The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1904-06-24
PROBING SLOCUM DISASTER
Remains Of Additional Unfortunates
Brought to the Surface.
CORONER HAS BEGUN THE INQUEST.
Coroner Berry Is Said to Have Evidence That
Many Of the Ring-"reservers We're So
Heavy That They Sank Like Lead-Two
Bodies Were Found on the Bottom OF the
River with Ring.Preservers Around Them.


River with Ring.Preservers Around Them.
New York, {SpeciaD ALL along the
East river from North Brother is
land down to what are known as the
sunken meadows search is still beng
made for bodies OF, unfortunates who
lost their lives iu the disaster to the
excursion steamer General Slocum.
Although more than US bodies had
been recovered the last reports added
FIVE more 20 the total.
Wreckers at work on the wreck OF
the Slocum encountered new difflcul-
ties. They were at work about the
hull of the sunken steamer when they
found that instead of the hull resting
in mud, as they thought, it rested on
rocks which were never known 70
exist This, they say, will delay the
work somewhat.
There are four divers at work near
North Brother island searching tor
bodies. One diver reports that at
a depth of ninety-6ve feet he has dis
covered a large hollow in which he
says there are a great many bodies.
The Inquest Begun.
The inquest before Coroner Berry
was begun Monday. More than 200
witnesses have been summoned to APP
pear. 1t is expected that striking
facts will be adduced at the inquest,
for, in addition to the proof that the
life preservers were rotten, that the
fire hose burst, that the lifeboat davlts
would not work and that the life
RATS were so fastened to the decks
that they could not be moved, Coroner
Berry was said to have evidence that
that many of the ring preservers were
so heavy that they sank like lead.
Deckhsnd Testihes.
According to the testimony OF John
J. Coakley, one of the Slocums deck
hands, he never had been instructed
in a fire drill since he became an en-
ployee of the Kr ickerDocker Company
at the beginning of last season.
Coakley said he took down. many
life preservers and distributed them
among the women and children. so
far as he could see, all the preservers
were in good condition. 1t was i'm
possible to reach any of the life RATS
because of the panic, but one of the
lifeboats was lowered. The other
boats were so surrounded by strug-
Cling persons that the crew could not
get at them.
The boat they succeeded in clear
ing and which was filled with women
and children capsized while it was
being lowered from the davits. The
witness was unable to give any in
formation as to the origin of the fire.
Several other members of the crew
corroborated Coakley's story in most
of its details, but none of them knew
of a lifeboat having been lowered.
Bereavement Caused Suicide.
A resident of Jersey City named
Workman, who lost two daughters
and son in the disaster, returned.
home after having visited the scene
of the wreck and after attending me-
mortal services during the day, and
blew his brains out with a revolver.
His Entire Family Gone.
A crushing blow fell on Albert
Kraal, an ivory and pearl inlayer,
when he reached his home, at Mid
die Village, L. l.. and learned that
his entire family, including his wife
and two children, had gone on the
Slocum excursion and had been lost.
Kraal has been at work at his trade
at Newport, R. l., and did not know
until his return home that his family
went on the Inflated excursion.
Edward Flanagan, the mate for the
last two seasons on the Slocum, who
hired the deck crew of that boat, said
that the forward cabin, where the fire
broke out, was used for storing old
lines and worn out awnings and
brooms. He had one barrel of sperm
oil there and there were some empty
barrels that had contained oil
Flanagan said he was present when
the special inspection took place, but
did not accompany the inspectors on
their rounds. He knew. he said, that
ten or twenty of the life preservers
were ordered down by one of the in
spectors. He declared that all the
preservers were stamped 1901.
Flanagan admitted telling the
coroner and Assistant District At
torney Caravan at different times that
the inspection was made of life pre-
servers on the promenade deck only