Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-01-17
CORONER WILL HOLD
INQUEST LATE, TODAY
SCREAMS or WOMAN DRAW
REscuERs AND LIFE WAS NOT
EXTINCT WHEN FOUND, BUT
DEATH SOON CAME.

s
OF strange woman. thought to be-.
Grace Clark. who ended her life about
7:10 o'clock this morning by drowning
in the tail race opposite the union
depot. John Birchell, ZIG TisdalS
street. who was walking down the
tracks, heard Screams, and looking in
the direction of the race saw the wo.,
man struggling In the water. w. b.
Hollister, Earl Mowery. Tim Conroy
and Ed Goehring answered his call for
assistance and hurrying TO the switch
shanty they secured q ladder and wad-
ing out into the stream rescued the
woman from the chilly waters. She
WIS taken to the switch shanty nearby,
where she was rolled over barrel In
an attempt to resuscftate her. Her
body was warm and her heart still
beating when she was taken to the
switch shanty. The police station WAS
notified and calls were sent to different
doctors to render medical aid, but be-
fore any OF them had responded, the
woman had expired. DR.. s.. L. Hauck
Of the Burlington. who was the hrst
to reach the scene, administered sttmu-
lants but It was too late. Dr. "A. W..
Slaught, the coroner, was summoned,
and had the body taken to Sullivan's
Undertaking pariors where 1t can be
viewed by the public. The rescuers
of the woman declere that II q physi-
clan had been on hand Immediately
after the body was taken from the
water, she could have been revived.
A search Of the body revealed no signs
OF. identification with the exception Of
gold watch with the engraving
Grace Clark, 3-3O-07~ inlaid on the
back Of the lid protecting the works.
Woman Tracked 70 Race.
Coroner Slaught upon investigation
found that the woman had come down
the Milwaukee tracks from the west
and sliding down the banks OF tho
track had crossed the willows and had
entered the race from the south side.
She was tracked through the SNOW
from the railroad tracks to the banks
OF the race, where signs plainly.
showed that she had Jumped into tho
stream. There were no signs OF any
other footprints and nothing TO show
that their had been q struggle which
might have indicated foul play. 0vsfy.!
thing points to suicide.
Several Saw the Woman.
Offlcer Levi Noah, who patrols <ho
Union depot, stated that be saw wo.i
man about o'clock this moFnfng on
Wapello street Officer Noah asserted
that he approached her and seeing
who he was, she turned and went back
In the direction Of the Milwaukee
tracks. He thought nothing OF the
matter believing that she had taken
him for some one else and was mis-
taken. Upon hearing Of the suicide. he
identified the woman az the one whom
he had seen on Wapello street. Gideon
Kendall and his son Carl who passed
down the Milwaukee track on their
way to work saw woman on the
tracks and when passing her they
noticed her nervous actions as she
started to turn back towards the Wa.
pello> street crossing. That was the
last they saw OF her. Gideon Kendall
recognized her this morning as the
woman he had seen on the tracks.
Plain Case Of Suicide.
After carefully investigating the
case, Coroner Slaught expressed the
belief that it was plain case Of sui
eide. An inquest will be held over the
body this afternoon at 3 o'clock at the
Sullivan Undertaking parlors. DR..
Hauck who attempted to revive the
woman, stated that he believed she
had taken poison. as she was frothing
at the mouth when taken from the
water
He did not believe that she had been
in the water long enough to cause her
death by downing, although he stated
that death might have been caused by
chills. Although the woman was rolled
over a barrel for over half an hour
there appeared to be no water in her
body.
May Have Been Despondent.
A new light was thrown on the
case this morning when two local
parties identified her as the woman
they had seen in front Of the NJ B.
Root marble works on West Main
street Friday afternoon quareling
with a man. The man whose name
they did not know was carrying lit
tie child about three years old in HIS
arms The men giving the information
were on the opposite side of the street.
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