Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-07-02
over 200 LIVES
LOST IN THE FIRE
Terrible Results of a COnflagratiOn at the
German Lloyd COmpany's Pier
at FiObOken, NJ

the lighter to the Saale, burned through
/ and parted, and we driitCd out into the
] stream and iloated down alonEshore.
! A tug coming up the river saw as and
! gave us a tow 10 point below HobOk-
! en-. where all hands g0t ashore
REFUSED TO SAVE THE DYING.
John Voss was on the pier when the
| cotton burst into a blaze. He was
well out al the end of the wharf and
saw the fleet Of tu-s coming toward
the Kaiser Wilhelm.
Il saw three men swimming and
| trying TO get away from the burnng
pier plid Voss The hair OF one Of
them was on fire. he ducked his head
10 ut It out When he came up he
shouted Help, help in German A man
on a small tue leaned over the side and
yelled out, Have you any gelt? We are
not here for our health The man in
the water must have been hurt In some
way because he could not make any re-
ply. He threw up his hands and sank
Il could not tell what became of the
others. one OF them cried out, For
Gods sake, for Gods sake two or
three times bat nobody would DO any
thin- for him. ! guess he must have
been struck IN the head by one Of the
tugs The crews on board kept calling
out. How much have you got? Where
Is all your money!
For four hours and thirty minutes
Wilhelm Meyer a fireman of the Main
chung TO pile on the front OF the pier
where the Saale was, unable by reason
Of burns and his exhausted condition to
swim more than a dozen yards In fire.
quent attempts to gain a place of
greater safety, The heat over his head
was blistering and he was nearly
drowned by being Obliged TO dive be-
meath the surface at frequent inter-
walls to escape roasting.
SCENES WERE AWFUL.
II called fifty times to tugboats that
came near me. said he, but they
would not throw me a line. After a
while | got so weak that / could hardly
keep my head above water but | kept
calling all the time. Big blazing pieces
Of wood fell around me and ] had TO
Keep lodging out of the way. saw Ave
or six men swimming around as II they
did not know what they were doing.
whenever they saw tug they made
for It but ! suppose they had no more
money than I had for / did not see
one of them picked up
The second storekeeper Of the Main.
AlphOnse Ubrurkka, jumped into the
water. He found place TO cling to
and shouted for help until he was ex-
hausted. Tugs were within fifty yards
OF him. but not one made an effort TO
take him aboard
one Of crew OF a tug offered me a
rope II / would give him 50. but how
could /? After a while a small yawl
boat came 10y and / was pretty near
gone, but / hailed her and the man |
pulled me in and took me ashore"
General James A. Bumont. supervis- |
Ing inspector Of steam vessels. said that |
his department would take immediate |
action in the case OF the officers OF the |
tugboats who are reported to have de-
clined 70 save drowning men.
BEFORE the guard was placed about |
the Bremen Sunday afternoon thieves
aboard and looted the state
rooms.
COUNTING ON THE DEAD.
The only way the steamship officials
have OF approximatlng the loss of life
Is by comparing the list Of those re-
ported safe with the list Of the en-
ployes on the steamships. Late to-
night Gustave Schwab. the general
agent Of the North German LLOYD line
gave out list showing what men on
each vessel had been missing up TO
that hour
On the saale 255 men were en-
ployed and only 127 OF these had been
accounted for up to II o'clock. leaving
.2e men actually employed as officers.
sailors, stewards, engineers. coal
)assers, oilers and trimmers. to be ac-
counted for.
The Bremen had 2Ol men on board.
)ut only l2l Of these have been found.
The Main had 1877 employees on board
II the time and Of these &c have been
'eported safe.
RESCUES BY FIREMEN.
The fireboat, Robert A. Vanwyck
which arrived on the scene first among
he river fire-fghters. presented pic
ure OF horror and ghastliness as she
ay at her dock In the East river to-
lay. The decks We're covered with
otton, saturated with the blood OF the
lctims rescued by the brave men
board. The fremen were at work
leaning the boat and picking up the
tanned remnants Of clothing which
we're torn from the burning bodies as
hey We're pulled aboard the fire boat.
rom the pit OF fire. Pieces OF human
Kin chung to the scarlet rags, and the
readful experience Of the firemen OF
he day previous was brought again
0 eyes and memories which sought 10
orget the horrible spectacle. Lieut..
icGinnis said
u should say there were passengers
board the Saale. They looked like
assengers and surely were not mem
ers Of the crew. They We're locked {
own in the hold OF the vessel as Sc !
lrely as ever a convict was imprisoned
a cell There was no escape for
hem after the vessel began 10 take
'ater We got about thirty out of ,
here while we were allowed 10 work
'om the decks. II was then we Wit
essed the awful sight Of human agony. :
SCENES OF HORROR. /
"A hundred arms with the flesh torn s
l n