Homer C. Waugh, 40 years old, was drowned in the Lake at Zion City, Illinois, Thursday evening at 5:30 o'clock, in sight of his wife and six small children who stood on shore. This is the second fatality from drowning in Zion within the present week, the other victim being an 18 year old colored boy named Elmer Hartfield, who was drowned on Tuesday night.

The coroner's inquest was held at Zion City at 8 o'clock last evening, Deputy Coroner Edward Conrad presiding. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death from drowning.

Waugh had taken his family to the beach late in the afternoon and having found a comfortable place for them to sit down, went to a bathhouse and donned a bathing suit. He plunged into the lake and paddled around short for a while. A little later he started for a raft that was floating about a hundred feet from shore. Within six feet from the craft he got a cramp evidently and drowned before assistance could arrive.

Oliver Clibborn, a fifteen year old boy, who was sitting on the raft, put out his hand and tried to save him but the man was just out of reach. The lad is but a poor swimmer and knew that it would be useless to risk leaping into the lake and trying to hold the drowning man up until assistance could arrive.

Apprised of Waugh's danger by his cries for help as he went down the first time, several men on shore leaped into row boats and rowed to his rescue. Others leaped into the water, not stopping to doff their clothing. It was some distance to the place where Waugh was struggling in the water and by the time they reached him he had gone down for the third time.

His wife and children, who were horrified spectators of the tragedy, wrung their hands and implored some one to save him. Mrs. Waugh is nearly prostrated as the result of the shock.

Clibborn testified at the inquest that Waugh had waded most of the distance to the raft as the water was quite shallow. When the water came up to his neck he struck out and started to swim. He was smiling all the time. Suddenly, when he had arrived within six feet of the raft, Clibborn saw the smile fade from his face and a look of awful agony take its place. With a cry for help he fell backwards and sank. He sank in nine feet of water. Mrs. Waugh thinks that the fact that her husband ate a hearty meal before going to the lake may have accounted for the accident.

Swimmers dove for the body and recovered it after a half hour. It was taken to shore and Dr. La Rose summoned. He tried artificial respiration but the man evidently was dead when taken from the water.
Waukegan, Illinois, Daily Gazette.

Mrs. Waugh was formerly Minnie Parker, of this place (Manning, Iowa).