The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-09-11
FOUR ARE DROWNED
IN NEEDLESS PANIC
Lost When Launch Seems Sinking
in Raritan Bay.
FATHER PERISHES SAVING BOY.
Fly Wheel Of Engine Drives Hole in
Crnft-Good Swimmer Becomes
Entangled in Party's~ Fishing
Lines and Loses Life.

Red Bank, N. J.-Borne down in a
panic as the launch Savoy began sink
ing in Raritan Bay, of Port Mon
mouth, four men in a fishing party OF
eleven were drowned, and, the others
were saved with great diff Guilty. One
of the four lost his life in saving that
of his son. He was Gustave Metzger,
sixty years old, a chemist. The lad
was rescued, but the father was dead
when taken ashore. The other men
who met death were Charles Guen-
ther, forty years old, Of No. As Ann
street, Newark; Charles Weber, OF No.
"a Napoleon street, that city, and
Frank F. Schrierer, president Of the
Newark Metal Company, living in No.
252 Van Buren, street, there. Guen-
ther, who was ID command of the
launch, was In business in No. 26
Houston street, Newark. Only his
body and Metzger's were. recovered.
A peculiar accident started the pam
ic and partly sank the boat. The
Savoy had been leaking from the time
she left Newark. She was a twenty
five foot craft of seyenty-horsepower.
Her seaworthiness was not affected
materially by the leak, however, I'M
til 1t was time for her to head for
home. Captain Guenther by that time
saw the launch was not In shape to
make the return run without vigor-
GUS battling. He called for a pump
and began operating it. When he
was doing SO the engineer started the
fly wheel, evidently with the idea Of
losing no time in getting closer to
shore.
That turned out to be the worst
thing that could have been done, for
q knob on the wheel struck the pump
with great force and drove it through
not only the flooring but the bottom
Of the boat. Acting as a giant dart,
the pump made a big hole in the
crafts bottom and the accident was
followed by an thrush of water that
frightened most; of the men aboard.
A ~projectile of equal size: hardly could
have torn a larger opening in the
bottom. Water burst in furiously,
and, though three or four of the
| cooler members Of the party tore OF
| much of their clothing and tried to
stop the leak with the garments, the
| inflow could not be checked sufficient
ly to allay the fears Of the menaced
men. $50.
A scramble for safety resulted.
While there was no deliberate brutal
ity, the stronger in their rush for life
~preservers knocked down the weaker.
The Metzger boy was flung to the floor
of the launch, whence his father
raised him at the risk of being
trampled to death. Within a minute
most of the men were struggling for
the p~reservers, and in the press sew
eral were forced overheard. The
Metzger boy, having been restored to
his footing by his father, raj toward
the other end of the boat, where he
fell overheard. Metzger jumped in
to the water to rescue the lad a sec
ond time and soon sank, leaving the
lad to be saved. by others. ; His body
returned to the surface and was re-
covered.
Guenther probably would have
| saved himself, for he was a good
swimmer, had not his feet become
entangled in fishing lines hanging
over the gunwale of the boat. He
fell head first into the bay, his feet
held by the lines, and though he
fought gamely to free himself, he vas
unable to do so. Weber and Schrier-
er sank almost as soon as they fell
into the water. Apparently neither
of them could swim.
The nearest craft to the sinking
| launch was the sloop r. Hand, COM
| manded by Captain Walls. She hur-
ried to the assistance OF the fishing
| party and Walls took the v sur
! vivors aboard, as we'll as the body OF
| the elder Metzger. None of the four
| men.need have drowned, 1t developed,
for the launch, despite the terrible
wound she received when the pump
( was driven through her bottom, sank
| only to the gunwale.