TWO BOYS DROWNED
Carl and Busey Etchison Perish in One-Hundred-and-Two River
Carl and Busey Etchison, brothers aged respectively nine and six years, were drowned in One Hundred and Two River at Avenue City, seven miles northeast of St. Joseph, at 2 o'clock Thursday afternoon. Ollie Swift, nine years old, had a narrow escape from death while trying to rescue his playmates. Dode Etchison, father of the dead boys, who was confined to his bed with an attack of appendicitis when the accident occurred, arose to assist in the search for the bodies, and as a result of the exposure in the icy water his condition has become critical, and it is feared that he will not survive.
The three boys ewre playing on the banks of the river when Busey slipped and fell into the water, which at that point is about five feet deep. Ollie Swift saw the child fall, and plunged in to save him. A moment later Carl Etchison, who had been playing a short distance farther down, saw his two companions struggling in the water, and hurried to their assistance. For a short time the three managed to keep afloat, but at last, numbed by the icy water the two brothers sank.
Ollie Swift caught a piece of driftwood and kept himself afloat until he was taken from the water by persons who were attracted by the cries of the boys. Search for the bodies was immediately begun, and the body of the younger boy was quickly recovered, but too late for him to be resuscitated. Carl's body was not found for half an hour. The inquest held by the coroner or Andrew County resulted in a verdict of accidental drowning. The bodies were interred in one grave yesterday afternoon.
Source: St. Joseph Daily Gazette-Herald, 1 December 1900, p. 3