The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-07-02
No One Opened the Way for Them ia
Escape, and the Port Holes Were
Too Small TO Permit Exit.
SCENES OF RUIN AND HORROR
GREAT PIERS AT HoBoKEN A BLACK
MASS OF DEBRIS.
Few Bodies Recovered, Burned Be-
yond Recognition-Statem
of the Steamship Agents.


tanned in the fire at the docks of the North
German Lloyd Steamship Company in Ho-
boken yesterday are tonight conservativeiy
placed at nearly s1O.oOO.OoO; the loss of life.
while merely guess work at even this late
hour, will probably reach IS high as 200.
and there are more than three hundred men
in the hospitals in this city. Hoboken end
Jersey City. badly burned.
Up to IL o'clock tonight eighteen bodies
had been recovered. Eleven of these were
placed in a row at the morgue in this city
and numbered. this being the only means
the authorities have of maintaining any
sort of identity over the corpses. as they
are so badly charred and dismemheSed that
identification will be made only by trinRets
or pieces of clothing that were found about
the bodies.
The only way the steamship officials have
of approximating the loss of life Is by
comparing the list of those reported safe
with the list Of the employees on the steam
ships Late tonight Gustave Schwab. gen.
eral agent OF the North German Lloyd
lines gave out a list showing what men on
each vessel had been missing up to that
hour
On the Saale 255 men were employed. and
127 of these only had beel accounted for
up tc IL o'clock, leaving lbs men actually
employed as officers. sailors, stewards. en-
gineers, coal passers. oilers and trimmers
to be accounted for.
The Bremen had 2o4 men on board. but
only 127 of these have been found.
The Main had 1S7 employed on her at the
time. and of these only seventy-six have
been reported safe.
The scene of the great fire to-day pre-
sented a spectacular but horrible sight.
over i'm Hoboken. where two days ago piers
reached hundreds of feet out into the river
and rising in the air like great hills stood,
alive with outgoing and incoming COM
merce, a great waste of burning and smold-
ering beams with here and there rem-
nant of high brick wall, was all that re-
mained of the hundreds of thousands OF
dollars worth of property.
VAST PIERS ARE GONE.
The three immense piers OF the North
German Lloyd line are burned to the
waters ripple. The Thingvalla pier also
lies smoldering and part OF the Hamburg-
American dock. which had just been added
TO their great piers, were in ruins. Four
large storehouses of the Palmer Campbell
Company are wrecked, and they, with the
piers, go to make UP the appalling mass Of
debris that lies smoking, sizzling and
steaming across the North river. 1t covers
over four city blocks and reaches out into
the river for more than a thousand feet.
Streams of water are being pumped on To
the debris and workmen are poking about
the hot ruins for bodies or traces Of bodies.
This was the scene OF the greatest att
traction to-day. and thousands upon thou
sands of people went there. The streets
were jammed with masses going in a
steady stream TO the ruins. Every trolley
car was packed with struggling humanity,
every ferry boat was crowded TO the rails
and every tug that could be brought into
private use. had it's quota OF people hurry
ing to the scene OF the fire.
Far off up the North river at Weehawken
great cloud OF smoke rose and tumbied.
at one moment lying hard on the water and
at the next rising Just enough TO show the
skeletons of two OF the great ocean liners.
the Bremen and the Main. that rose like
giant spars out OF the smooth surface OF
the water. They had both been beached
there. Around them swarmed a feet OF
small boats. carrying spectators.
Far down the river. of Ellis island. lay
the smoking and steaming hulk OF the
Saale. She was almost a total wreck
The loss OF life will probably prove great
est when the wreck OF the Saale has been
searched. Already a number of bodies have
been taken off her, and as soon as the firs
in her hold has subsided enough TO
allow any one 10 so down in her there is
every probability that many bodies win be
found below decks, as various tug boat
captains claim TO have seen thirty or forty
persons in one compartment just before the
Saale went down.
OF the 266 persons who were reported
missing tonight 1t Is believed that some
will be found safe I'm sailors boarding
houses In this city. Jersey City and Ho-
boken.
The North German Lloyd officials deny
that any passenger Was lost. and declare