The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-08-07
HUMAN MONS TERS
Witnesses Tell Of the Piend-
ish Conduct Of Tugboat
Captain at Harbor
Fire.
NO NAMES KNOWN
Seven Seamen Who Testified
Last Night Unable to Tell
Who Refused Aid.
NO NAMES KNOWN

The jury empanelled by Coroner Chat es
Hoffman,, of Hoboken, for the purpose. of
probing the Bremen fire horror, held an
other session last night. Only seven wit
nesses were examined and these were all
members of the crew of the steamship
Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse. The surviv-
ors of the steamers Main, Bremen and
Saale are still to be placed in the witness
chair and unless better progress is made
in the taking of testimony the inquest is
likely to last several weeks. All of the
witnesses examined last night testified
against the captains and crews of the
tugboats in the vicinity of the fire but
not one remembered the name of any tug
boat he had seen.
Adolph Buck, a seaman on the Kaiser
Wilhelm der Crosse said that he was sent
from the steamer in a life boat to rescue
some men who had jumped oyerboarc
from the burning piers. After rescuing
boatload he said he tried to put the
survivors aboard tug boat, but the crew
of the tug would not allow him. He said
he threw a graphing hook, attached to
a rope on the deck of a tug and one OF
the crew threw it overheard Then he
threw out a painter and the tugs crew
cast it off also He was finally obliged
to take his boatload of survivors to one of
the Hamburg piers where they We're land
ed. He said he saw over score OF per-
sons drowning but could not rescue tnen
as his boat was already crowded.
Johan Peter Ellers, another seaman on
the Kaiser. said that he was standlng
on pier No. with a sailor named Lelther
when the fire began to reach the steam
ship Bremen. He took one OF the nav
sers attached to the steamer and carry
ing it to the end of the pied threw 1t to-
ward one of the tugboats. The deck
hand on the tugboat refused to take the
line Just then another tugboat came up
close to the pier and Ellers and his COM
panion Jumped on it. Ellers said that
there were a number of persons on the
tugboat, but there was room for more.
No effort was made to rescue others, ne
said. who were drowning by dozens. They
were left to their fate while the tug made
fast to lighter loaded with cotton and
pulled it out in midstream. The tug
finally landed Ellers and the others who
were on board, at one Of the Hamburg
piers. Ellers said that he asked the
captain of the tug to put him aboard the
Kaiser Wilhelmn and the captain replied
that he would for S1.50. Ellers did not get
to the steamer.
Diederick Krasse told similar story.
He said that he saw a number of tug
boats, but apparently their crews made
no attempt to rescue the drowning.
Henry August Arnold Bendrath testi-
fed that he got into sailboat in which
were five steamship firemen. A tugboat
ran into the sailboat smashing the mast
and breaking the bowspirit. The five
firemen jumped overheard when the col
lision occurred. Bendrath remained in
the boat and was later picked UP by a
tugboat. He said he believed that the
five firemen were drowned. There were a
large number of men in the water, he
said, but only few of them were picked
up. The tugboat steamed over to New
York and landed its load of survivors at
the Christopher street pier. Ellers said
that when he was about to leave the tug
one of the crew grabbed him and de-
manded money. He said that he had no
money and the man let him go.