The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1922-04-01
Horace Smith. SON Of w. II. Snsiths
Loses Life While Atop Of Tel
ephone Pole Where Eiec
tric Light Wires Passed
In Same Direction.
BOY WAS WARNED OF DANGER
OF CLIMBING HIGH POLE.
Body Dropped to Ground After Cur
rent Turned OFF at Power
Piant-Boy Lost His Life
In Vain Effort to Get
Kite From Wires.

While playing on Main street
shortly before O'Clock Sunday af-
oernoon, Horace Smith climbed a tel
ephone pole on the sidewalk of the
Hancock County Bank, near the post
Office, and was electrocuted when his
head and body came in contact with
the electric light wires which crossed
his path" on the climb up.
Theasudden and tragic death was
witnessed by several people who
were IN the vicinity at.the time of the
occurrence. 1t was plainly visible
the boy had been elecYeeuted. His
body was. held by. the high voltage
running throHghshis; body and the
wires wal released from the
% until the current at the
- was turned off.
Fell, ,sesident manager for
Edwards Bros, of Edwards
elephoned the plant manage
.ment and had the current turned Oft
after behad related what had nap.
pened Mhen thaNhpdy' fell it was
saughE W W les, asst cash
||I he Me- Bank, and stAsl
4orsn sarsaed ever e
aaAs aesroom Of Edwards Bros,
where It was placed on one of the
counters awaiting the arrival of the.
boys parents who were yet to beano-
tined.
MOTHER LOVE- PREDOMINANT,
With that mother lover ever pre-
dominant, Mrs. w. L. Bourgeois
hastened to the residence of the
boys parents, that she might ten
derly break the awful news to his
mother first. But on her arrival she
was met by Mr.. Smith and he was ap-
pried Of the death. Mrs. Smith has
long been i'll, semi-invalid, and the
matter of telling her was one Of un-
usual ordeal.
Mr.. Smith hastened to the gar
age where he viewed the remains.
How he got there he says he has no
recollection. The scenes that follow
ed his arrival can well be imagined,
yet not overpictured.
HOW THE TRAGEDY HAPPENED
1t appears the boy, with other
children were flying kites. One lit
tie girl of the neighborhood also had
kite which met with disaster when
it came in contact with the telephone
and electric light wires that pass
above over the sidewalk of the Han
cock County Bank and the postoffice
building, going the way of all kites
where there are wires. Readily the
boy, although he was admonished
not to climb such lofty height, as
cended the telephone pole. Before
reaching the cross arms of the tele-
phone pole the back of his head came
in contact with the electric light
wires and his body with the second
live wire, forming a circuit that
sent him to his untimely death.
WHO HORACE SMITH WAS.
Horace Smith was born at Win
gate, Miss, and would have been IL
years of age on August 9th. He was
a son of Mr.. and Mrs. w. FL. Smith,
who reside in Railroad avenue, Mr..
Smith the resident section foreman
for the Louisville & Nashville rail-
road company. He was one Of a fam
lily of ten children, two of whom are
deaf mutes, aged respectively 13 and
Is years, students at the State insti-
tuition for mutes at Meridian, and
awaiting for whose arrival the body
was held until Tuesday, when the IL
Industrial and Training School ana
which had been greatly cut by the