St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-07-06
Pretty Lake Johanna the
Scene Of a Shocking
Catastrophe.
A Woman's Frantic Efforts to
Escape Drowning Ends
Two Lives,
While a Helpless Old Man
Struggles Vainly to Re-
Sist Death.

Pretty, placid little Lake Johanna,
seven miles northeast of the busy city,
far enough away to be a perfect spot of
nature, undisturbed by din and bust.e,
and nesting SO sweetly among the
wooded hills, was the scene yesterday
afternoon of an awful tragedy. Three
lives were sacrificed to the treachery OF
its waters. Father and son and fe-
male companion, wife made a widow.
and husband a widower. This was the
first drowning that ever occurred there
to anybody's knowledge. 1t is lake
not very much frequented, people going
there, not usually in large crowds. but
in small parties of threes and fOurs to
spend quiet afternoon and angle for
bass and salmon trout.
The victims of the awful drowning
accident yesterday were Henry M.
Tucker, the night clerk of the Ryan;
his father, Edward d. Tucker, ST., of
Amsterdam, n. Y, and neighbor, the
wife of S. ID. Dysiuger, who lived next
door to Mr.. Tucker. 1t occurred
little after o'clock, not far from the
'island," where about half hundred
sisters from st. Joseph's academy and
the Ursuline convent were enjoy
ing quiet little picnic, and
filling the calm air with the music of
sacred song. And what a lovely after
noon it was! The sky SO serene and
clear, the air so calm and
THE WATER LIKE GLASS.
The accident was all over in moment,
the only spectators of the sad occur
renee being Mrs. Tucker, wife of
Harry, and a little boy named Billy
Myers.
4 party of four had been made up
Yesterday just little before noon, con-
sisting of Mr.. Tucker and his wife, his
father, and Mrs. Dysinger, and double
seated rig was procured, in which this
little pleasure party drove out to the
pating a good days sport. They
reached the lake about l o'clock
and a small boat, known as skiff, was
secured. All four got in, and they
spent couple of hours fishing. Then,
at Mrs. fuckers suggestion. they re-
paired to the south shore, to a summer
house kept by a painter, named CzeikO-
witz, and took lunch. When Mr.. Tucker
was ready to go out again. his wife did
not desire to join the party, so she
remained on shore watching them.
L uChCl llntt Caught OlS pdSS. oltu
the boat was slowly drifting away from
The bay between the south shore and
the island" In a little while Mr..
fuckers line caught something, and he
exclaimed in pleasantly excited man-
ner,
"I'VE GOT BITE"
His father leaned over the side of the
Loaf and reached down to see what
larry had caught. The next instant
he boat was upturned and Harry
tucker and Mrs. Dysinger went to the
iottom, the old gentleman clinging, to
he boat. This is the way both Mrs.
Tucker and the boy describe the acci-
dent. The theory of Harry Tucker
drowning is that Mrs. Dysinger
threw her arms about him, and.
locked in her embrace, he was
powerless to save her or himself,
for he was good smlmmer,
and could, i'll all probability,
have saved the others. The boy
who saw them was standing on the
shore fishing, and he did not have a
BOAT. Mrs. Tucker was perfectly help
esS in the dilemma. Patrick Powers,
who keeps the place at Lake Johanna,
came over from another shore to the up
turned boat, and Sumner Shepherd, q
driver for j. b. Cook, also got in a boat
and went out. They brought the up.
turned boat in with the poor old man.
STILL IN DEATH,
but fast to the boat, almost in the same
position as when he had reached over
the only difference being that the bOa
was reversed. The boat and its cargo OF
death was taken to the shore, where
Mrs. Tucker stood, frantic with grief
though only a little while before
she had been smilingly admiring he
husbands OrOWeSS and skill
Was the old man drowned? That il
the puZZling question. He did not shov
any indications of drowning. Indeed
his head was above water, and his bod,
was not at all blOated. Some think tha
at the time he reached over he dropped
dead from heart disease, and tha
the dead weight of his lifeles
body turned the boat over. That hi
son, out of his natural manly instinct
attempted to save the woman, but she
losing her presence of mind, locked he
arms so tight around him that both wen
down among the weeds to their water
grave. One man said that Harry Tuck
er'S body came up once and immedi
ately sank again.
The accident happened about 100 fee
from the shore. The water there i
fully thirty feet deep, and just littl
below the surface it is
FULL. OF TANGLED WEEDS.
Mrs. Tucker and the boy, Bill
Myers, drove into town as fast as th
horses would carry them. She told MI
Mcintyre, of the Ryan, her story c
grief, and the matter was at once II
ported to police headquarters. The
she went to her home an
left word at Mr.. Dysinger'
A party of gentlemen fIOl
the Ryan went out to the lake littl
after z O'Clock, accompanied by Mr.,
Tucker, Mr.. Dysinger, and ii. E. Hal
a brother of the drowned woman. A
the lake every effort was made to fin
the bodies, MeSSrs. Dysinger, Hal
Harry Grandin, the assistant steward {
the Ryan, Pat Rasche, Ed Smith, E
Bouquet, James O'Brien, Mr. FOgg, an
other friends of the victims,
GRAPHING IN BOATS
by lamp light until after 10 o'clocl
when their efforts being fruitlesS, til
work of searching for the two bodie
was postponed until to-day. Word ha
already been sent to John Norman an
George Grimes, of the West side, frol
Chief Detective John O'Connor, as SOC
as the accident was reported here, b,
those gentlemen could not reach I'll
lake until about 10 o'clock. They hay
the regular graphing hooks and wi
begin work as soon as daylight begin
The searching party last night had I'll
misfortune to have only light lines wit
small hooks, which would not get dow
among the weeds.
CoroOar Oui1,u aud Tlr JJo,-+ ,r,apt n,