The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-13
FELL FROM TUGBOAT
HENRY JUCHTER DROWNED NEAR
WARSAW ISLAND.
WENT DOWN WITHOUT A CRY.
FUTILE ATTEMPTS WADE TO RES
CUE THE DROWNING MAN.

Was No Splash and the Man Was
Drowning When ept
Above Water for Three Minutes.
Not known How the Accident Oc-
curred-Life Boat Thrown Into the
Water Rope and AII-Thc Body Not
Recovered and the Creek Will he
Dragged To-day.
Mr.. Henry Juchter, well known Ger
man citizen, was drowned from the
steamer Jennie E, in Adams creek, near
the north end of Warsaw Island, yester-
day morning. No one saw him fall over
board and after he was discovered in the
water, by the negro cook he kept up
but two or three minutes. Mr..
Juchter could not swim and during his
death struggle he never uttered a word.
His remains have not been found and
many think that the body has drifted out
to sea.
Mr.. Juchter was on the Jennie F., for
merly the government steamer Hunky
Dory. His clerk, c. 0. Landsverk Allen
Simmons, negro cook. the boats cap
tain, Scott Sanders, colored, and the col
| on board when the accident occurred Mr.
Juchter was seen in the water by Sim
mons who gave the alarm. Landsverk
and the crew became excited, and but for
two mishaps and the excitement of the
men, Mr.. Juchter would probably have
been saved.
Landsverk shouted to the drowning man
to hold up moment longer, and the me-
tallic life boat was showed overheard,
rope and all, and SKINNED over the water
and out of the reach of those on the tug,
end not within several feet of the grasp
of the drowning man. This was followed
fy an accident to the boat itself, and all
hope was lost.
AS the life-boat and rope went far out
into the water an effort was made to
bring the Jennie about hurriedly. The
purpose of the captain was to get hold of
the loose boat or maybe reach the
struggling man. The captain was in the
pilot house, and when he saw what had
happened, gave the wheel a quick turn.
The wheel rope broke and the boat be-
came unmanageable. Before the break
could be repaired Mr.. Juchter had gone
down for the last time, without having
made a cry
Mr.. Juchter was a ship chandler at Nos
ll9 and 12l Bay street, east and had
large business with vessels coming to this
port Landsverk was employed as a
drummer and the negro Simmons was in
the store in the capacity of porter and
general utility man. The three men left
the city for Thunderbolt at o'clock Sat
urday night and boarded the Jennie E. at
Thunderbolt. Mr.. Juchter had some bust
ness to attend to at Sapelo and expected
to return home this morning. The trip
was made as far as Adams Creek without
incident
About o'clock yesterday morning Mr.
Juchter called the negro Simmons and
told him to get some coffee for Lands
verk. Simmons got up to make the cof-
fee and cook breakfast. Several minutes
later Juchter told Simmons to get the cof-
fee for Landsverk before breakfast was
prepared. Simmons made the coffee and
took 1t to Landsverk. who was in the pi-
lot house with the captain and Juchter
The latter told the cook that he wanted
some coffee, and Simmons carried him a
cup and returned to get breakfast Mr.
Juchter left the pilot house a moment
later with the empty cuffee cup.
Simmons says he went on deck to throw
some scraps overheard and noticed a
white man struggling in the water, sew
! eral feet from the tug He did not recog-
nize him as Mr.. Juchter and the man had
made no cutlery.
Simmons said that he ran to the pilot
house and found Landsverk and
the captain in ignorance of what
was happening in the water. Sim
mons shouted with all his might that
Juchter was drowning, and the two men
in the pilot house were dumfounded He
had only left them a moment before with
the empty coffee cup. and they had heard
no splash in the water. They were be-
wildered. and it was fully a minute be-
fore they sufficiently recovered from the
shock to formulate some plan for rescu-
ing the unfortunate man.
Landsverk cried to Juchter to keep up
that a boat would be sent to rescue
him. The man in the water was fast
losing his strength and apparently did
not have the power of speech. His lips
appeared to move convulsively, but not
sound reached those on tNe tug. He
became entirely helpless and throwing up
his hands disappeared. He still held the
empty coffee cup in his hand and that
was the last thing seen by those on the
tug
After the wheel rope had been repair
ed the tug put back to Thunderbolt
where she arrived late in the afternoon
The news of the drowning was telephon-
ed to the city and Coroner Keller was
notified Arrangements were at once made
for boats and diver to drag the creek
for the remains. Several of Mr. Juchter's
friends will leave Thunderbolt this MORN.
ing and every effort will be made to find
the body. A supply OF provisions will be
carried, and il the party is not success
ful the search will be kept up for sew
eral days. An inquest will be held IL
the body is recovered.
Mr.. Juchter resided at No. 200 VALID
burg street, west and besides a widow,
leaves five children. The eldest child is a
girl Of l. and the youngest Is a girl of 5
years. Mr. Juchter was born in Ger
many on July g. 1852. and came to Savan-
noh when a lad He was here during the
yellow fever epidemic in 1876 and was pro-
prietor of a grocery store. He had been
in the ship chambers business for quite
number of years. lie was a brother of
Col. John Juchter.
s
REV. E. Is. LOVES SUCCESSOR.
Rev. y. W Carr of IndianRDoIis Call