New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-05-11
IN his wife He thinks that even II any REMAINS
are fouud tbey will he unrecOgnZaDle'

to his wife. He thinks that even IL II any reniani'
are found they will he unrecognzaDe'
SEARCHING FOR THE BODIES.
Az the b,arding-h house of the Eagle
Refinery. close by painful scene was
,rcsaute5. The ncwly-made widows and
ornbaus gathered in one of the rooms,
bope and despair alternating their minds. About
noon the friends Of tbs dead men persuaded the
women to retire 10 some of the neighboring houses
Mrs. Hcrlurt was supported By her son. Mrs.Dagies
on the receipt Of the news that her husband was
dead became seriously sick and for some time fears
were entertained for her reason. She positively
refused 10 retire from the of the fire and stood
and gu. q IN IN ab,tracted manner at the c'oudS
of smoke and Htur
As soon as it was known that loss Of life had oc-
Cured. active search was begun Tor the hod.tS
Wild minors were afolt as 10 the probable number
killed, bat al tho" CHI 10 have been oVerWhcIm'd
nv thc ,1,lden .vnlosIou have bepn accounted for
with the exception of the SIX already named. Little
progress con Ice made IA the search IN consequence
Of the disorder an chaos that prevailed The search
was prosecuted all tire afternoon and was onY
stopped ~ the ap'roa"h of night. II IL proposed To-
day 7" pat q large gang of men 10 work, and every
pos hIc fort VIII De made 10 find the bodies OF the
unio0nnite men.
WHAT GENERAL MANAGTR STIRLING DID.
{. A. -,r.,u4. jhe general manager of the com
pany, arrived at Tie fire at an early hour III the
moruiu- HIS Experience at similar fires was OF
great value in d.rrctr. The workmrn and hremen'
who ran hlthcr and thither IN their anxiety 20 Ice "l
service. lie immediately adjusted the safety
covers ou The Wanhoics in the roofs o. the
tanks thereby permitting the heated gas 10 escape
and avoiding further explosions lie and Captain
Farrler of the Jersey CITY Fire Department, kept
wary eve ON the tank adjoining the ire, and when
ever an explosion seemed probable rned tn" men
to keep al "a sat" distance. BY his advice the men
de>steI fr,u pouring water on the bDr'lng oIi. as
this increased the danger t. the ADJOINING t3hNs.
A. fsfrt
force Of mon were set TO work
cleaning NE debris from the railroad tracks ana
roadwayS. In speaking Of the fire Mr.. sterling
said: This Is the largest fire we have ever had
here, hut when | arrived early TINS morning an
ticipdlcd the total dcS ructon of the works. Inc
wind was in direction that favored such result;
Had the wind been of snOre we could have saved
our barges and storehonses. Fortunately the
full else our loss would have been doubled.
| hope that il Will not lie nect SSaTy
to dismiss any of cur force. think that the com,
covered by insurance. | am glad that no adjoining
proper v was destroyed 1t looked very much tins
morning as though the factories along the bay
would all he destroyed, as large masses OF OIL Heated
along the shore for long distances.
STORY or A wATCHMAN.
One of the watchmen who on duty at the
time the fire broke out said: " never saw such
lightning in my life | was standing on the dock,
anticipating some disaster and was looking out
toward the Narrows when Suddenly there came
vivid flash of lightning that struck the tIestie
work adjoining the docks, which immcd atey
burst into flame. Flash followed flash III rapid
succession. and it was while was on NY way TO the
watchmcn's lodge to arouse the men and obtain as
sstance to put out the fire on the bridge that the
TANKS exploded The reports were terrific, and
lost time getting TO a position Of safety. The
only wou1er is that escaped; The SIX men that
lbs. rd Of thy tank Wbo1 np STPcf S d,
pieces OF II flew every direction, some
Of II being picked mp four mile, away.
On tie approach of Il thunderstorm, the engineer
gets up steam and make all preparations for any
emergency which may happen A large chemical
engine is attached to the works and theIe is suit
Gent hose to reach in all directions throughout the
grounds of the company. Whom the explosion !
took place TREMENDOUS shower Of gravel from the |
roo! OF The tank fell On all sides, aud many of The
men were stunned by beng violently thrown 10 the |
gToun2 Naturally the utmost CONSERVATION pre- |
vailed and for time many lives were supposed 10 |
have heen lost, but one by one all the men employed
here turned up
ESTIMATES OF THE LOSS.
Less than half Of the property DESTROYED by the
fire was protected 10y insurance. The buildings |
were not fully insured and the stock of oil was in
KuTed to a small extent. Mr.. Sterling was 50 n by
TMBuNE reporter last evening at bis home soon
after ne had arrived there worn out by his work at
the enc Of the fire. 1t il mpo sIble clo>e, 10
innate eIther the loss the insurance" he ,ald,
largely owing to the destruction of the companys
books and papers In one item alone $4,000 is
lost in the burning of empty barrels. can give no
details as to the insurance. | would T0u ghy e>tI-
mate the loss TO the storage company
houses tauks. materials, etc, as S3o0.OOG |
should Say thai - pei cent OF this property was
insured There certainly 10000 barrels OF
oil IN store. tnOstly crude pet,Ole IN, but including
some refined ana some naphtda. he plpeage
charges would be 20 cents barrel and the teIgnt
charges 30 cents So that rough estimate of the
loss IN the OIL would not be lar nom 100000.
There very litte insurance on tins Oi III store.
Most of il was Tie property Of the Standard Oil
Company. but portion Of il was owned by half a
dozen cOnslgneeS."
TIE DEAD.
The names of the men who lost their lives are as
follows
CONKLIS. RICHARD age TWENTY-FIVE RE was unmarried
and lived with his father la the vicinity Of the oil
CURRIER, WILLIAM. age fourteen. Hc mpoyeI as "a
helper in The blacksmith shop, and lived his
father in KearUey-.tyc.
DAVIES, GEORGE. lie was married and lived in board
ing 1ou5e adjoining the comp tuy'5 works
HERE RI, JOIN assistant SUpeIlu eud.uj Of the Eagle
Refining COMPANY. Ec was married, ara boarded
with ms family al No 81 Commuupaw-sye
JENKINS JO>IPI. lie was unmarried His family live
al Carbonate. Penn Ibey were jce-ldpbcd Co. and
were expected TO arrive late lat gLt.
kAGLEB, HENRY. He was married, SaI lived Win hls
family at The iOu=c OF George Dawes lis vile and
children away from .oIne. informed
by telegraph oil tncir mis- iCrlunc.