My Grandparents  Heber & Effie Murdock Taken from Memories on the Farm in Heber, Utah 1916-1930, Uncle Mort Murdock tells the story:

“I was always playing around with ropes and strings and I roped a cat one day. I kinda choked the cat and he got a little excited and went up my face and down over my back two or three times . Mother came and saved me from that, it seems like she was always saving me from some crazy thing or another. There was some little kittens and I kept putting them in the water and wanting them to swim out and she told me to quit it and I didn’t and you know they died.  Then I bawled and cried cause she couldn’t bring them back to life. One time mother had some water in a tub  Mary and Dan were barely sticking their heads in goofing off, I thought they needed a good dunking so I pushed them both underneath the water and they started howling and bawling and mother came out and I took off running.  I had a good lead. Boy I was safe I could beat her.  I was running toward Aunt Millie’s place. There was this big irrigation ditch down there, I heard these footsteps getting closer and mother snatched me up and down I went to the bottom of the ditch about three times. I thought she was gonna drown me for sure.”