The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 16, 1904, Page 2

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(] _____._———-————_—— MAD STRUGGLE | ON THE DOOMED | VESSEL'S DECKS Frightful - Panic Follows the First Sweep of the Flames. Mothers With Clothing on, Fire Seize Babes and | Leap Overboard.- | —_— ALL DECKS ARE CROWDED. a nu several huge was warned FLAMES QUICKLY SPREAD. eat open offered eating ross the vess minutes of an island part heat er their ut th sought play ab current w nany whirdpoo picked mar er, but th: of those in the swift | ! of | hur- FIRE CUTS OFF ESf the first ape fro "APE. sweep the t man, burned ; the uprights, which | h on those be- that most of those | dmi g~ on the hurricane deck were burned. i As the fire increased the struggle | to gain a t of vantage at the stern and chil- | aft rail un- yomen the pushed to the After this | there was a stead n of persons | who jumped or were thrown into the water In the wake of the Slocum as she hurried up stream was a line of little | black specks, showing the heads of those who had sought to escape the roaring furnace of the ship by throw- ing themselves overboard. Few of those saved by the small boats had on life preservers. At no time during the progress of the fire was there an opportunity to either Jower the lifeboats or o get out the life preservers. This, perhaps, gives an idea of the rapidity with which the flames swept the decks. It was an experience harrowing and terrible and that any escaped alive seems wonderful. HEROISM OF THE CREW. Through all the wild panic, during all that inferno, with fire and. smoke surrounding them, the officers and men of the doomed boat remained at their posts, but they were powerless to avert the catastrophe. The Slocum got within fifty feet of the ngrthwest pler of North Brother Island and there stopped in the shal- low water. It was just before she beached that her hurricane deck, the supports of which had burned away, fell with its load of women and children, adding to the panic and harror of those on the deck below. Very soon the after parts of the second and third decks | of whom died. also caved &n. Just before this oc- curred the tug Walter Tracey had come alongside and -the burning steamship had been lashed to it. Many of the passengers were taken off by . which re- crew of the Tracey, ed alongside until the tug’s pilot- took fire - point where the Slocum beach- ed was just off the scarlet fever ward h Brother Island. The pa- who had been out on the porches and lawns watching the ap- pr of the burning vesse] were or- act de: idoors and the physicians on h and hastened to the assistance | of those who were being brought 3 through the shallow water. who leaped from the | » carried away by the cur-| en after she was beached and were drowned. LONG ROWS OF DEAD. e scene on North Brother Island, | ibed by the rescuers, was a one. Body after body was ashore or brought in by bbdats ided to the long row on the Fifty-three persons died while ors were attending them. bodies of living and the dead ken out of the water those | were taken to the hospitals on | island or sent across the river to | in Man tan. Here ambu- | s from almost all the hospitals in | N York and every other nce which could be | into service. | F s \h.— bodies of the burned | nd the & ro vfll‘ drifted ashore on the | pitiful washe and island One Hundred and Thirty-first One Hundred and i hth streets in Manhattan ns came ashotre s aliv these died, but others \«1]" of e was pitiable in fhe ex- ing and the dead wer: re of bodies w heach. at childrer ong loc 2TC P'\n" for en with disfigured fa pped from | ir ng partiafly st them were carried to the improvised emergency ho: tal, crying for hi <! dren who had been torn from them ' 1 rush when the boat took Slocum burned to At 12:25 o'clock re minutes red, she sank *e were then nearly on her decks. Just k the w bodies he ng up ses in Hunts and carried sne of these can ever be | the sound is believed, PRIESTS GIV e CONSOLATION. Survivors of the Slocnm Tell Harrow- | ing Details of Tragedy. | NEW YORK, June 15.