The Belding banner-news., 1921-09-21
GIRL DROWNS
AS COMPANION
SW|MS To SAFETY
CANOE RIDE FATAL TO YOUNG
LADY WHO CAME HERE TO
WORK IN MILLS

Another canoeing trip up Flat
river had a tragic ending Sunday
afternoon at about A 80 o'clock when
Miss Jennie Johnson aged 19 years
lost her life when the craft over
turned near the pier in the rear OF
the red mill, while her companion,
Adolph Maxwell, swan to short and
safety. James Lafferty, William
Fairchild and Robert Strong, who
were unloading coal nearby were at
tracted by the commotion and ran
TO the shore of the river to give what
assistance they could. Several young
men and women were on the park
side of the river and although the
drowning g.el was as near one shore
as the other. they gave no aid.
Lafferty was unable to swim and
he and strong made an improvlsed
raft out of number of doors which
stood against coal shed. Fairchlld
was an expert swimmer and he slip
ped off his shoes and swan out TO
where the girl had gone down.
Maxwell had by this time reached
shore and without waiting to- see
what the outcome would be, 1t is
said that he started for home at
once.
Fairchild was not able to dive and
was unable to reach the girl before
she sank and he returned to shore,
while Lafferty showed out with his
raft and a hoeh used as a drag. He
succeeded,a fter a few minutes work
in getting his hoe caught in shawl
which the girl was wearing over her
shoulders and brought her to shore.
Drs. Dutt and Holllard were on hand
and used every means of resusita-
tion known but TO no success. The
Lungmotor, which was purchased
several years ago and kept in Hotel
Belding for such an emergency, was
brought into play, but owing to the
fact that no one seemed go know how
to use the thing, it was some time
before it was working successfully
and it was also of no account.
The body was taken to the Cor
poration hospital and later on TAX
en- to the undertaking rooms of the
Wicks-Fales Company, where it was
prepared for shipment to the home
of her parents, Mr.. and Mrs. Peter
A. Johnson, of near Manistique.
Supt F. w. Howard wired the par
ents of the tragedy, Sunday even
ing and Tuesday morning, the body
accompanied by Miss Pearl Nelson,
cousin of the dead girl and Ed.
Driese, Supt. of Mill Nc. 8, of the
Belding Bros. & Co. left here on the
return home.
Miss Johnson and her cousin had
been in this city little over a week
having arrived here on Friday, Sep
tember and started in working in
the red mill that afternoon.
Considerable comment and criti-
c SIN was had regarding the manner
in which the work of reviving the
girl was done but the opinion of
those who were on the scene when
the body reached the shore and those
who were there when the physicians
started and kept up their work, was
that the work was carried on heroi-
cally and that even had the lung
motor been so that it could have been
successfully worked Immediately, no
better results would have been OBJ
tanned. The girl was in the water
not over ten minutes, according to
James Lafferty, who was the first
one to reach the river bank and who
recovered the body and his opinion
was that fright might possibly have
had as much to do with the death of
the girl as drowning.