The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-06-17

CAA4 NC sOs l0A AA
was that he had lost his mother and
sister-in-law. his brothers. two
children and a young woman with
him.. He told his story:
II was on the upper deck with the
family and little Edna, my brothers
three year old child. was in my arms.
Beside me were my mother, Mrs. So
phia Hoffman: my brothers wife.
Celia: her boy. Raymond, aged 4, and
Jane Workman, my friend, aged 90
1 don't remember much about the
fire. 1t seemed to come from below.
1 grabbed the boy and called upon
the women to follow me. First, the
women were separated from me, then
the crowd swept me and the little ones
, toward the stern OF the boat.
1T was an awful crush: the wo-
men fought, and I could do nothing
but protect the two children with my
body, and moved with the crowd. Tug
boats were all around us. but they
were busy trying to put out the fire.
and 1 saw no attempt to TAX off the
people. The a was gone, that was
plain The fire was eating her up.
The tugs would have done better had
they tried to save the passengers. In
trying TO each the women folks OF
my family, I got lost in the crowd.
and wen overheard with It I r~,
membered nothing but being trampled
upon. When / came to the surface
a life perserver was within my reach.
and / chung to ii. My strength was
gone, ana it seemed as is I could not
hold On a bit longer, when some one
pulled me out of the water and took
me ashore"
A Roar. as of a Cannon.
Miss Clara Stuer. a survivor. after
reaching the home of friends on East
Seventh street. said:
Il was sitting on the upper deck
with some friends, when a little girl
near noticed the fire. 1t seemed but
a few moments later hat there was
a roar. as thought a cannon a been
shot off, n the entire bow of the
boat was one sheet Of flame. The
people rushed pell NELL over one
another, and in the rush I lost track
Of my friends. Hundreds of people
rushed overheard, being caught so by
the flames that escape was impossi-
BILE.
Il Jumped over the rail and drop
ped down to the next lower deck,
when 1 began to dispense with my
clothing, that I would have a better
chance in the water. Then l started
to climb the side of the boat, when
1 heard a voice calling to me to hold
on a minute.
Il turned and saw a man standing
ou Tic ooW ol a Tug WHICH was dp-
preaching. l held on and was soon
taken off with a number . of other
persons, who had been rescued from
the boat and from the water.
THE tug then put in to the landing
on Randalrs island. AS 1 left the dock
1 saw, it looked to me, 200 bodies,
mostly of women and children. along
the shore"
Firemen Do Rescue Work.
Ffrsmen Plate and Bean, of the
New York fire department, went out
n swan about the wreck. They
saved several persons. One woman
got d hold on Plate, and probably
would have dragged him down with
her had it not been for the action of
acting Battalion Chief Winters, Of the
Fourteenth Batallion, who aided in
getting both into the boat.
Cause of the Fire Not Known.
Charles E. Hill, a director of the
knickerbocker Steamship Company,
visited the Lebanon hospital late to-
night, to see Captain Van Scnaik, the
commander of the General Slocum,
who had been aiken there earlier in
ttss day, under arrest After a talk
with him, Mr.. Hill said that the cap
tain did not know the Cause of the
fire.
1.-The cause of the fire IS not
known" said he. Il say that because
no investigations has been begun. The
government will undoubtedly begin an
investigation. The captain is under
arrest, and it would be inadvisable
for him to make any statement at
present, but he told me that he and
the first and second pilots, Edward
Van Wart and E. M. Weaver. were
in the pilot house until the Slocum
was beached. Then they jumped d.
rectly from the pilot house into the
water. The captain hurt hEs leg, All
may require al operation. The two
polits were practically %uniajured, and
assisted in saving life. They were
all in the Wheel-house until the last"
Was the boat under steam all the
time?" Mr.. Hill was asked. 1T has
been said that the pilot house was de-
serted and the boat drifteI with the
tide until she ran aground"
The steam was on until the boat
struck The engineer, Frank Conlin,
told me hat he was in the engine
until the boa struck. The cur
rent was on the flood and could not
have carried the BOAT to the beach.
1t would not have been possible to
have beached the boat earlier, for
there is no shallow water nearer than
North Brother island If the boat had
been run alongside the piers or push
ed on the rocks In the main land
h might have sunk, as the water is
deep along there, and more lives would
have been lost. The captain said
that the first he knew of the nre wa,
when he was told of 1t through the
tube by someone below. The Slocun
was then Of the Sunken Meadow. He
tool the boat to the nearest place
where she could be beached."
Was anything done towards fight
ing the nre?"
The mate had charge Of the nr,
fighting, and We don't know where h,
is. The pumps were going and thor,
was fire fighting"
Was there a panic among tn
| crew."
II have heard Of no panic. Their
were in the neighborhood of thre
thousand life p~reservers on board"
Story Of the Slocum's Captain.
Captain William H. Van Schaik
captain Of the Slocum, who is at tn
I Alexander venue police station, said
The Slocum left the foot Of Eas