The Saint Paul globe., 1900-05-07
LOSS PLACED At A MILLION
PIER SHE'D FILLED WITH
FREIGHT, MOST OF WHICH
WAS COTTON
ONE LIFE LOST IN THE HARBoR
Capt. LOrhs Had to Leave His
Child to Drown in Order
TO Save the
Mother.

NEW YORK, May Ga fire that start
ed at the river Office of the Mallory line
steamship pier, at the foot of Maiden
Lane and East river, early this morn
ing, completely destroyed the pier and
Its valuable contents. Police place the
loss at $1,OO00OO. Several barges, which
were moored near the pier, We're also de
5troyed, and many rescues of their cap
tains and their families on board were
made. Only one life was lost. The nine
month-old daughter of Capt Lochs, of
the barge Sherwood, was drowned.
The Mallory line pier was 200 feet long
and fifty feet wide. The pier shed was
hlled with valuable freight of a miscel-
laneous character, but mostly cotton
On the north side of the pier were moor
ed a number of coal and cotton barges,
while on the south side was the steamer
San Marcos and a number Of barges
No sooner had the work of fighting the
hames begun than the firemen and citi-
Eens turned their attention to saving the
lives Of those on the barges which were
lying within the line Of danger Nearest
to the pier was the barge Stephen B. Ell
kin. Here Capt. Frank Fox and his wife,
his three-mOnth-old daughter and a baby
were on board and sleeping. A skid was
quickly run from the pier to the coal
barge, the occupants of the boat were
awakened and We're hurried from their
hunks to a place of safety before the
flames had reached them.
SAVED HIS WIFE.
On board the barge Sherwood. were
Charles Lochs, the captain. thirty six
oil hi
old, and their daughter Rosie, nine
months old. The Lochs family was awak-
ened by the flames. Their barge was al
ready afire at the time they were aroused
from sleep. The father took the nine
month-old baby in his arms and, with
his wife, jumped into the water Capt
Timothy Boylan, formerly in command
9f the barge New Brunswick, whose home
Is. at RondOut, N. Y, plunged in to siVe
the woman, who had become exhausted
ter husband who still held the baby in
his arms, saw that his wife was on hte
point OF going down. It became a ques-
uon to him as to which he should save.
his wife or baby. He therefore let the
baby go, in the hope that she would be
picked up by some one else, and went to
the assistance of his wife He managed
TO hold her head above water until Bow
Ian reached them. All three were then
landed by life lines. The half-drowned
captain and his wife were removed to
the Hudson street hospital, where later
they recovered.
On the coal barge S. H. Hand, which
lay alongside the other burned barges.
We're the captain, Joseph Plumb his wife
and two children All We're rescued by
the police, but Patrolman jeremiah Gro
min was badly burned while taking one
OF the children ashore. All hands on
board the lighter Arno got ashore safely.
Michael Sheldon, of that boat was com
PEELED to jump into the river from which
he was rescued.
EXCITING SCENE.
Three large vessels were lying so near
the blazing pier that their safety was
endangered. The steamers San Marcos
and Nueces, which were towed cut into
midstream and the bark James, the rig
glng of which was burned before she
could be towed out of harms way
The scene on the water was a most
exciting one, for the river was nlled with
steam craft engaged in towing the vari-
Gus vessels and barges to safety from
their dangerous positions Four cotton
barges, others laden with cornmeal and
some loaded with coal caught fire and
We're destroyed. Some of them were also
sunk to prevent the further spread of the
flames.
= NUMBER or buildings on South street
We're scorched, and several were emptied
of their tenants, who feared that the
buildings would be burned.
Henry Mallory said regarding the fire:
i have no idea how the fire started, and
can form no adequate idea Of the loss.
The entire pier is destroyed, together
with the Offices and other buildings on
the bullIheads. My brother Charles sail
ed for Europe on the Teutonic ten days
ago, and he viii remain. abroad two
months, notwithstanding this catastrophe.
/ cannot tell what our Immediate pl9ns
will be. or when we Shall begin to re-
build. Our books and other documents
were destroyed. and I cannot say any,
thing about the insurance at present. The
only positive Information that l can give
at present IS that, fortunately at the
time of the fire there was not the u~ual
amount of freight on the piers, as the
Comal, which sailed at 5 o'clock Satur-
day afternoon, cleared up most CT the
overflow L positively cannot fix the or
igin of the fire, give the amount of dam
age or approximate the amount Of insur-
ance."