Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-06-26
IR[IG[RODS IOWA
CLAIMS ANOTHER
suRToN CUMMINGS, AGED 10,
GOES TO BOTTOM WHILE
WApING IN RIVER
NO WITNESSES TO THE
DROWNING; BODY FOUND
rr.oedv il Not Learned Of Until Two
Hours or More After Boy Wont
Dow~PJaymate Wko Wac With
Cummings Thought Lad Was STOOL
lima Him" by Hiding.

While wadlng IN tne Iowa ~ N
a point in the second bend above the
Iowa Soldiers Home boat landing, bur
ton Cummings, aged Is, son OF Mr.. and
Mrs Robert Cummings, H. South
Twelfth street, stepped into a deep hole
late Tuesday afternoon and went 70 the
bottom in seven feet Of water.
No one witnessed the tragedy. altho
the conditions surrounding the pom.
where the lad was last seen allVe ten
the story Of how the little 1eilo" met
his death.
In mpan with Neal Carmichael,
son Of L. H. Carmichael, 1ll5 "es'
Boone street. young cummings !eit
home at 8 o'clock Tuesday mornins
with the expectation OF picking cher-
ries al a point on the eou1h slue' <>oo"s
noon the two boys returned ~ ~.
Carmichael home. saying they hao i.
got the JOB picking cherries as ne
had expected. In the afternoon Hne
youngsters went to the soldiers nome
and from there up the river |" "
plunge. =, St.:
vo,,ne cummins, it seems, had never
pqrne 10 SN AliA, 1'S
forn,ooen him 70 go near the rl.ei.
Caruichael swan very well, ana ai'vs
80 +u,o bovs went into the water, car
mLrhae, struck out up stream where
+ha water was deeper. He left Gum
n,ines with a board, wading along 'ae
w. ,rest side of the stream, ana pau
aIine abo,,t with the board as a sup
port.
~ an investigation of the spot
.ao- where Carmichael last saw cum
minss alive, the lad must nave tepPeo
;,,o a hole about seven feet deep. 1he
xra+er IS only between two q three
foot deep out for some distance from
Tho west bank and then. without an.
warning a hole with seven 1eet y.
water is found about twelve 1eee ~.
from, the east bank. In THIS hoie Is a
strong undercurrent. so sWl1I IN 1aoe'
that a straong man In a BOAT was uiE.
able TO hold an oar straight oo"h. II
&c presumed that Master CUMMINGS
s+enned into this hole, was cauen1 os
the undercurrent. and drowned Amos
before he realized he was in any Can
ger. --y ILL.,
When Carmichael happened to siancs
hack over the part Of the river where
he had left Cummings. and 1alleo 70
soc his companion, he came oo"N
stream. He found Cummings clothes
on the bank, where he had disrooeo
hut ,he boy was rot in sight. Thinking
that Cummings was hiding some place
and irving to fool him Car2lichael
was not frightened at first. out "hen
he got no response TO repeated cans ne
dressed n went nome as fast as ne
co,,ld travel. He left the river al
about 4 o'clock.
Body Found Three Hours Later
Carmichael made straight lot NE
mother. and told her that he peile'et
Burton had been drowned. Mrs. car
michael went to the Cummings nome
and told her sons fears to Mrs. cum
.mings. Mrs. NJ. D. Huston, a neigh
Dor, telephone TO William y. Jones ID
elder son of Mrs. Cummings by bel
first husband. Jones. who is a painter
was working for John Plumb at Sew
enth and Jerome. He got a horse am
made for the river. but went down tn
stream. to the sand pumps, knowing
of the favorite swimming hole there
mad that the DERRICK boy had bee1
drowned there not long ago. Findin'
that nothing was known of drown
ing Jones rode up stream following tn
river all the way until he came to tn
SPOT where he could see Carmicnae
the latter having returned to the rive
~ point out to Jones where he ha'
last seen Cummings With some othe
met Jones got a boat, figured out tn
nndercurrent and its extent, and ha
two of the men dive at a point Wher
the undercurrent spent its force. TIL
hody was found at I o'clock, 100 fee
below where the boy is supposed t
have gone down
No Inquest Held.
The body was turned over to tn
.. c. Wilbur store. and Coroner F. +
Boucher was notified He investigate
the circumstances of the drowning. bu
did not deem an inquest necessary.
The boy, Robert Burton Cumming
was the only son Of Mr.. Robert an
iEyaline Edick Jones-Cummings, an
was born on a farm northwest Of Fl
= dora. June 10, 1899. Mrs. Cumming
lis a daughter of John Edick. a well
known blacksmith of Eldora. TIL
family moved here three years ag,
The son Burton was a pupil in the Al
mold school.
Aside from his parents and the hal
brother, William Ora Jones, the Ia
is survived by a half sister, Nell
Jones, who lives with her mother.
The funeral will be held from IL
Central Church Of Christ, at 2 o'cloc
Thursday afternoon, Rev. C. II. Mo
ris officiating. 1nterment will be
Riverside.