Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1885 — The Freezing of Farrell. [ARTICLE]

The Freezing of Farrell.

Particulars of the Tragic Death of the Deputy - •I sheriff of Bcntoa County. I.afsyetteCourier. - . But few persons in Lafayette Lave any/idea of the terrific force and penetration of the cold wintry winds as they sweep with relentless fury across thu | open prairies, chilling and congealing ' die very marrow in one’s bones. Thors- ; ' day night was one the.coldest of the I year. The mercury descending to *22 ■ degrees below zero,' and a strong galp t blowing steadily all night. It was fierce and biting in the- city nestled ns it iq,under the protecting hills, while out upon the open, fields it was resistless. Thursday morning Deputy ' Sheriff Stephen Farrell, brother in-law • of Sheriff Scanlon, of Benton county, i left Fowler for Oxford to subpoena some ! witnesses in cases set for trial, the pre;-: ent term of the Benton Circuit Court. He was in Oxford all.day attending to his business and Thursday' evening, perfectly sober —he was never any otherway—started to walk to Templeton • Junction to catch' the midnight train j on the Big Four road for home. The distance is only two miles from Oxford to Templeton, and Farrell, who wa; j but 22 years of age, an active and vig- ; orous man. It would seem no difficult task to J.im to cover that brief Span, j neither would it be ordinarily, but when it is remembered that the snow covers the land to a depth of several feet, drifting in places to veritable hillocks. ' J t was a desperate undertaking with ' the blinding crystals of up ‘ from the frozen surface and hurled like I needle points into his face, distracting ' and confusing him. He struggled a’oug, I however, wandering .occasionally from ! the right direction, tetr about half way | when he succumbed to fate, and lying I down by the roadway, was soon frozen ' stiff. The wind spread a partial cover ' iug of snow over the liteless form, and ’ thus, half buried, it was found by the section hands on the Lake Erie & West- ; fern road on their way to work, early t ilfriday morning. The remains were taken to Oxford, and John Farrell, I father of the dead man, a prosperous farmer, residing four miles west of that ■ place, was notified, as was Sheriff Scan-,I lon, later in the day. The unfortunate i man bad many warm personal friends, | and was a very excellent citizen, of j good habits and kindly nature. Ho j was engaged to.be married shortly, and ' the blow will fall heavy on the heart of l his fiancee.