It was the unhappy fate of a fish peddler in Klamath Falls, Ore., to venture out on frozen Upper Klamath Lake one day in January 1915 and never return to shore.
The man, Thomas Eudaly, had joined four buddies on a Saturday ice-fishing excursion when one of them fell through weak ice along the shoreline. His companions pulled him to shore, where they built a fire to dry his clothes before venturing on the ice again.
A newspaper account reported that Eudaly picked a spot for cutting a hole in the ice, and asked the others to stop for him on their way back to town. Returning later in the day, the group had just spotted Eudaly about 100 yards from shore when he fell through the ice.
One member of the party crawled out on his belly toward Eudaly, and tossed him a pole attached to a rope. His strength sapped by the cold water, Eudaly lost his grip, bid his friends goodbye and sank. His body was recovered the next day.
All that is known today of Eudaly is the sad newspaper account of his final fishing trip.
Source: "Man Drowned in Lake." Evening Herald 1 Feb. 1915 [Klamath Falls, Ore.] : 1. Print.
