The bee. (Earlington, Ky.) 1889-19??, 1904-08-11

aAc0
Alton, ILL.,, Aug. Five homes In
Upper Alton are in mourning, scores
Of relatives and friends are In distress,
and the population Of the Atoms is ex-
tending sympathy as The result of the
drowning Of bathing party OF eight
In the Mississippi river.
A father and daughter, two sisters
from two different fan.;,.es and two
other girls, all chu ms, went down In
deaths embrace in ar instant. Just
how 1t happened will never be def
nitely known. The only survivor of
the party is Mary Timony, the eight
year-Old daughter of Mr.. and Mrs
Peter Timony, of Upper Alton.
The drownings occurred as the result
Of swimming party given Friday aft
ernoon by Michael Reilly and his
daughter, Elizabeth, who took their
friends, Lucia and Eliza Pates, Bessie
and Marie Brum, Alice Synar, Ruth
Marshall and Mary Timony, for a swim
in the Mississippi back of the plant of
the Illinois Glass Co.
None OF the girls could swim, but as
Reilly had often taught parties of boys
to teach shem The girls accepted his in
vitation.
Carried Away by Boat Waves.
According to the story Of the surviv-
or, all the girls were standing in a row
In the water two feet deep. Reilly
and his daughter were farther out in
the ri yer. He had been teaching her
how to swim for several minutes by
wading out where the water was over
her head, and then helping her paddle
TO him. While the members Of the
party ware thus enjoying themselves
waves from steamboat drew the little
Reilly girl beyond her depth. Reilly
started for her and got her in his arms.
The same wave knocked the ouher
girls down, but one of them got up and
lust as she got on her feet a second
wave carried Reilly and his daughter to
their death and covered her. Again
little Mary Timony regained her feet
and, standing in water to her armpits,
made an outcry that was heard after
several miutes by a fisherman named
Peter Gerbig, who rescued her.
The Timony girl was brought ashore
and Gerbig at once gave the alarm.
Within a short time several hundred
persons were near the scene, and thirty
or forty yachts and skiffs were search
bodies.
Mary TimOny's story.
Little Mary Timony said, when seen
at her home:
What l know is this: We were all
lined up in row waiting our turn to
be taught by Mr.. Reilly how to swim.
We had been taking our turns all aft
ernoon Mr.. Reilly was in front and
was teaching his daughter how to make
the stroke All at once a big wave
came from a steamboat and washed
Elizabeth away from her father over
his head.
"She went down and Mr.. Reilly went
after her. The same wave also knocked
us all down a moment later. | got on
my feet again, and when | stuck my
head above water no one was in sight
but Mr.. Reilly and his daughter Just
then another wave struck them, and
both went down. The same wave struck
me and went down the second time
After struggling hard | again got onto
my feet, and when my head came
above water / could see nothing of any
of our party.
81 stood in the water almost to my
neck and was afraid to move for fear
OF stepping in hole. Some other
waves came from the boat, but they
were not so big. | stood there and
screamed for help, but none came.
Finally l got awfully scared and cried,
and then l saw a man way up the
river in a skim. When he got near he
called to me not to move or | might
drown, and that he would reach me
In a minute.
HE finally got to where l was and
pulled me in a skin. He hurried with
me 20 the shore, and took me into a
store near the glass works. After a
few. minutes papa came and brought
me home"
hlinP OhC ldlhCl VI IWO Vi
the drowned girls, said that the party
had been planned by the little Reilly
girl.
The bodies of Michael Reilly, Alice
Snyder and Lucia Pates were discov-
cred before ten o'clock Friday night
That of Bessie Brumm, was discovered
at eight o'clock Saturday morning
Later the bodies OF Ruth Marshall,
Marie Brumm and Eliza Pates were
found, leaving only Elizabeth Reilly
missing.
Chairman Taggart is in favor OF hav-
ing the western headquarters OF the
Democratic national committee at In
tisnapolis instead of Chicago.