Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 159, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 July 1914 — FAWLEY PLAYS IN THE ROLE OF HERO [ARTICLE]

FAWLEY PLAYS IN THE ROLE OF HERO

Discharged Lunatic Dived Into Deep Hole at Yellow River in Knox and Rescued Bodies.

The following report of the drowning of a 14-year-old boy and of a lady who sought to save him, and of the finding of the bodies by Ed Fawley, the former Fair Oaks “bad man,” is taken from The’ Starke County Republican, of Knox. Fawley is the man who almost killed John was sent to the asylum after assaulting and terribly beating his wife in the jail and who broke away from officers and was pursued and run down by the high school football squad here last fall. He was recently discharged from the asylum and went to Knox, his old home. The Knox Republican thus reports the accident and Fawley’s part in rescuing the bodies:

“Mrs. Emma Isfort, aged 31 years, widow of the late Henry Isfort, and Alva E. Barnum, were both drowned Saturday afternoon at 2 o’clock in a deep hole at the foot of the north pier o's the Heaton street bridge, spanning Yellow river. The town was shaken as never before when the little son of Dr. Bell, clad only in a bathing suit, ran through the streets to the office of Dr. White & Bell and called out that the little Barnum boy and Mrs. Isfort were in water at the deep hole. The town was full of Saturday shoppers, and in a few minutes hundreds of people had rushed to the scene of the double tragedy. Marshal Lohr and Alva Grindle reached the spot in a few moments after -he woman and boy sank in the reachenous waters, but the children were so excited they could not tell exactly where the bodies disappeared, and efforts to locate them had been unavailing. The two men were still dragging the tufibid depths with a loop of barb wire when additional help arrived. A number of men threw off their clothing and began the search. One of the first to plunge into the water was Edward Fawley. He is a powerful swimmer, courageous and cool-headed. The water was slightly roiled because of recent rains. Mr. Fawley dived the length of the hole, which is about twenty feet long by five feet wide and seven and a half feet deep. Owing to the turbidity of the water Mr. Fawley could not see distinctly, but he did observe a spot on the bottom of the hole, close up to the pier and near the center of the bridge. He swam across to the pier and let himself sink into th a wnGir-until eyruxs rnw w*v Wuvvi ujivu iis foot touched a human form. ”hen he reached down and siezed Mrs. Isfort by the hair and raised quickly to the surface with her. Massing her inert body to waiting lands, Mr. Fawley again sank and his time he arose with the limp orm of the little boy, Alva Barnum. l Hastily eager hands grasped the

lad and hurried his body to the south shore near the spot where Drs. White & Bell were working over Mrs. fefori. Dr. Brown and others worked feverishly with the lad, as others did with Mib. Isfort, twenty feet away, but all efforts proved futile Their bodies were still warm, having been in the water perhaps not over twenty minutes. The 'best scientific methods were employed to expel the water from the lungs and Induce artificial respiration, but the spark of life had fled for each of the victime, and after half an hour of tireless effort, the workers sadly lifeless form was placed in waiting cars and conveyed to town, Isfort to the Jones undertaking rooms. The procession which wended its way from the scene of the double tragedy back to their homes or their places of business, was beyond doubt the saddest our little town has ever seen.”