Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1900-07-06
AN AWFUL DISASTER.
Fire Sweeps Away Big Docks and
Ocean Steamships.
Three Vessels burned mt Hoboken,
N. J.-Men and Women on Board
Find Escape Cut OT-FuIly
200 of Them Perish.

New York, July 2.-Probably 200
lives, perhaps more-some estimates
put the number as high as 500-were
lost Saturday afternoon in fire horror
that in many respects is unprecedented.
Many of the unfortunates were
burned to death, more were drowned.
Over a thousand people were strug-
Cling in the water at one time, and how
many of these were lost is only con-
lecture.
The same fire destroyed three great
ocean steamships, the immense wharves
of the North German Lloyd Steamship
company, the Hamburg-American
Steamship company and the Thing
valla Steamship company, vast stor-
| age warehouse in Hoboken, 12 canal
boats and six barges.
The ocean liners destroyed were the
| Saale, the Bremen and the Main. All
three of these ships belong to the North
| German Lloyd company.
The Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse, the
| fastest and one of the largest passen-
| ger ships in the world, was damaged
and had narrow escape from total de-
struction.
There were hundreds of men on each
of the destroyed steamships and a few
women. There were crowds of dock
laborers and employees on all of the
| piers. There were men, women and
children in the canal boats and men on
the barges and lighters.
Escape Quickly Cut OF.
So quickly did the fire spread that
escape for all of these hundreds was cut
off almost before they knew the fire
had started.
Men working in the holds of the
three steamships were shut in by walls
of flame. 1t was impossible to reach
them in any way. Men on the pier
jumped into the water to save them
selves. Many were saved; others sank
before help could reach them.
Loss of Life Estimated Mt 200.
The North German Lloyd Steamship
company estimates the loss of life by
the fire at 200. The company took the
crew lists. checked off those members
who are in hospitals or reported safe,
and believes the others to be lost.
Among the dead are a number of Off
GERS. The body of Capt. Mirrow, of
the Saale, has been found, burned so
as to be unrecognizable. Fortunate
ly the number of visitors on the pier
and boats was unusually small, be-
cause no steamer was due to sail eX-
cept the Saale, and she only for Bos-
ton, where she was to have taken on
a load of Christian Endeavorers, bound
for the convention in London. No pas
senger was lost on any of the boats. A
number of Christian Endeavorers were
visiting the Saale, drawn by the in
terest taken in the boat, because of
her charter by the Boston Endeavorers.
Some of these visitors were reported
lost. The German consul general
cabled to Berlin placing the death list
at 200.
1t is estimated that from 300 to 400
persons were injured and taken to the
different hospitals in this city, Jersey
City and Hoboken. Many of them were
found to be not seriously hurt and were
discharged Sunday. Many others are
believed to be so seriously injured that
they cannot recover.
May De Larger.
One of the officers of the steamship
visitors on board that vessel when the
fire touched there, the majority of
them being women. A boat was lowered
from the Bremen shortly after the
alarm had been given, but the craft
capsized as it touched the water and
all hands were precipitated into the
water, and none of them was saved by
those remaining on the vessel. This
in itself would indicate that the list OF
dead may be larger than it was first
thought to be.
Eighteen Bodies Found.
Up to IL o'clock Sunday night is
bodies had been recovered. Eleven OF
these were placed in row at the
morgue in this city and numbered, this
being the only means the authorities
have of maintaining any sort of iden-
tity over the corpses, as they are Sc
badly charred and dismembered that
identification will be made only by
trinkets or pieces of clothing that were
found about the bodies.
The loss of life will probably prove
greatest when the wreck of the Saale
has been searched. Already number
of bodies have been taken off her, and
as soon as the fire in her hold has been
subdued enough to allow anyone to &C
down in her there is every probability
that many bodies will be found below
decks, as various tugboat captains
claim to have seen 80 or 40 persons in
one compartment just before the Saale
went down. Some of those penned in
by the flames were alive when the
steamship was towed to the Jersey flats
just north of Ellis island. Through the
open headlights or portfolios the poor
creatures appealed for help severa
times before the vessel was scuttled in
the hope of putting out the fire which
was raging in her upper works. The
portfolios being less than foot in di
ameter, it was impossible to save them
and one after another the people in
side succumbed to the smoke ant