The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1900-07-03
Many Lives and Millions Of Dollars
Worth Of Property Destroyed.
OCEAN LINERS BURNED
Graphic Description of the Worst Fire
That Has Ever Ragged in the City
of New York.

says: Almost ten million dollars worth
OF property was destroyed, many lives
were lost many persons were injured
and at least 1,5OO lives were i'm
perilcd by the fire that started among
the cotton bales under pier 3 of the
North German Lloyd Steamship com
pany at o'clock this afternoon. In less
than ten minutes the flames covered an
area almost a quarter of a mile long, OK
tending outward from the actual shore
line to bulkheads from COO to LOCO feet
away, and had caught four great ocean
liners and a dozen smaller craft in their
grasp. Stories in regard to loss of life
are conflicting the number being vari-
ously estimated at from SO to 200,
Up to midnight ten bodies have been
recovered, but they were all SO burned
and blackened that Identification was
impossible, The hospitals in New York,
Hoboken and Jersey City are crowded
with injured and more are being brought
in by scores. Those who gathered along
the shores of Hudson river to witness
the great confagation saw sight that
they can never forget and one that will
always have a conspicuous place in the
history of New York. The river and bay
were envcloped in pail of black smoke
through which angry flames, bursting as
from VOLCANOES on the Jersey shore and in
the water itself leaped like red spheres
into the sky. The surface of the water
was covered with flaming and blazing
masses of freight thrown in haste from
doomed vessels-all united in the main
effort to rescue humanity threatened
with being sacrificed in the great ships.
And through the halo of smoke the
great crimson sun, hared to twice it's
size by the great haze, glared like a
huge eye as it shown in the west. Such
was the spectacle presented on the
Hudson, as if it was some holiday pageant,
that was made more tragic by the reali-
zation that somewhere in that smoke,
somewhere beneath the turbid waters,
scores of lives had been lost or were be-
ing lost in a last desperate struggle
against death. The spectacle was wit
messed by thousands and thousands
from both shores and by other thous-
ands who crowded upon every ferry boat,
every excursion boat, upon every array
of river craft that could be secured for
the purpose. The crowd upon the banks
of the river was almost as great as that
formed to witness the triumphal return
of Admiral Dewey. Looking up the
river toward the burning ships and piers
the scene was wonderful and tragic
one.
The steamship Sale had been towed
down the river until it was ust off Fort
Liberty, where she had gathered about
her ring of tircboats and tugs all fight
ing to save at least the hull of the DOOM
ed steamer, the flames still lcaping from
her port holes and rushing out of her
cabins. At varying distances about the
burning ship lay coal barges all ablaze,
each with one or more tugs playing
streams of water upon it. Some of these
barges and lighters were loaded with
very infammable stuff and the flames
leaped high in the air, while the heat
was so terrific that it was not possible to
use effectively the small hose of the tugs.
So one by one these affairs of fire slowly
most of them burning down
10 the waters edge. Along the Jersey
shore small fires were blazing, started by
from the great steamships.
Over on this side of the river the fire
caused the greatest excitement as drift |
ng steamships and barges floated, all
lfame to the New York Shore crushing
n against the piers from Canal street to |
Murray street. The fire department was
,alled out at various points along the
threatened line and the spectacle was
presented of firemen on shore trying to |
ight fires which at every minute chang
d their situation. For hours the river
vas crowded with small boats hurrying
o the scene of disaster or already taking
'art in the rescue of hundreds who had
capped into the river when terrorized by
he flames. These boats were hurrying
ere and there, but soon their captains
lad nothing to do but watch the mad
weep of the flames. Those who had
lunged into the water had either been
escued or gone to the bottom. There
'ere hundreds of men on each of the de-
troyed steamships and few women.
People on the piers jumped into the
'ater to save themselves and scores of
len huddled under the piers, clinging to
he supports only to be suffOcated by the