—One of the | first to go to the work of rescue was | |Rev. Father Donlan of St. Jerome’s | Catholic Church. On hearing the news | of the disaster Father Donlan gathered other pricsts and started for the water | | front. Although they knew it was nl Lutheran picnie, the priests felt that it was their duty to give religious con- | solation to whom they encountered. | Father Donlan gave religious consola- | tion to forty-five persons, forty-three | When the news of the disaster be- came known there was a rush of tele- | phonic and personal inguiries at the | home of the pastor of the church, George A. Haas. Geoige A Haas, son of the pastor, was the only member of the family at home, and it fell to him to inform all those who inquired that the reports were true. As the news spread in the parish crowds flocked around the church and the parsonage and the scene was a pit- iful one. Large numbers boarded the elevated trains and hastened to One Hundred and Thirt, -eighth street, Business practically was at a standstill in the neighborhood. The two policemen on the boat were William Van Tassel and George Kiit, both of the harbor squad, who had been detailed on the excursion. Van Tassel was on the main deck, while Kilt was stationed on the upper deck forward. Van Tassel was one of the first to reach the main land from North Broth- er Island. He said that he heard what he believed to be an explosion. Every- body screamed, and some men assisted women to put on life-preservers, while others appeared to be excited and were unable to do anything. “T got on the side of the boat,” he said, “and tried to quiet the people, in which I succeeded to some extent. A few minutes later the upper deck gave way and I was carried down with the others into the water. I managed to swim to a dock on North Brother Isl- and.” Patrolman Kilt had a similar expe- rience. He said he tried to quiet the passengers on his deck, but could not, and when the decks gave way he fell into the water with them, swimming to |among the dead o+ the dock, where he and Van Tassel pulled a number of persons out of the water. . Rev. George C. F. Haas, pastor of the church, was saved, but his wife, Ger- rude, and his daughter, Anna, are Haas told the story of the disaster. “The fire started in the kitchen, in the forward part, when we were off One Hundled and Thirty-fourth street,” he sald. "I understand that some fat that boiled over started the blaze. At that time most of the women and chil- dren were jammed in the rear end of the hoat “Why the e ain did not point the boat for the Meadows I do not under- stand. He kept on and the fresh wind 1 was in the rear of where the band was playing. | | | drove the fire back on the decks. In the fire were ablaze. Such | k were eve wife and daughter.’ Women were shrieking and clasping th children in their arms. Some >rs had as many as three or four | with them. | “When sthe fire shot up to the top deck and drove the erowd back Vhf‘ pani¢ was terrible to witness. T women and children clung to the inge and stanchicns, but could not ke=p their holds. I, with my wife and daughter, rest “I believe that'the first that fell ithe water were crowded over- After this there seemed to be xrvv | board was swept along with the| | ing” at They | to my mother and little GRIM ROSTER OF DEAD IN CORONERS CFFICE GROWS HOURLY AS BOATS BRING IN VICTIMS OF DISASTER [dentification of Those Who Perished on the General Slocum Proceeds Slowly Throughout the Hours of the Night - e et Continued From Page 1, Column 6. child; Graves, Anm.u : ; P Maggle (child): Haeff, Agnes Gage. Grace Geotz, Katherine {child); Hartuns. Minnic; Hencen, Lucy: Hoas. Gallagher, Agnes (in.Graffinga, Lillle Adoiph; Hoderkampt. > . i fant) Grimm, Selma bolt, Mre. Margaret: Hermoso, Henry, Henw Gelser, Kate Gelsler, Edith ter, Jacoba; Hurst, Benamin (c X Geotz, Albert Morris: Heickert, Mrs. Eva. 3 | | i | | | | | | | | | | s il i | i | | i | | 1 "W | 9 | il | | | ! | | \ e - 4 — e | BmrosEY IOWING THE Ot TUNATE GENERAL SLOC 1 | i HER DOCK WITH THE Ex TIL HER CHARRED HULK WAS RUN AGROUND IN ] LLOW WATER OFF NORTH e = : — — carried them toward the rocks on both | ores. ¥ I endeavored for a few minutes to break througlh the mad crush and get brother, was swent into one corner of the bgat 1nd held there, unable to move. i 'As the boat kent on her way the breeze drove the flames toward the after part of the steamer, where those 2d not jumped over- huddled together. It seconds before the who in the panic } were struggling about the and set their cloth- all dashed to the of the steAmer in a stam- arried those who were near [ 8 