The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-06-16


D it were pushed into the river. Mothers
and children became separated and
frantically sought each other, while i'm
4 several cases fathers and mothers,
gathering their children together.
+ jumped with them into the water.
/ Little children. holding each other by
the hand, jumped together and were
afterwards found clasped i'm each 9TH
. ers' arms. 1t is alleged that men fought
with women TO escape, resulting in the
7 rampling under foot Of scores of chill
+ dren.
Thrilling Rescues.
During her fame-enveIoped run to
North Brother island the General Slo-
Gums Whistles kept blowing for assist
Hnce. but before the whistles began 90
blow several tugs. the captains of
which had seen Che outbreak of the
fire, starred. after the vessel. joined by
"a yacht while row boats put out from
The shore. The number 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 those who had jumped over
board from the burning vessel. Men
crowded 90 the rails Cf the tugs and
caught mp the drowning persons as
they were borne by the current. There
were many thrilling resCues by this
means.
North Brother island, where the YES
sci was beaChed. contains ii scarlet fe-
Yer ward. The patients who Witnessed
the disaster were ordered indoors. and
The doctors FASTENED to the rescue of
those who bad been washed ashore. but
some scores of persons died while they
were being attended TO. Captain Van
ocnaIck and his two pilots Edward
Van Wart and Edward NJ. Weaver.
have been arrested.
Floating CharneI House.
What locked like q big hatchway. on
which were five or six chaTred bodies
was found floating i'm the cove at
Hunters Point. and t0Wed carefully
aiongs-de the Fidelity. The wood was
badly Charred and the bodies seemed
10 stick 20 it. The policemen aud the
crew OF the Fidelity were unable 60 re-
lease the bodies without further mu-
ulatiug them, and arrangements were
made to hoist the hatchWay with the
bodies TO DO TO the deck of the Fidelity.
Among the boats that hurried to the
succOr of the stricken passengers were
several tugs of the New York Central
& Hudson River Railroad company,
the auxiliary catbCaL Easy Times, the
health department tug Franklin Ed
son and the charities department
steamer MassasuiL These, with a
swarm of T0WboaJs manned by willing
hands, approached as near the blazing
vessel as was possible, and rescued
scores Of people. The Franklin Edison
went so close TO the burning steamer
that her own paint was scOFched. The
crew of the tug. however, stuck brave
iy TO their work and saved many WO-
men aud children from a terrible
death The fire had possession of the
boat from stem to stern by the time
she was off one Hundred and Thirty
eighth street. The uTeboat ZOphar Mills
was Summoned from its mornings at
the foot Of East Niuety-niuth street,
and was soon On the scene, its crew
lending valuable aid i'm saving life.
Crowds at the City Morgue.
Tonight a surgiug crowd is held back
10y police lines formed about the city
m0rgue at the loot of East Twenty
sixth street. The crowd began TO gath
err as soon as If became THmored about
the city that Ihe dead would be brought
90 Manhattan from North Brother ISL
and and other places where at first the
dead had been taken. When the Mas
sG=oil came 10 dock with eighty-hve
dead the work of removing the bodies
from the steamer proceeded slowly Un-
morgue and the autopsy room was
cleared and the biaCkeued and dis
tcTted bodies were placed on the floor
there.
When finally the morgue authorities
allowed the crowd to enter the morgue
a scene eusued which was narrowing
iu the extreme. I'm some cases first
ideutifcatious were found TO have been
erroneous. men laying claim TO bodies
an. ..F
those of their relatives.
Riot at the Pier.
AT the entrance TO the charities pier
al the foot Of East Twenty sixth. street
the crowd tonight tried to push past
the police and riot resulted. At the
height of the trouble q man who had
learned that his wife was among the
dead tried - stau himself
Inside the pier the bodies are ranged
i8 three rows the entire length of she
pier about $50 feet
It was q spectacle of horror beyond
words 90 express-a great vessel all I'M
flames, sweeping forward i'm the sun
light within sight OF the crowded city,
while her helpless, screaming hundreds
were roasted alive or swallowed up i'm
the WaYes-Homeu and children with
their hair and clothing on fire. crazed
mothers casting their babies overheard
or keeping with them 20 certain death,
Wailius children and old men tTampled
under foot or crowded over into the
water. ana the burning steamboat, her
whistle roaring for assistance. speeding
on for the shore or North Brother is-
land with a trail of CHASTITY faces and
clutching hands iH the tide behind her.
gray haired mothers and tender infants
going down TO death together
There are stories Of rotten life pre-
servers and of life preserVers placed
out III reach; of the failure OF the crew
60 fght the fire and Of the captains
mistake 3D. nos heading for the nearest
land. but few know exactly what hap