Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-03-20
SCOTT WAS SAVED.
But One Known Death from
the Hoboken Fire.
Several Men in Bad Shape from In
juries and Nay Die.
Loss May Exceed ,000-Incen
diary Theory Discrcdited.

SlllccI EStolt, WIlo IL Wdo SnpPooCu BNi
ished in last nights fire at Hoboken.
walked into a HobOken hotel, today.
He was badly burned about the face
and said he had had a dreadful eX-
perience.
1t was learned, today, that Fireman
Thomas Cooney Of the fire boat David
A. Boody, fell off his boat, last night,
and was drowned.
Engineer Scott said that short
while after he had gone to his room,
last night, he smelled smoke, and on
investigation saw the ship was on fire.
Scott, who is a suffered from rheu-
matism. groped his way along the deck
and took refuge in a large cattle pen
on the ships deck. Here he was join
ed by one of the firemen of the ship.
The smoke and flames soon drove
them from the pen.
Scott then fastened a wire rope TO
a stanchon and threw one end over
board. He then slid down the rope
TO a lighter lying alongside the burn
ing steamer, where he remained until
rescued. Scott said he did not see the
fireman after he, Scott, made his es-
cape and does not know what became
of him.
No estimate could be made Wednes-
day, of the loss Of life in the fire that
started, Tuesday night, on the Phoenix
Line pier in Hoboken and it was
thought that the number of dead would
never be known. Patrick Hussey, a
longshoreman, who was burned while
trying to escape from the Phoenix pier,
died of his injuries in St. Marys hos
pitaI, Wednesday,.
DR.. Hefer, the health officer of Ho-
boken, says that all the men of the
British Queen have been accounted for.
Besides Hussey, four longshoremen
were taken to st. Mary's hospital and
are now under treatment there. All
were more or less burned. Some of
the longshoremen saved themselves by
swimming ashore, and say that 20 or
80 men leaped into the river.
Although some of those who jumped
into the water were picked up by tugs
it is feared that a number sank before
they could be reached by the rescuers.
Many of the Iongshoremen are single
men and have no relatives who could
report them in the event of their being
missing or having perished in the fire.
The British Queen has been beached
at Black Tom Island, Communipaw.
possible for the body of the missing en-
gineer. Hussey, the longshoreman,
who died in st Mary's hospital, was
40 years old. He leaves large family.
Supt. Mason of the Phoenix Line,
said that it would be impossible def
niteiy to give the loss in less than two
wapxS -Hn nGkad if hp fhnnpht
81 $50, 900 would cover it and he replied
that he did not think it would. The
British Queen was. worth 100000 and
there was a great quantity of valuable
merchandise on board, on the pier and
on the lighters that were destroyed.
This included cotton, hides. oil. grain
and quantity of harvest machinery.
There was rumor, Wednesday, that
the fire was of incendary origin, but
Mr.. Mason said he was positive there
was no truth in it. He said he thought
the blaze started in quantity Of Bel
gian wicker baskets on the Phoenix
pier. and this opinion was confirmed by
Charles Christianson. who was at work
on the lighter Castleton. which was ly-
ing off the dock. Christianson said the
flames seemed to burst forth from
pile of wicker baskets that had been
unloaded from the British Queen, Mon
day.
He said the fire spread in an incredi-
bly, short time over the outer end of
the pier. The British Queen was soon
ablaze and the men on board had to
leap into the water to save their lives |
The lines by which the vessel was !
moored were burned away and it was |
feared she might float against some of |
the docks lower down the river and set !
them afire.
In spite of the intense heat given out |
by the burning steamer a tug ran in |
under her stern and made a line fast |
to her rudder. Lines were then passed |
from several other tugs to the first and
in that way the steamer was hauled
into the stream.
The steamer Maskin was towed out
into the river from the Holland Amer
lean pier when it was thought the
flames might spread in that direction.
Continued on page 81