Tragedy at Moore's Pond
Two young brothers perish in a drowning accident while their mother and a nearby observer look on helplessly.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Hardy and Theron Herr, aged 13 and 14 years, sons of Daniel Herr, were drowned in Moore's pond, half a mile east of Meeker today in sight of their mother. The boys were bathing on a raft when a snake slipped off, and while trying to catch it, the raft parted. Theron fell into the water and could not swim; Hardy tried to rescue him but also perished. Their siblings called to their mother and to a man named Heinchel, a German butcher who was nearby with horses. Heinchel became excited and, unable to swim and fearing for his horses, rode away for help instead of intervening. The bodies were recovered fifteen minutes later, but resuscitation efforts failed.
“He got excited, and, as he could not swim and was afraid to leave the horses, he rode away for help, while the boys drowned.”
While this was a tragic accident, it also highlights the isolation and dangers present in the rural outskirts of Puyallup and Sumner in the late 19th century, where emergency response was essentially non-existent.
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