Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1900-07-11

the Blazing HuIls.
With a loss Of probably 300 lives and
the destruction of property valued at
nearly $15, 600, 000 the entire pier system
of the North German Lloyd Steamship
Company at Hoboken, y. j., was burned
Saturday by fire originating among
bales of cotton. The magnificent ocean
liners Main, Saale and Bremen were de-
stroyed by the flames and the peerless
Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse was scorched
and only was snatched from the blazing
piers and shifted into mdstream by the
hveliest kind of work.
Starting where cotton bales and oil bar
rels were stored on a pier of the North
German Lloyd Steamship Company, the
flames swept ever five acres of piers, de-
stroyed the five large Campbell ware
houses near by ana attacked the ocean
steamers lying at the piers. Three Lloyd
steamers, the new Bremen, the Saale,
survivor of many misfortunes, and the
freighter : ain. were burned down to the
water line. The great steamer Kaiser
Wilhelm der Crosse, pride of the Lloyd
line and the second largest steamer
afloat, was seriously burned, while the
Phoenicia OF the Hamburg American line
was damaged and score of lighters and
harbor vessels were destroyed.
How Lives We're Lost.
Fully fifteen hundred people were
working on the piers and the vessels
when the fire began There were the
rongshoremen removing and loading car
goes, the sailors on the vessels, and even
number of passengers on one ship
which had just arrived. Cat off from
shore by walls OF fire. driven off the piers
Into the water, cooped Up in cabins from
which the sky could be seen through mar
row portfolios but no rescue could be had,
hundreds OF persons met fearful deaths.
Ships, piers and warehouses were all
burning within nine minutes from the
start OF the fire. Then when the engines
and fire tugs came they We're powerless
to put limit to the flames. Not till
pier of the Hamburg American line was
blown up by dynamite was the fire under
control. The Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse
was saved by cutting the cables that
bound her TO the pier and towing her up
stream. Then the Saale and the Br men,
one mass of fierce flames which phad
up masts ard tunnels, the other with lie
bursting from every part of the super
structure, we're lowed down stream. The
Saale carried many imprisoned men in
her hull, and the Bremen WAS known TO
have seventeen men still alive at the
pumps but no power on earth could res
cue them. The Main could not be freed
and burned at the pier.
Water and FIRE combined to make one
of the most fearful scenes of destruction
of human life that New York has ever
Witnessed The black column of smoke
rolled straight to the east, where it was
visible still in single mass seventy miles
away. Tens of thousands of people lined
the banks o. the river to witness the
awful spectacle. The hospitals in New
York, Hobokcn and Jersey City were
crowded with the injured, and men We're
being brought in by scores.
An Awful spectacle.
Those who gathered along the shores of
the Hudson river 10 witness the great
confagration saw a spectacle that they
can never forget and one that always
will have conspicuous place in the his
tory of New York. River and bay were
enveloped in a pail of black smoke,
through which angry flames, bursting as
from volcanoes, on tho Jersey shore and
in the water ITSELF lcaped like red spheres
into the sky. The surface of the water
was covered with floating and blazing
masses of freight thrown in haste from
the doomed vessels-all unnoticed in the
mad race to rescue more precious human
life being sacrificed in the great ships.
And through the pail of smoke a great
crimson sun, enlarged to thrice its size
by the haze, glared like an enormous eye
as it slowly sunk in the west. Such was
the tremendous spectacle presented on
the surface Of the Hudson river, as il it
bad been some holiday pageant.
The greatest loss of life appears to
have been on the Saale. She carried 400
people and was to have sailed for Bos-
ton du ing the afternoon. When the po-
lice boat captain went aboard of her with
his rescue party he saw bodies lying all
about the deck. The steamship Bremen
carried a crezv of So men. the Main 80.
The burning or smoldering remains Of
canal bouts. lighters and barges were
scattered a., the way down the river and
bay to Staten Island and Governors
Island. Each OF these craft added some
thing to the list of the dead
Some of the Big losses.
On the steamer Saale-yessel. $780,
VUb- cargo, f>BFV-1N7-
On the steamer Main-Vessel. $1,000
coo; cargo. 100000.
On the steamer Bremen-Yessel, $780,
600; cargo, $3t0,000.
On the steamer Kaiser Wilhelm der
Grosse-yessel, So, 900; Cargo. none.
On steamer Phoenicia reported badly
burned. none.
On North German Lloyd docks and
merchandise $3.50 0GU.
On ThingyaEa Line pier, including
stores. $4,000.
On Hamburg American Line dock, S15,-
OO0.
On warehouses Of Palmer Campbell,
with contents, 81 800 coo.
On lighter loaded with sugar. $4,000.
On eight barges and eleven canaIboats,
with cargoes. $4,000.
On Hoboken Shore Railroad Com
pany's property. $1,000.
On minor items. Jumped, s2ee9o.
On business. profits, etc, no figures
given. but very large.
On personal property. not even aPpro&-
MATED.
Caused by Explosion.
The FIRE originated on pier Of the
North German Lloyd series. 1t was caus-
ed by the explosion of d benzine tank. 50
the fire fighters declared, which iEnited
large quantity of cotton awaiting ship