The sun., 1900-07-02
A FRIGHTFUL FIRE.
Scores Of Lives and Millions
Of Property Lost.
OCEAN LINERS BURNED.
North German LloYd's Ho-
North German Lloyd's Ho-
boken Piers In Ashes.
ONE VESSEL READY FOR SEA,
The Killed and Injured May Be Over
- -,
One Thousand.

The Magnificent Steamships sanIe,
Bremen ana Main Are Now Utter
Wrecks ON the Jersey Flats. While
Fourth, the Huge Kaiser Will
helm der Crosse. Narrowly Escap-
ed d similar Fate-BIaze started on
One of the Piers In HoboLen, and
In Few Minutes Acres of Flames
Arose ana Hundreds Were Fight
life ana Destruction of Property
Cannot Vet Re Computed.
New York, July 1.--Almost S1O,0O0,000
worth Of property was destroyed, many
lives were lost, many persons We're m
iurcl and at least l,.iOO lives were m
pcrilcd 10y fire that started among cntfoh
bales stored on Pier No. ; Of the North
German Lloyd Steamship company i'll
Hobnken at 1 o'clock Saturday afternoon.
In less than IL minutes the flames COW
cred IN area Il quarter Of Il mile long, eN-
tending outward from the actual shore
line TO the bulkheads. from GOO to 1.0OO
feet away, and had caught four great
ocean liners and Il dozen or more smaller
harb0r craft in its grasp.
Stories in regard to the loss of life are
conflicting. the number being vari0usly
estimated at from 30 to 200. The hos
pitfalls in New York. Hoboken and Jersey
-. City are crowded with the injured, and
men are being brought in by the score.
Those who gathered along the shores OF
the Hudson river to witness the great
confiagration saw a spectacle that they
can never forget and one that will always
have conspicuous place in the history
of New York.
Many Lives In Peril.
River and bay were envploped 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
floating and blazing masses of freight
thrown in haste from the doomed vessels,
all unnoticcd in the mad race to rescue
more precious human life threatening ol
being sacrificed in the great ships. And
through the pail of smoke a great Grim
, son SUM- enlarged to thrice its size by the
haze, glarcd like an enormous eye as il
slowly sunk IN the west. Such was the
tremendous spectacle presented on the
surface of the Hudson river. MS If it hat
been some holiday pageant. 1t was made
tragic by the realization that somewhere
in that smoke, somewhere beneath the
turbid Matters, scores of lives had been
lost or were then i'll their last desperat,
struggle against death.
This spectacle was witnessed by thou
sands and thousands from both shores
and by other thousands who crowded up
on every ferryboat, every excursion boat
a. ..f .,tx usnf N
could be secured for the purpose. Th
crowd upon the banks of the river wa
almost as great as that which formed t.
witness the triumphant return of Admi
raj Dewey. Looking up the river towar,
the burning ships and piRrs. the seen
y was of Wonderful and tragic grandeur.
The SanIe AbIaze.
The Steamship Saale Mad been towe
down the river until it was just off For
Liberty, where she had gathered abou
her ring of fire boats and tugs. II
fighting To save ut least the hull of til
doomed steamer. Flames still were lral
ing from her portfolios and rushing ol
OF her cabins and holds. At varying dis
tances about the burning ship iay go:
nnd cotton harges. I'LL ahlaZc. cacl wit
one on more tugs playing streams nf WI
ter upon it,. Some of these hirges an
lighters were loaded With very in!lamnla
BILE stuff, ana .thc flame, lcaped high ]
the air. while the heat was 50 tPIili
W that it was not possible te use effective
SN the small hose of the tugs. So one h
Wand these at,lrs of fire slowly conSumel
A most Of them burning down 10 the ";
fers edge. Along thc Jersey slol
;small frcs were blazing. started by til
4 wreckngc from the great steamships
Oyer ON the Ecw York side of the rive
the fire caHscd the grcatcSt cNcitemcI
(. 4.ns& the drifting steamships and barg,
Heated, all aIiume. To the New Yor
y share and brushed against the piers frol
E (t,ttnl TO Murray street. The fire Il,
y, Nh 1,artn,ent was called ont ut various poin
along the threatened sections, and Il
Spectacle WAS presented of the tiremr
& ,or, shore trying 10 fight fires, every mil
f y tite changing their situation.
& For hours the river was crowded wit
W Rtnall boats fastening to the scene
\ {1isaster or already taking part in Il
! GA .rtsc,,p of the hundreds who had leapt
;1{ iufo fhe river when seized by the terr,
M Sofl the flames. These boats were paddle
Alta here and there, but soon their occupan
$ had nothing TO do save to watch Il
mad sweep of the flames. Those wi
'2|zh had plunged into the water had been re
$lled or haG gone to the bottom.
4; 99 Hundreds Aboard Vessels.
Therc were hundreds of men on eac
fS |S8x the slesfroyed steamships and fe
3 SS 6I,efa. fafowds of dock laborers,. al
"A I|5 & &5s,s sinp46Yees of the companies we
'| '2z w W. A4r.s. .ssA A4.-sL anG IL