The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-01

dock of the Hamburg American line, at
which the steamship Phoenicia, a twin
screw passenger steamer s6f 6,761 gross
tons, was docked.- The flames got a good
hold on the Phoenicia and she was towed
out into midstream ablazes
The fire had by this time become so
fierce that the officers of the Hamburg
American line decided that the only way
to prevent the total destruction Of their
great pier was to blow up the side of
the dock at which the Phoenicia lay, and
this was done. number of barges dock
ed at the pier also took fire, but in the
eHort to save the other property no at
tentlon was paid to them and they were
allowed to burn.
II is feared that the loss of life in the
hold OF the vessels was frightful, as it
Is said that many of the crews who
were asleep at the time were imprisoned
there. The worst tale will come from
the steamship Main, whfeh was unable
to be towed from the pier. The vessel
had only arrived this morning and some
OF the passengers were still on board.
and when the cry of fire was raised a
number of them were seen to run to the
burning decks. Most of them jumped
overheard and, save for the few who
We're picked up by the tugs no one
has been heard from although every no.
tel and hospital in the, city of Hoboken
is crowded with injured. Some of the
passengers of the Main tried to escape
to the pier, and it was almost certain
that they perished in the flames
PANIC ON THE SHIP.
There was panic on each of the
ships. Many persons jh1nped overheard,
and the water for some8 distance along
the docks was lined with people They
were clinging to the piers and even to
the rudders of the burning vessels. Some
were picked up, many were drowned.
Peter Quinn, justice OF the peace in
Hoboken, tells a story of having seen
at least thirty people perish. He said:
L was standing on the edge of one
OF the Hamburg-American line piers and
saw about thirty peoplel drowned under
Pier No. of the North German Lloyd
pier. They were calling to some of the
passing tug boats, but their appeals were
in vain, and when the flames got near
them they dtved into the water. There
was no assistance near them at the
time. 1 believe that every one either
drowned or perished IN the fiames''
About 200 people weres rescued at the
Hamburg-Ameriean line apier. They were
much overcome from exhaustion, but
soon revived with stimulants.
When the fire broke out, such headway
was gained by the tine the Hoboken
! fire department arrived that they were
| utterly helpless to cope with the flames.
They were further handicapped by hav-
ing several hundred feet of hose burned.
Calls were made to the New York fire
| department for assistance, and fire tugs
were sent for. These, however, had lit
| tie effect on the. great mountain of
| flame and smoke.
By Z o'clock the three piers of the
North German Lloyd Steamship company
had been burned to the ground The
| southern end of the Campbell Storage
! company's buildings, consisting of five
| tive-story structures, caught fire and
| flames shot from every window in the
! two floors in about ten minutes. The
buildings being filed mainly with jute
and whisky burned rapidly. The fire.
! men were unable to- go within fighting
| distance and the fire had pretty much its
own way. In these buildings great loss
will be sustained.
DIED IN A FURNACE.
The steamship Saale and Bremen, after
being pulled free from the docks, were
towed ablaze down the bay and beached
off Liberty island. On The Bremen as she
blazed out in midstream, six men could
be seen with their heads out of port holes,
waving handkerchiefs for assistance. Tug
boats and small boats darted around the
! big steamships, making every effort to