The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-01

SAVANN .
asleep at the time were imprisoned there.
Inc worst tale will come from the steam
snip Main, which was unable to be towed
from the pier.
Desperate on the Main.
The vessel had only arrived this morn
3ng' and some passengers were still on
= BOARD When the cry of tire was raised,
a number of them were seen to run TO the
burning decks. Most of them jumped
overheard, and, save for the few who were
picked up by the tugs not one has been
neard from, although every hotel and
hospital in the city of Hoboken is crowd
cd with the injured. Some of the passen-
gers Of the Main tried to escape to the
pier and it was almost certain that they
perished in the flames
There was panic on each OF the ships
Many persons jumped overheard, and the
water for some distance along The docks
was lined with people. They were cling
ing to the piers and even TO the rudders
or the burning vessels. Scme were pick ed
up; many were drowned Pierre Quinn, a
justice of the peace in Hoboken, tells a
story of having seen at least thirty peo-
pie perish. He said:
Il was standing on the end of one of the
Hamburg American line piers and saw
about thirty people crowded under Pier
No. l of the North German Lloyd They
were calling to some of the passing tug
ooats, but their appeals were in vain. and
When the flames got near them they dived
INTO the water. There was no assistance
near them at the time, and believe every
one was either drowned or perished in the
flames"
Spread to Warehouses.
About 200 people were rescued at the
Hamburg American line pier They were
much overcome from exhaustion They
We're soon revived with stimulants.
When the fire broke out, such headway
was gained by the time the Hokoben fire
department arrived that they were utter
ly helpless to cope with che flames They
were further handicapped by having sew
eral hundred feet of hose burned. Calls
were made to the New York fire depart
ment for assistance and fire tugs were
sent over. These, however, had but lit
tie effect on the great mountain Of flame
and smoke
BY 7 o'clock the three piers Of the North
German-Lloyd Steamship Company had
been burned to the ground The southern
Clt4 "a TIC 1dHlpDcll SkOTd66 Z,
consisting Of five fve-story structures,
caught fire and flames shot from every
window from the two floors in but a few
minutes. The buildings, being filled main
" with Jute and whisky, burned rapidly
The firemen were unable 20 go within
fighting distance, and the fire had pretty
much its own way there. In these
buildings great loss will be sustained.
TOwed Away AbIaze.
The ST amships ssale and Bremen. after
beirg pulled free from the docks, were
towed ablaze down the bay and beached
off Liberty Island. On the Bremen, as she
blazed out in midstream, six men could
be seen with their heads out of portfolios
waving handkerchiefs for assistance, Tug
boats and small boats darted around the
big steamships making every effort to
save the men, but the terrible heat from
the flames kept them away.
The saving OF the great Kaiser Wilhelm
der Crosse was attended with exciting in
cidents 1t seemed as If 1t would never be
possible TO get her clear. and the fire
was spreading so rapidly that it threaten
ed at almost any moment to break out
on the big ship The great hawsers, in
the confusion. could not be handled well,
and axes were brought iato Sise to chap
Them, releasing he vessel. She was tow
ed out into midstream and then far up
the river. Her bows were slightly burned.
Five minutes after the fire broke out a
woman jumped from one Of the ships in
a vain effort to reach the water. The
flames drove her from the ship, and she
plunged helplessly in the direction in
which ii seemed that safety lay. She
jumped into burning lighter alongside
the ship, and when an officer on board
the ship. who still staid within the DOOM
ed vessel saw her and realized what would
be her fate, he plunged down after her
hoping TO drag her out OF the burning
lighter into the water. He followed her
within couple of seconds. and both went.
down into the flames in the lighter ana
perished.
by the Shifting Wind.
The rapid spread of the flames is ac-
counted for by the shifting of the wind.
When the fire first broke out the wind
was blowing strongly from the south.
This drove the flames across to the pier
above the one on which IL started. With
in a few seconds the wind shifted almost
directly to the opposite point. Under the
great pavilion on the land end the flames
were soon in absolute control Had not
the recourse to dynamite been taken to
destroy the Hamburg pier, the flames
might have gone on. All the f1reboats
and tugs in the harbor would not have
stopped them.
The flames in the cotton kept the fire at
an intense hsat, and the firemen suffered
greatly. Again and again it seemed as If
they must abandon the fight. The want
age points at which they could attack the
flames were few, and their efforts were
necessarily hampered. Some OF the fire.
men on hook and ladder truck, No. Q of
Jersey City, had a narrow escape. They
had got out as far as they could on the
pier to the south of the blazing docks and
were endeavoring to recover bodies OF
persons who might have got under 1t.
There was a burst OF fame from the pier
adjoining. for a time threatening to cut
them off and set fire to the pier. The ms n
dropped into the water and chung to the
niles for a few minutes, and then the
wind drove the flames back and they were
able to retreat
The smoke which poured out OF the
flames and ascende1 high In the air blew
almost directly eastward and maintained
its column for distance of about seven
ty miles as It was clearly seen beyond
Babylon, Long Island.
stories of the Rescued
One man in the hospital with burned
hands and face says he was rescued by
another man more severely burned than
himself. and he was helpless in the water
when the other threw an arm about him
and buoyed him up. The others face was
feerfully burned and the other arm was
useless, but he treaded water and fioated
So skilfully that they foated down the
river. A tug went to their rescue. The
man who told the story said he tainted
after being rescued, and did not know