The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1900-07-05
THE DEATH LIST GROWS.
II fs Believed over 200 Live. Were
Lost I'm the Terrible shipping
Fire Mt Hoboken.

/ -NtN lOIk, July J.. the Nork OF
taking out the burned bodies Of those
who lost their lives in the terrible
fire in the shipping district of Ho,
boken, y. j.. late Saturday afternoon.
was vigorously prosecuted Monday
but is necessarily slow because some
OF the wrecks are still burning.
The flames started among cotton
bales under Pier ;. and in less than
- minutes had covered an area n
quarter OF Il mile long. extending
from the actual shore line to the bulk
heads. GOO 10 1000 feet away, and had
caught four great ocean liners and
Il dozen or more smaller craft in its
grasp. The ocean liners burned are
the Sanlc. bremen and the Main. of
the North German Lloyd line. The
Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse was dam
aged. The PhOenicia was also burned.
The loss of life is estimated at go.
On the Saale and Bremen. especially,
it is thought numbers OF the crew
death or drowned. Many were also
lost on the smaller craft. Officials
think that many passengers perished
in the flames. The property loss has
been placed at si0.0CO.OOO.
Twenty-Five bodies. or fragments Of
that many bodies. have been recover
ed. More than 200 others. it is be-
licved, are in the charrcd hulks of the
steamers or in the Hudson.
The estimates Of the number Of dead
vary. Gustav II. Schwab. agent Of the
company, places the loss of life Of
men connected with his company at
between 12j and 100. He believes that
in addition TO these considerable
number Of longshorcmcn and visitors
10 the steamers lost their lives. po-
lice and others place the number Of
the latter Mt 100 at least. This csti-
mate of go Is the most conservative.
Other estimates place the loss of life
al 300 and over.
The search for the bodies Of the
victims were renewed at daylight Mon
day. Divers and grapplcrs by the
score were put TO work on the wrecks
OF the Snale. grounded off Ellis ISL
and: the Main and Bremen. bcached
near Weehawken. and around the
stumps of the North German LLOYD
piers, IIoboken. Accompanying each
searching party is u grcwsomc supply
Of collins. The list Of injured is large
One hundred and nine persons have
been treated in the hospitals
CURED during tnc rrr' arc -1o''na trnu.
uallv told \ man on board the Saalc
was seen 10 blow ont his brains when
he found that death from the flames
was inevitable He stood at a port
hole with would-bc rescucrs within
few yards Of him.
Another person imprisoned behind
that iron wall, with fire raging above
and around. was Il woman. She calm
" told a boatman, August Dore. who
had rowed to a portfolio in which her
face was framed, that she was about
10 die, the flames having reached her
room.
Listen, my friend" she said 81
am stcwardcss. Fraulein IIolbe.
from Rothenbcrg. near Hanover.
want you To send message TO my
mother. Tell her my last thoughts
were OF her"
She had barely concluded when a
burst of flame appeared at the port
hole, and the woman fell back and
disappeared.
Up TO 3 o'clock Monday afternoon
40 bodies had been recovered from the
waters of the river. Bodies are being
picked up almost every half hour.
Many of the bodies recovered are
so blackened and distorted by the ac-
ton of fire and water that it is cvi-
dent the dying suffered terrible
agony.
Identification can only be made now
in most cases by little trinkcts or
adornmcnts found near the bodies, or
on them. Masses of human flesh.
charred and blackcned beyond all
semblance of humanity, lie encased in
the boxes Mt the mOrgue. and it IS
impossible to distinguish the features
of the corpses.
Just after o'clock six more bod
les were taken from the water ut
the Valencia boat club float Hobo
ken. One OF them was identified as
that Of J. Kaufman. steward.
At $3.50 o'clock total of about %
bodies had been taken from the river.