Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-12-09
DIES FROM COLD
Body of Milo Godfrey Found 90
Feet Away From the
Water.
HAD WON IN BATTLE WITH ICE
But CoIlapses Under Exposure After
Reaching Shore-The
Discovery.

Lying about one thousand feet below
where the bodies of his two compan-
ions were found. and 80 feet back from
the shore upon bank six feet above
the water. without boots or coat, yes
terday was found the frozen body
OF Milo Godfrey. one OF the trio who
persisted in the Mississippi just above
Muscatine last Saturday afternoon.
There seems TO be no doubt that Milo
Godfrey died OF exposure after bat
tie for life that thrills all who have
heard of the circumstances. Those
who were with Godfrey when their
boat was overturned by the floating
ice were his son. Seth T. Godfrey. and
Grover Els.
The river had been dragged con-
tinuously for the missing bodies.
The searchers were a determined lot
and never tagged in their efforts.
Bert Godfrey. the son. would not hear
to abandoning the search. and with
his encouraging words, kept the work
going forward. Boats were cut to
pieces by the ice and the character of
the work was wearing on mind and
body. The bottom of the river had
been narrowed over many times and
the island shore searched very thor
oughly for some distance.
A Gruesome Discovery.
A consultation of the searchers was
held. and il was decided to make one
more thorough drag close to the island
shore. A long rope reaching half way
across the chute was being used. War
rem Fowler. who was on the island
shore. had one end and several men in
the boat the other. They were drag
ging over the shallow bar, n short
distance below the place where the
other two bodies were found. A slack
ening of the line caused those in the
boat to look shoreward. and they saw
Fowler going rapidly into the brush
which lined the shore. lntuitively
they OWNED what il was and the next
moment Fowler came down To- the
shore and beckoned them across.
Description of the Body.
Not a word passed among the men.
Fowler led the way. the men following.
Back so PAGES from the shore lay
the cold and stiffened body of Milo
Godfrey. its appearance being as nat
ural as life. His face was calm and
he looked as if asleep. His felt boots
were both off. his overcoat gone and
he had drawn off one glove. the uncov-
cred hand being clenched tightly and
raised above the body. Tenderly the
remains were conveyed to the Iowa
shore and later taken to Muscatine,
where they were prepared for burial.
hest Swimmer of Three.
Theories regarding the manner in
which Milo Godfrey met death are
many. The most commonly accepted
one is that the man. who was the best
swimmer of the trio. assisted his son
Seth as long as he was able. He had
much knowledge of the river and had
often been heard TO say that if one
thing TO do was TO get rid of as mnch
clothing as possible Acting upon this
plan. he Invested himself of his over
coat and possibly kicked off the heavy
felt boots which he wore. He must
have witnessed the drowning of his
son Seth and may have been an eye
witness to the struggles of Grover Els
as he tried to- reach the Iowa shore.
sFloats with the lee.
Circumstances would warrant the
belief that the man, now too chilled
to actually use his limbs in water.
drifted among the heavy foes. posi-
bly, aided some by clinging to the ice
as il moved slowly down stream.
When the large bar had been reached.
his feet struck the bottom. and dazed
and almost dead. he floundered TO the
shore not many feet away. Here he
climbed shelving bank six feet
above the water and, reaching the
level ground. was either unable to
know where he was going or perhaps
he intended going across the narrow
island TO the cottage of Norman But
ler He had gone about 80 feet and
fell exhausted. dying without the NOV
ing of a muscle. The discovery that
his overcoat and boots were gone puz-
zled those about him for some time.
until Bert Godfrey spoke of the advice
which his father had always given re-