Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-03
BOY FALLS 700
FEET Off TRAIL
EDGAR BURKE is CRUSHED TO
DEATH
MAY HAVE BEEN DUE TO EPl-
LEIPZIG FIT
Accident Happens Shortly After He
Is Separated from Companions
and for That Reason the
Details Are Uncertain

PASADENA, Dec. Failing a dis
tance of 700 feet from the Mount Will
son trail Edgar Burke of Sierra
Madre, aged 10 years, was crushed to
death on the rocks below this after
noon. The accident occurred half way
between the foot of the trail and the
ouarter-way house at the fourth turn
ing going up. perhaps the most dan
gerous place along the trail. The spot
where the boy fell is sort OF rocky
stairway and as no one witnessed the
accident it is impossible to state just
how it happened.
Young Burke was subject to epilep-
tic fits and had one only yesterday
morning. He and a Sierra Madre
man named bracket and brackets
son were coming down the trail ABOUT
O'Clock this afternoon when the ac-
cident happened. The brackets, father
and son. were walking ahead and had
not missed Burke when the younger
bracket stopped to tie his shoe. he
suddenly noticed that Burke was
long time coming and said: "Fatner'
where do you suppose Edgar Is
Search Is Started
Father and son walked back up the
trail way, but found no trace OF the
missing lad and so went down to the
foot of the trail for help. There they
fear they held in regard to Burke ana
Huston, Milton Hummison and E. b.
Alexander, the latter Los Angeles
man. started back to hunt for Burke
Rurke's coat was found beside the
trail at a particularly dangerous point
and Alexander went down into the can
Won to try and locate the boy. He was
The one to locate the missing youth,
finding him dead at the foot of the ter
rible fall. his head burst open and his
features frightfully disftgured.
Huston. Hummison and Alexander
brought the body down to the foot OF
the trail, reaching that point shortly
after 2 o'clock this afternoon. The
bov weighed 10 pounds and it was a
hard biz of work to carry him out over
the rock-strewn canyon in which his
lifeless body was discovered.
The body was taken from the foot OF
the trail by L. H. Salisbury of the un-
dertaking firm of Ives Warren & Sails
bury. E. W. Bailey going out with
Salisbury to the foot of the trail. No
date has yet been set for the coroners
inquest and the members of the family
have not yet viewed the body. They
will probably be consulted before the
time of the inquest is set.
Subject to Fits
It is presumed from the known facts
that young Burke had tit while cross
ing the dangerous part of the trail, a
fit perhaps brought on by giddiness. His |
fall was nearly sheer and his body must
have bumped down the slope from rock
to rock. In spite of the great distance
of the fall Burke was not nearly so
badly crushed as one would expect No
autopsy has as yet been made, so the
full extent of the injuries are not
known, but aside from the terrible frac-
ture of the skull the boy does not ap-
pear to have been hurt fatally in any
other portion of the body.
1t has been a long time since fatal
accident has occurred on Mount Will
son. While the trail is dangerous where
Burke fell. yet with ordinary care a
person need have no trouble in passing
that point, as thousands of men and
women, to say nothing of children, do
every month. For this reason there is
no tenable theory for the sad af-
fair save that Burke had one of the fits
to which he was subject.