Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-12-09
LEAPEDINTO THE WAVES.
THE .sFL.ORIDA's" MISSING PAS
SENGER A SUICIDE.

THE ssFL,ORIDAiS' MISSING PAS
SENGER A SUICIDE.
a Letter Tells the story of His Premedi-
tated Crime-Sseking Death to Escape
the Ills of Disease-His Identity Dis
covered as y. F. Petersen, Ne"
Yorker Of Me.rz-Living Under an As
sumed Name TO Avoid His Friends.
The mystery surrounding the death OF
the passenger on the steamer Florida,
who gave his name as T. Miller, and
whose body was picked up of ST. Simon's
Island on Friday, has been partially
cleared up and can now be as fully eX-
planned as it probably ever will be. There
is but little doubt that il is a case of de-
Iiberate and premeditated suicide. 1t is
/ equally certain that the name Miller was
i an assumed one, and that the real name OF
the dead man was y. F. Petersen,
Of New York. In the account
/ Of the affair in the NEWS %
| Yesterday il was stated that no trace OF
/ the dead man could be found in savannah.
/ A reporter pursuing his inquiries turtner
has learned the strangers real ldentlty
| and some interesting facts about MN.
| Before he left Savannah ne Wrote 10
| friends in New York telling them that ne
| intended 70 take steamboat from mere
| suicise and be buried at sea. 1t is known
| that he carried out the first part OF his
| programme, and that he also performed
the second there Is now no room Tor DOUBT.
PETERSEN CONES To SAVANNAH.
! II is learned that Petersen came 10 sa-
vannah on Nov. II. and took room al
/ the Marshall House. He was lame. and
/ said be was unable IN climb the stairs, so
\ he was given room No. : on the nrst nOOr.
/ He remained here two days, giving up his
1 room on the 18th. and no one knew Wnere
i he went. About the middle of last week
/ + letter was received BY Mr.. Bresnan, pro
I prietOr Of the hotel. from /. h. Young,
I iivingat No. 365 West Thirty-fOurth street,
/ New York. and whose place OF business IS
/ No. 3 state street. his party, II MS
I letter. states that he had received
/ letter from a friend of his purportlng TO
have been written At the Marshall House,
/ Nov. =. His friends right name, he said,
/ was y. F. Petersen.a native Of SchlesWigo-
/ Holstein. but that he had stated IN his
I letter that he was not known by his right
I name where he was stopping. de de-
/ scrihed the man as about 80 years OF age,
/ about > feet inches IN height. wearing
| mOustache. and having sustained par
/ tial stroke OF paralysis, which rendered
[ him an invalid and only able TO walk a
/ very short distance without a rest.
SAID he WOULD KILL HIMSELF.
In his letter 10 me Of the 2sth," Mr..
! You-c's letter goes on 10 say. ''he an
I uounces MS intention Of taking
/ steamer sailing from Savannah on that
I dav and OF committing suicide, for ne
] saws that his body will be buried at sea.
As the post mark on his letter Is dated
/ Savannah. Nov. -, : p. m. 1t Is probable
ne took some steamer sailing from your
I port on Saturday last" The letter con-
I ciudes with an inquiry as TO news OF
Z Peterseu's movements and his where
{ abOuts.
At the time the letter was received no
I one about the hotel could recall anything
/ about such a man as described by Mr..
I Young. and a reply 10 that effect was sent
Z 20 New York. The name of /. Miller was
{ found upon the register. written IN
I scrawlirg hand. and when a reporter Of
/ the News called attention 10 II the clerk
I recalled that the party who so registered
. was q quiet man OF genteel appearance,
/ who walked with difficulty, and was on
this account given one o. the lOwerrOOms.
Az INVALID N GOOD CIRCUMSTANCES.
From the MarshaII House Petersen was
traced 70 Mrs. II. +. sawyer's boarding
! house. on Brougnt0n street. He went
z there 10 board on Thursday, Nov. IL, the
dav on which he let the hotel. He seemed
10 be in poor health. and said he could not
/ walk easily on account Of a stroke Of
/ paralysis which had partially disabled
/ him. On this account he was given
I lower floor room, for which he offered to
pay literally.
Vow. III pay in advance said he to
the Iandlady. las you don't know me- he
/ took out large roll Of bills and paid for
I weeks board. He seemed Of friendly.
/ genial disposition. and made a number Of
friends among the bOarders. He also ap-
! peared to be in good financial circum-
aaTa IN
/ ferred that he was a single man. lie also
/ gave his name at Mrs. Sawyer's as L. Mil
Ter and frequently engaged in friendly
l games Of cards in the evenings. Mr.. Lee,
/ one Of the bOarders, who became better
/ acquainted with him than any Of
I the others. said that Petersen was the
last person he would suspect Of entertain
ing suicidal intentions.
A GENIAL COMPANION.
"He seemed to be in good spirits
despite the fact that he was
an Invalid" said Mr.. Lee to a
News reporter yesterday. "He said he
would 20 on TO Florida, and spoke with
pleasure of the improvement which had
taken place in his condition since he had
been in Savannah. Ii he did not like it in
Florida be would return here. He
laughed and chatted pleasantly, and was
a perfect gentleman IN every way, and
became much interested in him. l went
down to the boat and saw him of, and as
the boat left the dock he said he would
soon see US again. He had his boots
shined just before the boat started"
/ Petersen remained at Mrs. Sawyer's IN
til last Thursday. He had made arrange
ments to leave on Saturday, Nov. 30, as Re
had intended to do when he wrote the let
ter to Mr.. Young, his friend in New York.
He concluded. however, to remain until
Monday, and then Mr.. Lee persuaded him
to stay until Thursday and go on the
I Florida 1t will be seen that, although
there was some delay in his plans about
taking the boat to Florida, he adhered to
| the depserate plan which he had formed to
/ escape pangs of bodily ailment.
DROWNED IN SHALLOW WATER.
Although be had said in his letter that
he would be ''buTied at sea-" he did not
select water Of sufficient depth fQT his last
resting place to conceal his body when
the tide was low. The steamer David
Clark. Capt. Cue, of the inland route,
which arrived here yesterday, brings no
details as to the appearance Of the body
after it was taken from the water.
1t was seen in the water a short
distance from shore of the island, and
very close to Frederick. Where it was
! the water is quite shallow and those who
saw it could not tell whether it was float
ing or whether the feet were imbedded in
the mud. The steamer did not stop, but
word was shouted to some people at
Frederick about the body, and they went
out in a boat and got it. 1t was taken to
st. SimOn's and an inquest held, as stated.
capt. AmaZeen, of the Florida, which
| left yesterday. proposes TO stop at 81.
SimOn's and make inquiry in order to sat
isfy himself beyond all doubt as to
whether the floating corpse was that OF
the passenger who so mysterlOusly dlSap-
peared from his vessel.