The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1902-09-06
GIRLS DROWNED
NONE COULD SWIM, ONE WENT
BEYOND HER DEAPTH.
They Were in Bathing in Pierce
Pond-A Man Locked in
Box for Fifteen Days-The
Great Corn Crop Will
Bring Cheaper Meat.

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Four girls were drowned We'd
nesday morning in Pierce Pond
two miles west Of the village O
Pawling, N. Y. They were, Anna
Beach. Susie Beach, Estella Dun.
can and Martha Duncan.
The girls were in a blackberryine
party that left their homes in Paw.
ling at 9 o'clock a. ~. Robert Slo-
cum and his wife and their IA.
year,old daughter were with them.
AT TO o'clock they were near Pierce
Pond, and the girls all wanted tc
go bathing.
How many Of you can swim?''
asked Mr.. Slocum.
"None of us; but we won't 60 in
far" said the youngest girl. Mr..
Slocum warned them all to keep
away from the pond, which is
known TO be very deep and whose
depth slopes abruptly near the
shore.
But the morning was hot and the
waters Of the pond cool, and the
girls persisted in their plan. Mr..
Slocum's little girl was very anx-
ious to go with them, but her faith
er would not allow her to do SO.
Estelia Duncan sat on the bank
and took care of the clothing of the
other three girls. They laughed,
and danced and splashed one anoth-
er with water. They held one
another's hands and went in deeper
and deeper. Then Martha Duncan
pushed on little ahead of the 9TH
ers. She suddenly found that she
was beyond her depth and began to
scream for help. The Beach girls
caught her by the arms, and her
weight dragged them down the
sloping ground into deeper water.
Estella Duncan, fully clothed,
ran down the bank and out into
the pond. She could not swim
stroke, but she bravely caught the
arm nearest to her and tried to pull
the girls toward shore. She had
neither the strength nor the skill to
do this, and she sank with them.
Mrs. Sarah Turner, a neighbor,
hearing the screams of the girls,
ran to the pond. She tore a long
branch off tree and thrust it out
toward the group, but the girls
either could not see the branch or
were too panic stricken to know
what to do. Mrs. Turner cannot
swim, SO she was forced to stand
helpless on the brink of the pond
and see the girls drown. When
the last of them had vanished Mrs.
Turner ran to summer boarding
house near by and called for help. !
Alfred S. Cole and stranger, a
summer boarder, found the bodies
in twelve feet of water.
New York World: Thomas Dom
ohue, thirty years old, who said he
had no home or occupation, was
found Wednesday half dead from
starvation on pier II North River.
He was SO emaciated that he did
not weigh, it is said, more than go
pounds. He was taken to Hudson
Street Hospital. He had been lock-
ed in box for fifteen days, he
said.
The box in which Donohue was
found was a big one used for keep
ing sawdust.
Late last night the watchman on
the pier went to the box to get some
sawdust to sprinkle the pier.
He pried open the heavy lid and
was startled to hear a feeble groan
coming from the interior. The
watchman procured light. There,
lying near the front of the box, was
man. He was moaning feebly
and appeared to be clutching up
ward as though vainly endeavoring
to open the box.
Donohue was lifted from his
strange resting place and carried to
the end of the pier. A call was
sent in an ambulance from Hudson
Street Hospital was soon there.
The surgeon diagnosed the case
as inanition and said that his con-
dition was serious. How he got in
the box is not known.
Chicago, Aug. 26.-Secretary
Wilson's statement that the big
corn crop will reduce the prices Of
cattle and hogs is corroborated by
the packers. An era of cheaper
prices Of meat is in sight, but scarce
ly inside of three months.