The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-06-30
HIS HOME CITY
MOURNs FOR HIM
Body Of Engineer Who Was Drowned
in River Here, Was Carried
to Grave by Special
Train.
BURIAL AT ExL1NE
Plunged From stepoff on Sand Bar
and Sank In Whirlpool
in Sight Of His
Friends.

The sad drowning OF Arthur Farms
worth of Centerville in the river here,
is mentioned as follows in last even
ing's Citizen, as follows:
A great shock to Centerville people,
especially those in railroad circles.
came last evening with the news OF
the death by drowning in the Missis-
sippi river of Arthur, better known as
Shorty" Farnsworth, one of the we'll
known ana one of the best liked en-
gineers of the c., B. & @. railroad.
Farnsworth had taken his train to
Keokuk, leaving Centerville In the
morning with Conductor William Har-
vey and Brakeman Charley Blackburn
and O'Connell had taken a skiff at the
river and had rowed over to the Hi
nois side to a sand bar and had gone
In bathing. Neither Mr.. Farnsworth
nor O'Connell could swim and they
were staying in close to the banks,
wading, but as Harvey and Blackburn
were both good swimmers they were
some distance out and when the unfor-
tunste man came to step off and
sank in over his head neither of the
two men who could swim were able to
reach him before he was sucked out
of reach by whirlpool. Both Charley
Blackburn and Harvey hurried to the
place where he had disappeared and
the former dived time after time but
with absolutely no success as far as
recovering and saving the victim was
concerned. For two hours Blackburn
dived necessarily with no results and
as last resort a trout line, with
hooks, was used to drag the bottom
and in this way the body was recov-
cred.
According to the law, the body of a
drowned person must not be taken
from the water until after the inquest
and the body was towed across tie riv-
er to the Iowa side where the In
quest was held by the Keokuk coro
tner.
A special train in charge of train
master, with L. F. Breitenbucher at
the throttle and number of other
train men on board left here last night
1 for Keokuk, and returned with the
body of the engineer this morning,
who few hours before had pulled a
/ train over the same route with no
thought of the fate awaiting him at
/ the terminal; the last one he would
ever pull into alive.
The undertaken took charge of the
body upon its arrival here this morn
ing and it was taken to the late resi-
dence, 1906 South Fifteenth street,
where a wife and five fatherless chill
dren awaited its coming in an agony
iof grief and preparations are being
made for the burial at Exline tomor-
row afternoon.
A special train will carry the body
with the relatives and friends who de-
siresto accompany it to Exline tomor-
row where interment will be made In
the Exline cemetery at the side of his
caild who died some tige ago and will
await during the services to return
with the mourners. The train will
leave not earlier than 1870 p. m. to.
morrow. Rev. A. G. Hageman, pastor
Of the First Baptist church of this
city, will conduct the funeral services
The deceased was thirty-three years
of age and was one of the most popu
lar men in the employ of the Burling
ton in the Centervil'e division, he was
liked by all who knew him and those
/ who sincerely mourn his loss are not
confined to the limits of blood relation
ship, but those who had long associat
ed with him were bound to him by
the love which only one man can give
to another. He was a member of nc
fraternal organization except the B. Of
l.. E. and the Burlington Relief He
was man liked by his employers, al
ways faithful in performing his duty
and while regular freight engineer
he was used on passengers numerous
times which showed the trust placed
in him by the company. He had rail
roaded fifteen years and it has beer
said by many that he was one of the
best engineers on the division.
The sympathy Of the people of Cen
terville is extended to the bereavet
family to which the news of the sac
accident has come like dark PAL.
Sold by Druggists. 75c
Take Halls Family Pills for constipa