Sudden and Mysterious Drowning.

On Friday evening last, the wife of Mr. E. Pearcey, after working hard through the day, in washing, lay down upon her bed to get her little girl to sleep and fell asleep herself and slept for nearly two hours, her husband thinking her very tired, would not awaken her and went to bed himself about nine o'clock and slept. A little before ten o'clock she woke up, and arranged her dishes for use at breakfast, and took a small tin bucket and went out toward the river as though going for some fresh river water for drinking, which she was in the habit of doing, having on neither shawl nor bonnet and nothing strange was thought of it by Mr. Pearcey. She not returning at the proper time, he began to be solicitous about her. Just at this time he was called to ferry a man from the opposite side to town. He did so then returned to his house and she not having returned, he thought she might have gone into one of the neighbors for something and went in search, but no trace could be found. Then he became uneasy and with one or two searched and found her tracks from the yard gate across the street down through the sand to near the boat on to the gravel, and no tracks going back. This alarmed him much and he aroused several friends and all concluded that she must have fallen into the river, which had a strong current, having lost her balance when attempting to fill her bucket with water, and might have strangled suddenly and made no noise, and drowned and was carried down the river without being seen or heard by any one. Efforts were made much of the day on Saturday by dragging the river for the body, and by firing giant powder all along for some distance below in the hopes of causing the body to rise to the surface, but all to no purpose. Parties have been miles down the river in small boats, but nowhere have they made any discovery. Mr. Pearcey is fully satisfied that she was accidentally drowned when she went from the house to the river to get her small bucket of water, as there was no occasion for suspicioning any other sequel to her fate. She leaves a little girl of four years of age, of whom she was very fond, and a husband who idolized her, and provided every means necessary to make her home happy. She was highly respected by neighbors and friends who knew her, but as matters are now the manner of her sudden taking off most remains a mystery till more is discovered.

Lewiston Teller
Lewiston, Idaho, June 14, 1888