The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-10-18
Crippled Newsboy Who Sacrificed One Leg So
That Its Skin Could Be Grated Upon
Burned Woman.
ONE OF THE WORLDS MARTYRS
More Than One Thousand Dollars Worth of
Flowers Have Already Been Ordered for
the Funeral.

leg to save the life Of Ethel Smith.
died at Gary hospital at 2 o'clock this
morning. Up until last night, the
physicians in charge said that he was
making satisfactory progress and
that he would recover. Late last
night, however, he had sinking spell
and died soon afterwards. !
He was warned that the operation
might result fatally.
What's the Odds he said, ''if it
Will only save her life. The leg Is
no good to me and have no friends
to worry in case die. Go ahead and
cut 1t off"
The last words of the newsboy be-
fore he sank into state of coma
were: I'm glad did it. Tell her
hope she gets we'll quick, doc"
The words were barely ineligible,
but DR.. j. A. Craig, the surgeon who
performed the operation, heard and
understood them. DR.. Craig who had
been watching the patients pulse
arose from the bedside at o'clock
and told the nurse it was all over
The news spread quickly through
| the hospital and to the street outside
and crowd collected. Expressions
OF sorrow were uniyersal as the story
of the newsboy's sacrifice had been
told everywhere and the manner OF
i his death was fitting climax to his
| act of neroism.
Pneumonia was the direct cause
of Rugh's death. He contracted II
last Tuesday while sitting in a wheel
chair near an open window.
/ After the operation Rugh rallied
splendidly and hopes were given ou.
/ for his recovery by the physicians.
/ For the first few days he was con-
1 fined to his room but SO pronounced
4 tors yielded to his entreaties for a
bit of sunlight and consented to his
removal to another part of the hospi-
tai
Rugh continued his expressions OF
| satisfaction with the sacrifice he
times that he would do the same
thing again il it were necessary and
he was in position to help Miss
Smith or any one else out of a SINH
lar plight.
His manner was cheerful and the
only anxiety he showed was on be-
half of the girl whose life he had
saved.
1T don't matter SO much about
4 me-" he declared. Just so she gets
we'll it's ali right | can make out as
it is, bur she needed my help to save
her life
! Miss Smith was able to be taken to
her home last Tuesday, the day Rugh
contracted the disease from which he
died today. Before she left, Rugh
sent her his best wishes and she
sent him yesterday huge bunch OF
roses with best wishes for a speedy
recovery They We're in his room
j when he died. Miss Smith is still at
!, her home but physicians say she will
be able to be out in few days.
i Ethel Smith was burned in the ex-
J plosion of gasoline motor on a
motor 5EyCIe on Which oilt W ds llulIS
, with her sweetheart. The skin was
burned from her legs and thighs and
! the doctors said that her death was
{ inevitable, unless it was possible to
/, secure a large amount of cuticle tc
graft in the burned places.
/ The friends of Miss Smith tried
: themselves to save her, but the guam
: tity of skin obtained was not suffi
7 cient. Finally Rugh, street news
boy, heard of the girls plight anc
! volunteered to sacrifice his crippled
? leg that the skin might be obtained.
f
Perfect Heroism.
NEW YORK, Oct. 18-"Willian
, Rugh's heroism in sacrificing his lif,
: for another was the most perfec
I form of heroism," declared Mrs
d Julian Heath, president of the Ma
8 tional Housewives League in discuss
ing the death of the Gary newsboy tc
day. "Rugh had everything to los
and nothing to gain by risking hi
is (Contfnued on mage 20