Hutchinson gazette., 1900-07-05
FIRES AWFUL WORK
Lloyd Steamship Cos Docks at
Hoboken Burned.
LOSS WILL REACH Ten MILLIONS.
Two Hundred Lives Lost and over
Six Hundred Injured IN the Avs
fullest Fire Known la Years
Ocean Liners Rnrned'

New York City July 2.-About ten
million dollars worth OF property was
destroyed, many lives lost, many per-
sons were injured, and Ht least l,5OO
lives were imperlled by fire thai
started among the cotton bales under
pier No, Of the North German Lloyd
Steamship Company, in Hoboken, N.
J., at 4 p, m, yesterday.
In less than fifteen minutes the
.flnmes covered an area quarter Of
a mile long, extending outward from
Ihe actual shore line to the bulltheads,
from 900 to 1000 feet away and had
caught four great ocean liners and a
dozen or more smaller harbor craft
In It's grasp.
Stories in regard to the loss of life
are conflicting, but II will probably
rench 900 Up to midnight ten bodies
had been recovered but they were all
so burned and glackcned that identiii"
cation was impossible.
The hospl,uls in New York, Hobok-
en and Jersey City are crowded with
The wounded, men being brought in
by scores,
Those who gathered along the shore
OF the Hudson river to witness the
great confugrGtion saw spectacle
dhat they can never forget and one
which will always have conspicuous
place In the history Of New York,
By z o'clocl, the three piers 1l the
North German Lloyd Steamship Com
pany had burned TO the ground.
The southern end Of Campbell Stor-
age Company's building, consisting o.
dive hve-story structures, caught fire
and flames shot from every windoW
in n few minutes. The buildings being
filed mainly with jute and wlIisEey
burned rapidly The fremen We're
unable to go within fighting distance
and the fire had It's own way there.
4n these buildings great loss was sus-
tanned.
The steamship saale and Bremen,
after being pulled free from the docks
were towed abla2c down the bay and
beached Off Liberty .sldnd.
On the Bremen, as she bla1ed out In
midstreum, six men could be seen with
their head out of port holes, waving
handkerchicfs for assistance. Tug
boats and small boats darted around
the big steamships, making every eff
fort to save the men, but the terrible
beat from the flames kept them away.
The spectacle was witnessed by
thousands from beth shores, and by
either thousands who crowded upon
every ferry boat, every excursion
boat, upon every river craft that could
bc secured for the purpose.
The loss to the North German
EIoyd docks alone is placed at $4,000.
900. Rhe value OF great quantities OF
cotton, oil and various other merchan.
disc on the docks has not ben esti.
niated.
The loss to the North German Lloyd
Steamship Company alone will pro-
badly come close to $1OO0000 as the
Bremen, the Main and the Saale. were
almost totally destroyed. The Kaiser
wilhelm was somewhat damaged, The
5ive store houses of the Campbell Com.
pany We're greatly damaged, the loss
on one building alone being placed at
81, 100000.
The value Of the Hamburg American
Fine steamer Phoenicin is not known,
but this will swell the amount of the
damage.
The Thingvilla pier war burned, and
the dock of the neutrality-suspicious.
line suffered greatly, A number Of
small buildings in Hoboken were de-
stroyed along the wharves, but no
idea Of the value Of these can be oh.
Sained.
At the docks of the North German
lloyd were the Saale, single. screw.
passenger and freight steamship OF
1865 gross tons; the l}remen, twin
screw passenger and freight steamer
of 1886 tons, and the Main, a twin
screw passenger and freight steamer
of 10,j00 gross tons They all caught
Ore and were burned to the waters
edge.
The Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse,
~hich had just come in, was the only
one of the four big vessels at the dock
chat escaped.
The loss of the crews of these YES.
GELS is said to reach 100.
The fire was discovered by a watch
GDnn on the pier at 1 o'clock. He saw
n small streak of flame shoot up from
N bale of cotton on pier No. 2, at
which was docked the steamer S0ale.
Be Immediately sent an alarm
In few minutes the flames had OK
4ended to the steamship and were
communicated to the adjoining pier
ON the north. Here were dockcd the
Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse and the
Boin. Tugs were Immediately made
fast to the big Kaiser Wilhelm der
Crosse and she was gotten out into
the stream with safety, although bad.
Yy scorched at the bows. The steam
ship Main was doomed as the flames
had already become so fierce on the
north side Of the pier that no tug
could approach the vessel
Then by shift in the wind, the
t'ames were sent in the direction of
pier No. l., which was on the south
end of pier No. .. To the north OF
pier No. / was the dock of the Ham.
Burg-Americnn line at which the
steamship Phoenicia was docked. The
names got good hold on her and she
was towed out into midstream abln2e.
About 200 people were rescued Mt
the Hamburg-American line pier.
They were overcome from exhaustion
out soon revived from stimulants.