Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-10-06
Twenty-Five School Children
Fall From Defective Bridge
Into Oconto River
ONE KILLED; OTHERS WILL DIE
Expedition of Geological Glass of
oconto, Wis, High School, Studying
Rock Formation, Has Tragic End
ins-Precipitated Into Rushing Wa
ters, Forty Feet Below.

Oconto. Wis, Oct. Ga class of fifty
happy, laughing school children was
turned into a ic-stricken throng
here yesterday afternoon when TWEEN
ty-five of its members were precipi-
tated from broken bridge to the
rocky bed of stream forty feet be-
low, killing one of them, injuring three
more so seriously that death is ex-
pected to result and fourteen others
more or less seriously.
Maddened children fought with each
other in the stream, boys beating and
trampling on girls in their rush to
reach the steep banks.
The other twenty-five, who We're
near the scene of the accident, became
helpless with fear at the sight of their
companions struggling in the swift
current and stood watching the tragedy
being enacted before their eyes with
out raising a hand to help the victims.
Men employed in a paper mill near by
finally came to the scene and the dead
and injured were cared for.
The dead boy is John Bestenlehner,
Ia years old, who struck his head on
rock projecting over the waters of
the Oconto river. Death was instan-
taneous.
The injured are NJ. NJ. NeWcomb, in
structor, seriously; Helen Denizen.
may die; Vida Sentil seriously: Frank
Ronlivy,i Jennie Wright, Wilbur Sur
prise, Mary Morton, Ruby Elliott, Guy
Williams, Arthur Brazeau. Ella Rosen-
feldt, Eva Pocquote, Laura Cecil, and
Sadie Ingram.
The class. numbering nearly fifty
members, ha0 gone to Oconto falls, ten
miles from the city, the location OF a
big pulp and paper mill. to study tho
rock formation. Professor Newcomb
was in charge Across the river, just
below the falls, foot bridge con-
meets the pulp mill on one side OF the
river and the paper mill on the other.
Under the frail bridge, built only for
the crossing OF the employees of the
plant, is the river, or such as does not
pass thru the mill. The river runs
over a rocky, boulder-st bottom.
The current is exceedingly swift.
when the. high school students
reached Oconto falls for their practical
out-of- door study an effort was made
to secure permission to study the rock
formation Of the falls from the van
tage Of the. foot bridge. Owing to the
frail character of the structure, how
ever, the permission was denied. The
request was renewed and this permits
sion was granted, the condition. how
ever, being that only twenty-five
should go on the center span at the
same time.
The first twenty-five students made
their examination and returned to near
the bank. Then the second group
starteds out and while all were lean
ing over the rail to study the lower
strata over which the river poured,
there was crash, splintering Of
timbers and the whole twenty-five
into the water.
The dead boy was almost the first
to fall. He went over the rail and
dropped upon a Jagged rock, where his
skull was crushed instantly Tie
twenty-five near shore, however, see
Ing the rush OF the maddened pupils,
became imbued with panic and fear.
Meanwhile the center span had COM
pletely given away. Girls and boys to-
gether fell into the stream and tum-
bling tinbers from the wreckage above
came after them. 1t was at first
thought that the dead lad had been
crushed by one of these. In the swift
current, shallow tho the water was,
the girls and boys, struggled for safety,
tho bruised and battered.
Professor Newcomb is confined to
MS bed and the shock of the disaster
10 those in his care together with his
OWN injuries, it is feared may result /
seriously. He is not blamed, however,
,or he took every reasonable care OF
ais pupils.
Vida Sentil and Hazel Dennison and
several others were too badly hurt,
lowever, to be moved. Others of the
injured sin the party may die. Oconto
S in gloom and an immense crowd
gathered at the special train which
brought the injured to the city. Many
were frantic with grief, for
scores had relatives among the in
ured and were in panic, not knowing
he extent of the disaster.