The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-06-16

great that lifeboats and life preservers
We're forgotten or were not manipu-
lated properly by the frenzied passen-
gers. Capt Won Schaick says he inn
mediately rang the bells for getting
out the fire apparatus. According TO
y several statements. no attempt was
made TO lower boats or life RATS. 1t is
SAID that none. could be lowered at the
speed taken by. the steamer and that
fastening to shore was thought the
better tactic. The race to North
Brother island was horribly dramatic. 1t
was made while the flames. which had
been famed into fury by the strong
head wind, We're consuming hundreds
OF persons. old and young. The scene
was one of panic, with women and
children jumping overheard and being
lashed by the channel whirlpools
against the vessels sides, Women and
children were crowded together on the
hurricane deck, which soon burned
away and fell, and it is believed that
most of those on this deck were burn
ed.
The after rail gave way and fell, and
1T is believed that most of those on this
deck We're burned. The passengers who
had crowded against the after rail were
pushed into the river. Mothers and
children became separated and fran
stlcally sought each other, while in sew
eral cases fathers and mothers, gather
ing their children together, jumped
with them into the water.
CHILDREN JUMP HAND IN HAND
Little children holding each other
by the hands, jumped together and
were afterward found clasped in each
others arms.
1t is alleged that men fought with
women to escape. resulting in the
trampling under foot of scores of chill
dren.
During her flame enveloped run TO
North Brother island, the General Slo-
GUMS whistles kept blowing for as
slstance, but before the whistles be-
gan to blow several tugs, the captains
Of which had seen the outbreak of the
fire, started after the vessel, Joined by
yacht, while row boats put out from
the shore. Thbgnumber of these craft
constantly grew, and not the least dra-
matte incidents of the catastrophe
were the efforts of the people on these
boats to rescue thbse who had jumped
overheard. from the burning vessel.
Men crowded to the rails of the tugs
and caught up the drowning persons as
they were borne by the current. There
were many thEillng rescues by this
means. Ssa,5...
Capt. Van Sehaick. and his two pi-
lots, Edward sNap Wart and E. M.
yeShgation, will follow. ". !.
Tries 10 Save Children
Peter ]. TEemhle. deck hand, was
arrested, while Wandering aimlessly
about the, beach, He told. the following
story:
L was polishing brass work aft on the
port quarter, when deck hand called
my, attention to smoke coming out of a
forward cabin. I ran forward and helped
the first assistant engineer to stretch a
hose. We could not get any water. The
ire spread so rapidly that we were driven
to- the forward promenade deck. which
was crowded with panic-stricken women
and children; 1 pulled down an armful
OF life preserves and distributed them.
l then pat a life preserNer around my.
own shoulders and jumped. overheard with
two children.
They were torn away from me by the
one of the blades of the paddle and scram-
bled up in the paddle box The water
beneath me was perfect he'll. Men and
women were .clawing at my legs as I
climbed and my trousers were torn away
in my efforts to escape from them. / was
rescued aby9 a FOKabuat and put ashore at
the point where thespolice found me-
Loses Four Relatives
Fred HOFFMAN, an excursipnist. was
brought ashore unnerved and hysteri-
cal. AT first all that could be got from
him was that he had lost. his mother
and slster-in-laW, his brothers two
children and a young woman with
him. He told this story: ts.ss
was on the upper deck with the fam
lily and Edna, my brothers three-year-old
child, was in my arms. Beside me were
my mother, Mrs. Sophia Hoffman; my
brothers wife. Celia, her boy Raymond,
aged 4, and Jane Workman, my friend.
| do not remember much Of the fire. It
seemed to come from below. / grabbed
the boy and called upon the women to
follow me. First the women We're sep
arated from me, then the crowd swept
me and the little ones toward the stern OF
the boat.
1t was an awful crush The women
fought and could do nothing but pro-
tect the two children with my body and
move with theG crowd Tugboats were
all around US, hut Ithey were busy trying
to take off the people. The boat was
gone The fire. was eating her up. The
tugs would have done better had they
tried to save the passengers. In trying to
reach the women IfolkS of my family
got lost in the crowd and went overheard
with it. remember nothing but being
trampled on. When I came to the sur
race life preserver was within my reach
and chung to that until some one pulled
me out of the water and took me ashore
Told by Girl Survivor
Miss Clara Stuer, a survivor, said:
/ was sitting on the upper deck when a
little girl noticed the fire. 1t seemed but
few moments later when there was a
roar as though a thousand canon had been
shot off and theyentire boat was one sheet
OF flames. The people rushed peH-melI
over one another. and in the rush 1 lost
track of my friends. Hundreds of people
jumped overheard. being caught by the
flames so that escape was impossible.
Jumped over the rail and dropped
down to the next lower deck. when I be-
gan to dispense with my clothing so that
| could have better chance in the wa
ter. Then | started to climb down the
side Of the Goat, when l heard a voice
calling to me to hold on a minute I
turned and saw man standing at the
BOW OF tug which was approaching I
persons who had been rescued from the
boat and from the water The tug then
put in to the landing at Randalrs island
As left the dock / saw, it looked to me,
zoo bodies, mostly of women and children,