The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1904-06-17
GREAT CALAMITY
STARTLES WORLD.
Nearly 600 Lives Lost i'm Steam
Boat Disaster.
Full Particulars of the Burning of the
General SIOCum."

mensity, graphic in its episodes and
deeply pathetic in the tender age Of
most Of its victims. took place We'd
nesday In the East river. at the en-
trance to Long Island Sound, within a
short distance of the New York shore
and within sight of thousands Of per-
sons.
BY the burning to the waters edge
of the General Slocum, three-decked
excursion steamer, the largest in
these waters, more than COO persons,
the majority of whom were women
and children, were burned to death or
drowned, by jumping overheard or by
being thrown into whirlpools by the
1urching Of the vessel and the frantic
rush OF the panic stricken passengers.
| Approximately 500 bodies have been
recovered and are now being tagged
at the morgues. Divers were still
busy at a late hour taking bodies from
the hold of the vessel, which they say
is choked with the remains of human
| leaped or were thrown into the river
have not been recovered
Great preparations had been made
for the annual excursion of the Sun
day-school of st. Marks German Lu-
ltheran church, the congregation of
which is drawn from the dense popu-
lation of the lower East and West
sides, and the General Slocum had
been chartered to carry the excursion
lists to Locust Grove, one of the many
resorts ON Long Island Sound. 1t is
varfously estimated that there were
between 1,500 and 100 persons on
board the Slocum when she left the
pier at Third street, East river
Though the Knickerbocker Steamship
leo, which owns the Slocum, states
that the number OF passengers was
S73, that being only one-third of the
vessels capacity. II is thought, how
ever, that there were several hundred
children in arms, for whom fares are
| not usually charged, on board.
: At the eastern end of Randall's isl
and, on One Hundred and Thirty -fiftf
street. there is stretch of watel
known as the "Sunken Meadows" Al
this point the General Slocum tool
fire and the vessel was soon a mas!
OF fame
The fire is said to have broken on
? in a lunch room on the forward decl
Through the overturning of pot o
: grease. The wind was high and al
= efforts to subdue the fire futile.
I'll At One Hundred and Thirty-fourtl
street there are several lumber yard
I. and oil tanks and as Capt. Val
= Schaick, in command of the Slocum
started to turn his vessel towards tn
{ shore there he was warned that
Il would set fire to the lumber and oil
and so he changed his course 70
North Brother island, one of twin isl
: ands near the entrance to the sounC
some half mile away, where the boa
partially burned, was beached. Sh
z sank near this place, two hours and 2
S minutes after the fire was first dis
e covered
i In the meantime the passengers ha
= become panic stricken and those VIII
were not caught up by the flame
rushed to the rear of the vessel. an
l. hundreds jumped overheard into th
!; swiftly running waters. 1t is allege
c that the life preservers were too 81
/ curely fastened to their holdings to
available and stories are told {
:. frantic efforts made by strong men
cut them loose; but even if they coul
u have been torn down they were to
i high up for the childen to reach. II
l. also alleged that no attempt was mad
= to get out the fire apparatus at I'll
first cry of fire." though Capt. Va
Schaick says that he Immediate
rang the bells for getting out the a.
paratus. No attempt was made
~ lower boats or life RATS.
70 The race to North Brother islar
at was horribly dramatic. 1t was mac
g. while the flames which had bee
IN famed into fury by the strong viii
IL were consuming hundreds of person
The scene was one of frightful PAM
is with men, women and children jun
10 ing overheard and being lashed
c. the channel whirlpools against Il
a vessels sides. Women and childr,
n were crowded together on the hurl
cane deck, which soon burned aw;
- and fell, and it is believed that mo
Oe of those on this deck were burned.
The after rail gave way and {
p passengers who had crowded about
to were pushed into the water. Mothe
,a and children became separated a
went frantic, while in several cas-
fathers gathered their children abe
lo them and jumped into the water
ng gether, and were afterward fou
or clasped in each others arms. 1t is
ON legged that men fought with women
- escape, resulting in the trampli
under foot of scores of children.
Capt Van Schaick and his t.
pilots, named Edward Van Wart a
n E. NJ. Weaver, have been arrested.
y ST. Marks Lutheran church &C
at tanned in its membership practica
"a all those Germans of the Protesta
faith within a radius of ten squa
blocks. The excursion was the eve
u of the year for scores of well-to-C
pc German families and had been look
forward to for months
nd In some cases family parties Of
n or more had been made up, includi
the grandmother, the mother and
OH children.
as Rev. ]. G. Schultz, the assists
he pastor of the church, called at
he temporary morgue last night a
b. identified the body of Mrs. Anna Ha
10 wife of the pastor of the church.
DR.. Haas is among the rescued. I
his wife and daughter got outside
II rail Of the Slocum before the steam
W beached. He cannot say whether til
is jumped, fell or were pushed into
t. water. He sank and when he rose
80 found scores about him fighting
a life. He failed to find his wife a
daughter. With great effort he kt
's- afloat and was about to give up in {
'c- spair when a man on one of the tI
picked him up.