The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-07-12
FIRE VICTIMS.
Fifteen Found In Stew
ards Room On the
Saale.
FACES TELL THE TALE OF HORROR
CHASTITY Search for Bodies
Still Continues In Water
and In Ships.

Fearful as was the fate of most of the
victims of the big Hoboken fire, the
pitiable, agonizing plight in which some
of them found themselves in their last
moments. was emphasized by discovery
on the Saale yesterday. OF the twenty
four bodies found in the vessel yesterday
making a total of sixty who met their
death on this charred ship-fifteen were
in the stewards room. In this little COM
partment they were penned, the door
locked. the flames raging all around them,
yet safe from the fire 1t was only when
the air in their miserable retreat was so
heated as to be sitting, burning throat
and lungs as it was inhaled, that in
their own struggles for relief these un-
fortunate brought speedy death upon
themselves.
Escaping an awful end by fire they
found a miserable ending by drowning
In their dire extremity they smashed
the glass in the partition of this small
room in the hold, the waters which al
ready had submerged the steamship
rushed in upon them, filling the room,
and III a few moments more the fifteen
men and women alilce-had ceased to
struggle.
1t was late in the afternoon, after nine
other bodies had been recovered, that the
men at their grewsome task in the hold
came upon the stewards room. The work
was hastened, but when dusk came and it
was impossible 20 do more, eight of the
bodies still were in the room. The others
had been taken out. Many of them had
been identified by the clothing or articles
found in their pockets, and with the nine
others they were taken to ODonnelfs 5
Morgue in Hoboken by direction of Cor
ener Hoffman.
The first body found by the searchers
was that of a woman who was victim
of the flames There was nothing to aid in
identifying her, but it is believed that she
was employed in the stewards depart
ment. On a letter found in the clothing of
another victim was the address of Emil
street, Hebeken. The letter itself was so
scorched as to be illegible.
"A. Kleen, Christmas Day, 1894" was
the inscription on the cover of tobacco
box in the pocket of another victim
Kieen, it is known, was steward on the
Saale A pocketbook was found in the
clothing of another. In it was written
Johann Diedr1ch Nicholaus Wiese. born
June "a, 1885," and also an entry which
showed he was a ships carpenter on the
vessel
Another woman who had been drowned
was found in a room occupied by the
stewards. There was nothing to indicate
who she was 1t is believed she was a
stewardess.
A ticket made out by the North German
Lloyd Company to scrub steward told of
the occupation of another victim No
name was on the ticket. The body of a
fireman may be identified by the tattoo
marks-an eagle on the breast, a woman
playing a banjo on the right arm and on
the other a woman sitting on a barrel of
beer.
''W. E. Miller was the name engraved
on gold ring on the finger of another.
A man of that name was the ships car
penter on the saale the body was identi-
fed as his. The clothing of another
victim indicated that he was a cook. OF
the seven bodies take from the room
where fifteen were drowned two were
those of women. One was fully dressed,
her outer garment being blue wrapper
She wore a wedding ring, on which was
engraved "R W., $780," The other also
wore a wedding ring, engraved 'B.
Peitsch $780,,
Pinned to the coat of a man who is sup
posed to have been a steward was a tin
badge, on which was the initials ST. r.
On the Saale all day were William
Schaeffer, the first officer of the vessel.
and Emil Zander, the second officer, and
their knowledge of the men employed was
an aid in the Identification of many of the
victims.
The twenty-four recovered yesterday
brought the total up to 17S. 1t is the belief
there are more in the Saale. None was
found on the Bremen or the Main, nor
were any more picked up in the river, all
though the diver, who searched the river
bottom on Tuesday, made another trip.
The work on the three ships will continue
today. The Main sank deeper into the
mud yesterday; the Bremen may be float
ed in few days.
Great pumps worked in the hold of the
Saale all day, and in the afternoon the
vessel was fioated. Her keel was embed
ded nine or ten feet deep in the mud, and
when she was freed from this bed she
seemed to jump fully two feet out of the
water. Tugs undertook to swing her
stern around toward the middle of the
bay, but mud bank was on her star
board side and after an hours tugging
the attempt was abandoned. The ship
probably will have to be towed out back
ward over the same course she took in
reaching her station near Liberty Island.
Chief Engineer Ruel and Managing Di-
rector Leist of the North German Lloyd
Company arrived here on the Kaiserin
Maria Theresa yesterday They will in
spect the ruined piers and the damaged
vessels and will consult with Mr.. Schwab
about the construction of new wharves.
Eight bodies were removed from the
Saale this afternoon to the Hobeken
morgue.