the road. y
he said to Berkeley
Berkeley made no protest. He took the
slip of paper and starter over the fur-
rowed field at a trot.
Berkeley struck the bank CT the canal
and without stopping an instant r n
down the bank ard into the va er. TIL
water was cold and the shock to l. over
heated body must have been srVere, but
1
did not deter him.
Fifteen feet from the bank the wa .er
was up to his waist, and five feet further
! 1t was at his armpits. The next instant
he sank out of sight. He had stepped
| into tie seven-foot channel which the
! canal boats use on the east side Of tbs
canal
BY the use of graphing irons the body
| was recovered. The coroner reached the
scene two hours later, and after h earine
all the evidence, rendered a verd CT that
| the drowning was accidental, eccasioned
| by the act of 10 other person and that re
individual or society was In any way
liable or responsible for the death OF
young Berkeley.
Mr.. Berkeley, the boys father, declares
that he will institute criminal pl oceed-
ings and will have dickinson arrested.
Charles Fl. Blood district alter ey for
Tompkins county, and a member f til
Cornell chapter of the Kappa Alpha So
ciety, came here today from Ithaca to be
present should any criminal action lee
taken against Dickinson.
Three OF the Cornell men accompani d
Berkeleys body to st. Louis tonight, one