The Savannah morning news., 1900-07-03
GIVING Up ITS DEAD.
DISFIGURED BODIES ARE BROUGHT
FROM TIE RIVERS BED.
HORRORS OF THE GREAT FIRE.
LIST OF THE MISSING STILL FIXED
AT LITTLE LESS THAN 800.

cOvered-The Half Has Not Yet
Corpses VIII Float 10 the Surface.
Grewsome scenes Are Being En-
acted-LiberaItfy Is Displayed by
the Steamship Company.
New York. July 2-Sixty-seven bodies
of victims of the Hcboken fire have been
nesses additional recoveries of bodies,
scared, MANNED and burned beyond all
semblance of humanity.
And the half has not yet been told, as
all the bodies brought 40 the surface to-
day were caught on graphing hooks.
About the first of next week people will
realize the appalling loss of life, as it will
then be time for the bodies that are now
lying at the bottom of the river to come
to the surface of the water of their own
accord. The list of missing is still plac-
ed at but few below 30O and when the
bodies begin floating to the surface. the
grewsomeness of the situation will be re-
allied.
Thirty-seven have been either positive
ly or partly identified, most of them so
far as has been discovered, being VIC
Tins from the steamship Saale.
Those who will undoubtedly swell the
list of the dead are the 240-odd men from
the steamships, including officers, sub
officers. seamen, oilers. machinists. coal
passers and trimmers, the greater loss, of
course. being among the men who were
below decks and could not get to the
open before the flames choked them back.
and the heavy. falling debris beat them
down to their death. or these the
greater part are foreigners. and the lists
of their names are being checked Oft by
the steamship company officers as soon
as any identification can be made. Them
too. there are some thirty-five people
who were on canal boats. lighters and
about the docks in various capacities.
The burned North German Lloyd piers,
with that OF the Thingvalla line, reached
out into the river like long, charred arms
| of some great body, which still steamed
and smoked In it's last hours of life. RIs-
! ing above the whole mass is still heavy
! cloud of smoke that tells OF much FIRE and
heat remaining in the ruins of the large
storehouse at the north end of the ruins.
The general agent of the North German
Lloyd. @. II. Schwab was at his tempo
| rary Offices In Hoboken most of the day,
trying to straighten out the situa ton. He
! could not form any exact estimate of the
losses as yet, but the company was doing
! all 1t could to get itself out of the 'tangle.
| The company sent money down to the
| docks and paid 1t out to the survivors.
More than $4,000 in cash was dealt out
to the men to-day, and suits of clothing
were given to every man that asked for
them. Food and shelter were also pro-
vided for the company's men.
Thousands Looked On.
Yesterday the great scenes of the fire
were more on the big steamers that lay
burning in the river than at the docks,
which were just a pile of smoking ruins;
but to-day. when the bodies began to be
found in pairs. in groups of half dozen,
and then by the dozen, the most grew
some scenes were witnessed at the Hobo
ken piers Hundreds of thousands of peo-
| pie banked up in the streets all day look
| ing and watching with Incredible interest
the little groups of men that brought in
| the bodies from the ends of the piers.
Thousands of small children were allowed
In the crowds to view the horrible spec
tacle and women with babies in their
| arms craned their necks to get a glimpse
of sights from which many men turned
| their faces.
To O'Donnell's undertaking shop which
| was nearest to the scene of the fire, the
wagons went. The bodies were placed In
a row. in plain pine boxes. and on the
| front of each box was a tag bearing the
number In the order in which the bodies
were laid out. Each body was searched
| for valuable before IL was put I'm the box
and quantity of money was found on
nearly every man, also trinkets and other
| personal valuables. All of these were put
| in bags and labeled one for each victim.
| The bodies were enclosed in the box save
| for a space of about three feet at the head,
| laving just room enough for people to
make Identification. On each body the
| precaution was taken of placing large
piece of ice.
Second Officer Sander of the Saale said
tonight that several of the officers of the
steamships would issue a statement in
several days, signed and sworn to, that
the captains of the tug boats did not do
all in their power to help the ships that
were lying in their docks Officer Sander
said his ship had been cut loose from the
pier. and that he and another officer stood
at the stern Of the ship with men ready to
man lines to tugboats. He said they
shouted to the tugboat captains, num-
ber of whom were close under his ship,
but that no response was made. the tugs
simply lying by until they could get near
| enough to the great Kaiser Wilhelm der
| Crosse to render enough assistance to
! claim salvage.
|