't pede that « 2 g tion to jump. The|the rall overboard against their will worr en went over the rail- | At one time it sécmed to me as if the F e women and children were pouring “In ‘the gre fainted and fell to the deck, to be tram- | pled upon. Little children were knocked‘ down. I got.my wife and daughter the rail and then we went overboard. was in such an excited state that I|a launch just do T whether we \\ex" over or jumped < the water I here wer coep afioat. When I siru 1 arose 1 them sink around me. W less to do anything. gzreat effort I m d to keep afloat, but n strength w hout gone when a man on one of ‘the tugs picked me yp Paul Lebénoiw, one of the whe was on board, says a pas: the bu Y but ¢ no assistance. Je 22 years old, one of the | survivors of the disaster, gave the fol- lowing account of his te experi- ence, his mother and little brother hav= Ing béen drowned before his eyes: “When we left the pler the decks were packed to the limit of their ca- pacity. The bard was playing, the children were frolicking about and we were having a fige time. As we neared Hell Gate the children were called down to. the lower deck, where ice cream and soda water were served. They were literally falling over one another in an effort to get to the tahles which held the refreshments. With my mother and my little brother Paul, I went to the engine-room to watch the machinery. “Suddenly there was a burst of flame that rushed up through the engine- room and flashed out about us. The flames spread with the rapidity of an explosion, setting firé to the clothing of the women and c¢hildren who were grouped about the engine-room watch- ing the machinery. “There was the most terrible panic as the burning women® and children rushed out among tlose surrounding the icecream and soda water tables. In the terrible scramble my mother and little brother were swept away from me and carried toward the side where the children and women, with their clothes burning, had begun to jump into the water. The flames spread in bursts that soon had the entire -deck enveloped. “The crew was heinless to render any assistance or make efforts to check the advance of the fire. We were just pass- ing out through Hell Gate when the fire started. The captain headed the boat toward North Brother Islapd and the pllots, who were with him, yelled fran- tically to us to stdy aboard until they beached the boat. But in a moment after the flames had burst from the engine-room great numbers began to jump overboard. The women were wild with fright, and picking up their chil- dren leaped into the whirlpools that erry-boat amship, t crush many \wmenia\er the sides like & waterfall. out on | tions w . | side of ‘As we made for the shore the cap- tain blew ma the river. I was rescued by us the boat settled close to the shor was grounded the flames thé entire upper and There was only a few o soat untouched by the | piled men | ho had fainted and, fall- | Ing, ninred others to the deck. ! and we “The m the tugs who could steamship - shouted for | those on board to jump ard then the boats picked them up by | the children picked up by s were lashed to camp stool light hoat furnishings, show- {Ing that some adult had tried to make | | the little ones safe. These precautions | proved inadecuate in’the rific cur- Irent and in the whirlpools. Very few of the children nicked upl had on life preservers. Children cannot | | get at the life preservers on excursion boats in this harbor. They are lashed to the ceilings over the decks and can be reached only by a tall person. PO L s OFFENSE 1S ALLEGED AFTER MAN'S DEATH Probing Affairs of New Yorker's Es- tate Results In Scnsational Developments. LOS ANGELES, June 15.—An inves- tigation which has just been com- menced in the Superior Court of Or- ange County into the .state and af- fairs of the late Oscar N. Whitney, for years a vrominent and respected citi- zen of Syracuse, N. Y., who died in Los Angeles Sisters’ Hospital January 5 last, reveals the fact that Whitney is charged by the United States Fidelity and ‘Guarantee Company of Baltimore, Md., with fraudulently appropriating to his own use about $50,000 of the funds of the People’s Building, Loan and Savings Association of Geneva, N, Y., of which association he was acting as assignee at the time of his death. ‘Whitney made his home in thé East, but I' 7 | Wetss, but spent much time in California. It is stated that the estate left by Whit- ney is less than $10,000, with liabilities in excess of this amount. Sty COOK ESTATE SETTLED. -~ Superior Judge Kerrigan n-umhy issued a decree of ment of the final account_a the estate of Pardon Beirs are nis widow, L nle Cook, and ice C. Swan and Thes ENobter The e obie. The estate consists of $44,580 in cash, the block bounded by Bush, Sutter. Scott and Plerce streets, and other reaity. A double mind is always a bor- rowed one, Hiiler, Heckert, Barbara ehl. George . Johanna Hermann, George 1. William Mary Mrs. Willtam ary Hardincamp, ohild) Iden, Iden, Grace (child) Kate Jessler, Babette Kaethler, Henry Klein, Mrs. Daniah Kramer, — (wom: Kletn, Mrs, Emma reaib, Magdalene L. lann, Amlia iLoeffler, (child) Lutfens, Mrs. Kate Loebinger, Henry Ludwig, George Luedman, Lander, Louls Motzer, Michael Mueller, theur, Mamie Mrs Minnie . Elizabeth Muelier, Mrs_ Louise Mullc:. “Anna Maver Mille fant) Nech, Dasie (child) Ochs (or Knox), ch Ann Pullman, William H, Rheinger, Meta Rothman, Mrs. Emily Roth, Lena Roth, Helena Roth, Mrs. Josephine , Katherine = Stinz. Mrs August riz, Mrs. Louk hmnm and a Letta Smith, Mrs Mary — Sobel,” Catherine Mtldred Stoehr, Susie 8eman, —, (child) Tottebaum, Herman U. Unger, Kate Ullman, Mrs. Lena | Vollman, Mary Volkberg, ery LY Walter, Elizabeth Wiedeman, Caroline Mrs. Tilly Welss rmu, Wei Zeitler, Emily S — PARTIAL LIST OF INJURED. Greater New York. child) Mrs. Hanna | (chila) ‘ames Recorded in the Hospitals of NEW YORK, June 15.—Following is a list of the injured pitals: A. child; Addickbes, Chiasles: Armand. Mra - Abesser, Kat, &le: Anger, Mag. Annfe: in the hos- Armand, Stella, child: Attraus, Evnest, ohild Mrs, Eliza, Bentnlnry Beh rgaret; Mrs Louise; Bordin, 1‘ Marzaret. C. Cenfleld, Henry, cook, . Ma t: Py oo ine, Bock, Burphy, Mrs. Cline, Mrs. Anna; Cline, Harryr+ /P> Sofa: D. Diehm, :oupmm (chilah; Dieh Delvinthal, Sophia; ' Delvinthal, Mrs. Maters: hosfre Conilay: Ducsier, Mes. Lane E. ¥, Dooering, Dorhoetter, Barbara; Pagle, Lulu; Bell (chiid); )EAII Ellie (infant); Eller, Joseph; Ellfg, Mrs, feck | ber son. Only now and then could there Fernisen. Em: ‘erni Henry, child; Fernfsen. Marie; Finkingtreck, Kate, child; h, boy; Fitzkow, Mrs. An nie; Frietss, Ella; Friesse, Adelaide; . i Friesz, Frederick; G. Gassmann, Hattie, Infant; Gallagher, Kate, | body after another before it was lifted ceed 3000 persons. ma. Iden, Anna (child) Joseph, Jordon Margarette. Koh!sh Mildred; K | Mrs. John: K ibbera. | L. | Frederick: Luccia, child; Lude- | Luthjen, August | M. er, George: Michael, Addie child Metter, . child; Miller, Samuel; Miller, Loul: ier. Gros Mobier. Annle; Mohler, Oellrich, Herry (ehild); Osmers, Mary. P. Perdelwitz, Kurt: Pland. James: Podenwe Gus: Porter, Joscph: Porier, Lewis: F - Proddick, M Mary; Prandsicke, Frank; Prandsicke, Mrs. Lizzfe | R. | Rice, Louls (child); Reina, Kate; Robinson, Edward, of crew, prisoner: Rose, John (child); | Rosen, Grace: Rore, Wilkelmine; Rumpt, Ada; Rumpt, Adna S. Schultz, Susan; Schultz, Pauline; Schnatlitz, Fred, child; Schumach, Schuman, Mary; | Schaefer, Augusta; Schmidt, Fred; Schmi | Luta, chfia: Smith, Fred, child: Smith, Ph | liptna; Schick, Henry; Scholling, Edward; Sk: | roat, Henry: Strangeld, Herman: chil tha. infant: Streckman, Herman. . ehil | Steickel, Henry: Stickney. Mrs.; Stiekel, M gie, chlid: Strangefeldt, Mrs. Christina; Stack- | erman, — boy; Sudderman, Anna; Sinner, Andrew, child. U. | Ullner, Lizzie; Ullrich, Mrs. Sopbia. v. . 0 Ve Schack William H., captaln, prisone Vaeth, Wil Wart, Edward, crew, prisoner. 5 w. | Webber. Annie; Wea Edwin, pilot, pris- | \oner; Weihl, Amelia: Wentraub Carl: W ‘Mrs. Earnestine; Woods, James, member of | the orew, prisoner; Wolf, Margaret; Wurstich, | Arthur (child). Zciens, Mary (child); Zundal, Mrs.. Maria. The majority of the injured are suf- | tering from burns, submersion and | shock. In addition to tne foregoing, ! many were treated at the hospitals and sent to their homes. PO S R ISLAND A VAST MORGUE. Pitiful Scenes While Relatives Are Searching Among the Victime. NEW YORK, June 15.