The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1912-08-01
MOTHER FINDS
her BABE DEAD
IN A DITCH

her pretty countenance a few minutes
before as she romped from the house
still slightly traced. despite the drawn
features Of death. the little two-year-
old daughter of Mr.. and Mrs Ignatz
Paitnek Of Prospect Heights was
found drowned. headforemost in he
waters OF the Deweese-Dye irrigation
ditch Friday afternoon at 1870 by har
mother.
The little babe had been gone from
her mother s watehful care but
scarcely more than five minutes when
the TRAGEDY was discovered. The
ditch runs dlagonally across the Pa!t-
mex property aud is not guarded by
fence. The little one had been in an
unusually happy mood all the after
noon and had been more than ordI-
narily playful.
The mother had been busy about
her household duties and as her other
three children were OF playing some
where. she devoted occasional mo-
ments Of play with her youngest child.
Shortly after four O'Clock she got
busy on some important work and left
the child more or less to its own re-
sources. She noticed II about the
house at intervals and then suddenly
she missed It entirely. A feeling of
dread came over her. for her motherly
instinct seemed to tell her that some
thing was wrong. She went out into
the yard and could not espy the babe.
She looked the neighboring yards over
with a glance and then rushed frant-
ically back into the house to see IL
possibly the favorite of the family
might have remained there
Her search not being rewarded
there she rushed madly from the
house with an anxious. worried cTy
and made straight for the ditch
There. lying head-foremost in the wa
ter. as If it had stumbled and couil
not regain its balance. she found her
little baby With a frantic cry that
attracted neighbors nearly a block
away. the grief stricken woman drag
ged her apparently dead child from
the ditch.
Despite the fact tha; she was wild
with her sorrow she started at once
10 try TO restore the life that hal
flown by an effort 10 force breath into
the body through artificial respira-
ton. Her mother live. though. would
not permit her to keep from hugging
the cold wet body at intervals and her
life restoring efforts were Of no avail
Neighbors were upon the scene IN
Few minutes and they. more cool
and collected. AT once sent for a dos-
tor. They had much Difficulty in tear
ing the mother from her loved one. 1;
was the first case Of drowning on
Prospect Heights in a long time ani
none were present who knew exactly
want to do in such case. All they
could DO was to restrain the mothsr
from frantically squeezing the child
When the doctor arrived be found
that the spark of life had gone abso-
lutely. There was nothing that he
could do but administer to the moth
er who had developed a severe case
OF hysteria.
The father. who works nearby. was
sent for and his grief nearly equalled
that OF the mother. The drowning Of
Friday was the first that had occur
red in an irrigation ditch in this sec-
tion of the Arkansas valley In a peri
cd Of nearly iive years. None of the
bitches are covered and only througn
; the city are they properly protected
The Paltneks have lived in thel-
present home since their first child
= was born and this is the only instance
of disaster because of the ditch peo-