El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-04-18
Miss Ella Pohl, Student of A.
& M. College at Mesilla
Park, Meets Death While
Picnicking.

Agricultural College, \. NJ, April IS
! gloom has been cast over this COM
munity by tragedy at Van Patterns
camp in the Organ mountains near here
! on Saturday afternoon. in which Miss
Ella Pohl lost her life. While climbing
over a steep mountain with a girl COM
panion. Miss Pohl fell down an almost
perpendicular cliff and received in;Iries
from which she died few hours later
About IL o'clock on Saturday morning
five Young women, of whom Miss Pohl
was one. started from the girls dorml-
tory in an auto to join the crowd OF
students who had left for the mountains
earlier in the morning OH the annual
student body picnic. They reached Van
Patterns at about II o'clock, and fmme-
diately after lunch they started 10
climb Miss Pohl and her companion,
Miss Ethel Schearer, going up Maple
canyon.
After several hours of climbing they
came TO the top of a precipice from
which they could see the pio1rickers'
camp in Ice canyon below them. Miss
Pohl suggested that they descend direct
ly into Ice canyon and join the rest OF
the crowd 1t was then about 4:3O
O'Clock The climbing proved to be a
good deal more difficult than they an
ticipated and they suddenly discovered
that they had descended to a ledge
from which they could neither proceed
nor go back the way they came.
At this time it was getting late and
both were suffering from thirst and
Miss POhl remarked that as she did not
want to stay there all night, she would
= -
gone but a few steps when she slipped
and fell about $50 feet down the face of
the Jagged cliff and lodged in a erevasse
of the rock some 600 feet above the bot
tom of Ice canyon, where she was finally
reached by a party from below.
Aid Is Summoned.
When Miss Schearer realized that her
companion had probably received a Sc
rious injury BY her fall, she began try
ing to attract the attention of the peo-
pie in the camp A party started at
once to Miss Schearer's assistance around
through Maple canyon. and another
party began climbing directly up the
cliff from Zee canyon to rescue Miss
Pohl.
After heroic climb. Werner Clavton
reached the crevasse where Miss Pohl
was lying. He found her alive and con-
scious and rendered what assistance he
could to make her comfortable. but ow-
ing to the extreme narrCwness of the
crevasse, he was unable to move her
alone and waited for further assistance.
Meanwhile the party which had gone up
Maple canyon had succeeded in remoy-
ing Miss Schearer by the means of
rope lowered from above. 1t was i'm
possible to render assistance to Miss
Pohl from above
The next person to reach Miss Pohl
was Leo Young and after helping Clay
ton to place her in a more comfortable
position, he returned to the camp for
water and more help.
Dr. Boyd, who was at Van Patterns
camp, was sent for and accompanied the
party UP the cliff DR.. BOYD and the
party reached the scene at abeut 1880
and. after rendering what assistance he
could. the descent was begun. 1t was 10
o'clock when they reached Van Patterns
camp and at that time DR.. Bovd found
that Miss Pohl was dead. 1t is Thought
that she died soon after the descent was
begun
Body Inferred.
The body of the young woman was
brought in TO Las Cruces on Sunday
morning and the funeral service was held
at the ST. James church in MesiIla PARK
ut $50 Sunday evening. The body was
accompanied to the home of Miss Pohrs
parents in Belen by her father. Miss
Daniels. the dean of women of the col
lege; Rev. Hunter Lewis, and Condor
Goebel, on the Sunday night train.
The efforts of the boys in the partr
to save the young wOmans life We're in
every case heroic. Clayton, Campbell.
Young, Elliott, Lyon, Quesenberrv. Nc
Cowen, Bloodgood. and Knorr repeatedly
risked their lives in the endeavor to rem
der all possible help.
A coToner's inquest was held in Las
Cruces at p. m. Sunday. The YER
diet was that Miss POhl came to her
death by shock and slight hemorrhage