Bogalusa enterprise and American. (Bogalusa, La.) 1918-19??, 1921-08-25
ISIS OWN LIFE
WHILE SAVING
A YOUTH
j Justice, a Farmer, Is
Dovned in Pearl River
s,t,lrday Evening While
p.scrling Paul Byrd.

rnast. save himp' screamed
aO1, n Justice as Paul Byrd,
e ssIi from a log into the swift
y pearl River Friday even
srs55ss MI, Il before dark. Her hus-
~ F11est Justice, aged Al,
ns 20 the river without taking
y I la1r his clothes, ran dis
q y 90 feet through the shallow
e, = and dived and swan toward
Three minutes later ne sank
IN the surface, strangled by the
hose life he had saved.
ssrtv numbering about a dozen
AZ. / pal' ysa,nging between the ages Of
slai' y Years. and three adults, Mr..
~ ~ Justice and Elmer Smith,
s.sp wading and swimming in the
q - - waters Of the river all after
~ inst at dusk Mr.. and Mrs.
~ md their three children had
u ~ water and were starting home
~ Il. tbev heard the screams Of some
X. children who were still on the
n s.rts putting on their clothes,
t5rped in time to see Paul Byrd
n rom q log and fall into the swift
ant Of the river
" Justice jumped into the water
! 49, calling to his wife to procure
M He was forced to run
.aob the shallow water before he
.ns zach sufficient depth to swim.
i..fiee although an excellent swim
- vas badly winded before he
..al5 reach the drowning boy, and
y 81 he time Ed Boyington, an em-
si,gs Of the single mill located near
Z n the banks of the river, could
,.seb them in his dugout, young Byrd
Al death grip on the throat of
i-.tiee and was pulling him beneath
A. water. Boyington leaned far out
X tbe boat and as they came up
,rsin grasped the boy by the trous-
= ma hauled him in, but as he
mined to rescue the man, saw him
snk for the last TIME.
Elmer Smith, the only other man
4 tbe scene Of the tragedy, came
nning up and in company with Boy
hron, commenced diving for the
I'M Of Justice, and with added re-
ioreements the men spent all Sat
ny night searching for the
0Wned hero. Early Sunday morn
NJ the riyermen commenced dyna-
rHing the river in the vicinity where
Justice had gone down, but their eff
forts we're unsuccessful.
Discouraged with the fruitless at
hnpts Of the searchers to locate the
loly, Bob Pittman, Waterman at the
eovgiIl gravel pit, phoned Mrs. w.
Il. King, fortune teller of McComb
Cts, Miss, and asked her where the
tody could be found. According to
81. Pittman, the medium told him the
archers were looking too far down
tie river and that the body of JUS
tee was UPSTREAM, about 80 feet
nom where he sank.
Ar. Pittman notified the searching
lFty at once, and although skeptical,
he men threw overheard a stick and
3HmfOundedly watched it swirl about
d an eddy and go upstream. They
Immediately began poking in the
assignated spot with poles and within
! few minutes one of the men yelled
b bis companions that he had
5uehed the body. Several men with
t1oks and poles rushed to his side,
Iat meanwhile the body slipped from
Ieaeath the stick and few seconds
lter rose to the surface.
IN. Justice was a native of Colo
ado, but has been in the South for
bout fourteen years, ten of which
we're spent in Bogalusa and vicinity.
ie operated a restaurant in Richard
1ntown less than q year ago, but was
Y me time of his death employed by
VI. Sutton, the Lakeview dairy
lah, and was under contract to clear
Is farm land.
Mr. Justice was said to be an eX-
client swimmer, in fact one Of the
est on the river, but deep channel
INNING close inshore near the Louisl-
a side Of the river rushes the water
long at great speed, and after ne
a tired himself by running through g
g shallow water and swimming to
e drowning boy, he was too IA
gaed to successfully battle the cur
eng and the panic-stricken lad.
Paul Byrd, the rescued, is the son
Alr. and Mrs. Charlie Byrd and Is
mail for his age. He is just learn
e to swim and was able to keep
ooye water for a short time after
iling from the log, until he became
aghtened.