—North Broth- er Island is a vast morgue. Bodies of | women and children, of young girls in | their teens, with their loosened hair | fallen about their white faces, of babes | in arms and young boys, lay on thU ground, with sheets draped over them: | Here was the body of a mother with the child she had tried to save still | clasped in her arms. Beside her, would be a little form which the lifted sheet | disclosed to be that of a boy, perhaps Zelens, Mrs. Kate; | | be any other identification except by | numbers. So th remained nothing | for the Coroner ang the police to do ex- cept to nlace a numbered tag upon one | of the city morgues | When a few mo | bre | worst, | as happened ¢ | Hunts into one of the wagons and transferred to a boat which bore it to one or ot In a paper b ing number, w elry or other could be found “No. 64. woman, one gold guard acteristic inserip bags. Piled one which follov rounds, the ith its correspon 1aid away such jew- ns of identification’ as gold watch as the ch r one of these one another in a basket ve Coroner or umulates hove ba creasing numb: of the loss of tife what at fi and exagg number of t tic )-5hv= wit- » children were other's whs were 1ght arm S their lifted heir arms recovering and tagging until more than 100 had . atter it had been hoped ver had : dead—af of its th workers had sig with that the w All the while r children or sist way from there was sought might were only the other of the Now and then a searc rewarded A man fall upon his kn es be the s could Mokt one wh three, of a ma but chile Boats of the stream Ner found and many are search continues {‘ re there bod many was ower, m the r on which we ies, was and the crew bodies v em and to hoist th the bodies to it we: way with of the Fi several tug and Hudson auxiliary catboat Health Departr rt. These, with a boats man by ached as possible and rescued scores le. The Franklin Edson went clese to the burning steamship that h as own pain scorched. The crew the tug, however, stuck brave their work and saved many and children from a terrible The fire had possession of from stem io by the time she was off 1\ru Hundred and Eightieth street. e fire boat Sophar Mfllq sumnwncnl from its foot of East the scene, 1 in saving was soon on ing valuable a To-night a crowd is held back by po- lice lines formed about the City at the f of East Twenty- street The crowd began to xzmher as soon as it became rumored about the city that the d would be brought to Manhattan from North Brother Island and other places where at first the dead had been taken. When the Massasert came to dock with eighty-five dead..the work of remov- ing the bodies from the steamer pro- | ceeded siowly until no more were fognd and the autopsy-room was cleared and the blackened and distorted bodies were placed on the floor there. When finally the Morgue authorities allowed the erowd to enter the Morgue | a scene ensued which was harrowing extreme. In some cases identi- first were found to have been erron men ldying claim to bodies and afterward discovering that they were not those of their relatives. At the entrance of the morgue the crowd to-night tried to push past th police and a riot resulted. At the height of the trouble a man who had learned that his wife was among the dead tried to stab himself, _— e SETTLEMENT OF RATE WAR IS STILL FAR OFF in the fication | Managers of White Star and Cunard Lines Deny They Participated in Any Conference. LIVERPOOL, June 15.—The man- agers of the Cunard .and White Star lines deny that they participated in any conference here yesterday, at | which, according to report, the teérm of settlement of the rate war were d cussed. Representatives of the Dc- minfon and Allen lines and of the Canadian Pacific conferred at Liver- pool yesterday. They determined to meet the White Star Line's cut by making a 50-shilling wate for third- class fares to Quebec and Montreak —_———————— Knox's Commission Is Signeds HARRISBURG, Pa., June f4.—The commission of Attorney General KnoX as United States Senator to succeed the late Senator Quay was to-day pre- pared and signed by Governor Penn packer and sent to Mr. Knox in W\ ington. The commission runs until | the next meeting of the Legislature, | which will organize in January, 1905. —_——————— Many Armenian Villages Destroygd. LONDON, June 16.—A dispatch to the Daily Mail from Constantinople says the consular reports confirm the destruction of many Armenian Vv lages in the Sassun district. The number of killed is estimated to ex- -

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