The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1921-07-28
Popular Grangeville Young Man
browns.

the SouIn II Ofk OF Ine OlearWaIe
river, 600 feet upstream from fh'
forest service bridge, Wednesda,
afternoon, July 20. The bod,
was recovered by a searching
party at 5 o'clock, 4 hours later
Kabat, with John Dawson, w
j. Soltman and Willard Rush, al
of Grangeville, was on a fishing
trip. The men spent an houl
fishing. Dawson went to the
camp at the bridge to prepare
dinner, while Kabat, Soltmar
and Rush undressed and entered
the river near the bridge. They
walked through the shallow wat
er on a sand bar upstream for a
distance of about a city block
The suns rays as they poured
into the deep canyon were hot
and the men were refreshing
themselves in the cold waters oi
the rivers.
Help!" Kabat suddenly cal.
led. His companions, who were
not far away, turned toward him
Soltman called: ''Take your
time. You will be all right. "
But Kabat sank. He came to the
surface once, and then was seen
no more. Kabat, it is said, could
swim but little, Soltman is a no.
vice at swimming, and Rush can
not swim at all.
Kabat, it is believed, either
stepped off the sandbar into
deep water which washes the bar,
or else the main stream had cut
beneath the bar and the shell-like
surface near the edge crumbled
beneath the man s weight. The
water was twelve feet deep
where the body was recovered.
John Dawson drove to Grange
vile to give word of the drown
ing. A searching party was or
ganized and rushed in automo-
DlleS to the scene.
An improvised raft was made
from logs, and with two ropes
one rope held by a man
on the bank, and the other by
man on the sand bar, the raft,
with George Cammack aboard,
was set afloat in the whirlpool
With a long pole in his hand,
Cammack probed the water to
the bottom of the river, in search
Of the body. Meantime Kabat's
father, John Kabat, and brother,
Egbert, stood anxiously with the
crowd on the rivers bank, fever
ishly hoping that the next plunge
Of the pole into the turbulent riv-
er would locate the body.
Finally, after it appeared that
every foot of the rivers depths
lad been searched, the body was
GIVE found him, !"
called Cammack to the crowd.
The raft swerved and the body
vas lost. A few minutes later,
he raft was drawn to its former
position, and after another brief
search, the body was again locat-
I'd. M. B. Geary plunged into
he stream and boarded the raft.
feary dived, but did not en-
counter the body.
Donald Cunningham, of Boise,
III employe of the forest service,
Who was on the bank, then jump
ID into the stream, and swan
Icross the deepest and most dan
,erous place to the raft. A NOM
mt later he was gone, and i'll an
Instant returned to the surface
With the body of Kabat in his
rms.
The body was brought to
frangeville, and was taken to
he Maugg parlors. Funeral
ervices were held on Saturday |
fternoon at 2 from the Odd Eel
ows' auditorium, the Rev. FIR. |
'homas P. Phelan officiating. |
Burial was in Prairie View ceme-
cry.
Leo, or Clutch Kabat, as he
Yas known to his numerous
riends here, was one of the most
opular young men in Grange
lille. He had been resident of
his city since he was 6 years old.
[e was a graduate of the Grange
lille high school, class of 1919
,uring his schooldays and later
e was prominent in athletics.
[e starred in baseball, basket
all and track in high school, and
ad long been catcher on the
+rangeville city baseball team.
lie was catcher on the team at
ne time of his death.
He was member of the Bene-
olent and Protective Order of
lks, of the Woodmen of the
World, the Roman Catholic
lurch, and the Cowboy band.
Born in Lacrosse, Wis, on
an. "a, 1899, he came with his
arents to Grangeville in 1905.
is mother died i'm 1914. Surviv-