Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 61, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 April 1908 — More About Tom Moody’s Death. [ARTICLE]

More About Tom Moody’s Death.

The article In the Tuesday Daily Republican about the death of Tom Moody was substantially correct. Tom had not aided in the work of cutting down the large tree, Mr. Moody and the hired man having done that The main part of the trunk waa to be need to make some heavy gate poets

and the tree had been cut down Tuesday morning. When the tree lodged in the other trees they decided to hitch the team to it to pull it free from the other trees and Tom, who was in the barn lot, was called over by his father to climb up in the tree and fasten the rope. After he done this he was merely standing by watching the team pull the tree away. The hired man stood close to him and Mr. Moody drove the horses. Mr. Moody turned-around as the horses pulled up and he saw that one of the trees between which the large tree had fallen had broken off and that it was then within about two set of striking Tom. He called out and. Just as he did so the tree struck Tom, and also Just glazed the hired man. Instead of hitting squarely on top of the head the tree struck him a little in front and crushed the forehead in, and struck his legs and bruised them, slightly. The tree was not on his body and his father who reached his side in an instant raised up the prostrate form and took his head in his arms. Tom looked up at his father as though he recognized him but he did not speak. In an instant the eys closed and he had passed away. Rev. H. L. Kindig, who was one of the first of the friends from this city to reach the home, viewed the scene of the accident. He masurd the distance from the base of the tree to the spot where Tom was standing and found it to be 45 feet. The tree that had fallen was a tall white oak, bare of limbs and had much the appearance of a telephone pole. At the point where it struck Tom it was about six inches in diameter. Close to where Tom stood the falling tree struck a solid rail that was supported on a stump, and the rail was snapped in two, so the force of the falling tree was terrific.

The shock of the young man’s dt*th affected every person in Rens•.oher that Knew him, and the sublet was such a sad one that person’s disliked to discuss it The life cf Tom Moody in and about Rensselatr, his school dsjc and his business capacity were ieviewed by all of 1 is acquaintances and it was everywhere agreed that no greater calamity has occurred in Jasper county.