Four Floaters

ROBERTS, WADE, BADER, RUMBLE

Posted By: Anne Hermann (email)
Date: 3/17/2009 at 23:16:40

Clinton Herald, September 26, 1887.

FOUR FLOATERS

A sad scene was presented at the foot of Fifth avenue, Sunday morning, when the bodies of four floaters were taken from the Mississippi. It was seemingly more sad from the fact that they were apparently young men who had been on a hunting expedition, for they were still clinging to a skiff, in which was a camp outfit. About noon an ambulance was secured and they were taken to the store of O. E. Armstrong & Co., where an inquest was held and it was ascertained that they are Lon Roberts, Clinton’s assistant postmaster; H. D. Bader, bookkeeper for O. E. Armstrong & Co.; Geo. Wade; and Will Rumble, son of Fred Rumble. The last heard from them was at Maquoketa, where they embarked on the Maquoketa River to float down, and it was at first thought that some calamity had befallen them in shooting the Maquoketa Rapids, but this proved to be a fallacy.