The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-06-17

New York, June 1e.-At O'Clock
this morning the coroner announced
that the total number of bodies recov.
cred was 4s5. Coroner Darlington
said there were probably hundreds of
eorpses still in the wrecked hull OF
the General SIocum.
New York, June IGNORE than 600
persons, mostly women and children,
were burned or drowned Wednesday
In East river by the burning of the
three-deck excursion steamer General
Slocum.
Flag be-decked and loaded with joy
Gus members of ST. Marks German
Lutheran Sunday school, bent on a
picnic at Locust Grove on Long Is
land sound, the big steamer left it's
wharf at o'clock. In an hour a fire
started in lunch room from the over
turning OF a pot of grease. The
flames spread rapidly, driving the S73
passengers, some say 1900, to the rear
end of the boat.
The steamer was still in sight Of
New York city and was about to enter
the sound.
Hundreds jumped to the water and
many of these drowned. Many scores
were burned with the ship, while few
were taken off by tugs.
Under forced draught the burning
vessel was run ashore, leaving a trail
of dead and dying bodies behind. The
hurricane deck fell, adding to the hor-
Tor of the catastrophe. In little more
than two hours after the fire started
the hold of the steamer burned to the
water, rested on the sand with its NAV
full of charred bodies. Hundreds of
other bodies lay on the beach, while
hospitals were crowded with injured
and dying.
HUNDREDS OF BODIES
HAVE BEEN RECOVERED.
Approximately 500 bodies have been
recovered and are now being tagged at
the morgues of Bellevue hospital and
Harlem. Divers were still busy at
late hour taking bodies from the hold
of the vessel, which they say is choked
with the remains of human beings,
while the bodies of scores who leaped
or were thrown into the river have not
been recovered.
Great preparations had been made
for the seventh annual excursion of
the Sunday school of st. Marks Ger
man Lutheran church, the congrega-
ton of which is drawn from the dense
population of the lower East and West
sides, and the General Slocum had
been chartered to carry the excursion
lists to Locust Grove.
1t Is variously estimated that there
were between 1900 and $500 persons
on board the General Slocum when
she left the pier at Third street, East
river, though the Knickerbocker
Steamship Co., which owns the Slo-
cum, officially states that the number
OF passengers was 873, that being one
third of the vessels capacity. It is
thought, however, that there were on
board several hundred children in
arms, for whom fares are not usually
charged.
The scene on the decks of the steam
er as she proceeded up the East river
was one of merrymaking. The mass
OF flags futtered in the June breezes,
the bands were playing, and the chill
dren were singing, dancing and wav-
ing handkerchiefs and flags in answer
TO the salutations of those on shore or
from passing steamers. At the ex-
IRENE Eastern end of Randall's Is
land, off One Hundred and Thirty-fifth
street, there is a stretch of water
known as the Sunken Meadows. Ar
this point, just as crowds were watch
ing the gaily decorated steamer from
the shore, the General Slocum took
fire.