Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-06-20
Recovered from Steamer
Gen. SIocum Disaster.
Probably at Least 300 More
Persons Are Still MISSING.
The Divers and Other Scarchers, Sum
day, Recovered 50 EoJes-Some of
They Still CIingina to Rail Of the
Vessel.

New York. June 19.-Sunday's har
vest or dead from the steamer Gen
Slocum numbered 10. bringing tn,
total number Of bodies so far recovered
up to c%2. OF these $50 have been identi
fed, while about forty of the victim.
now lying at the mOrgue have not beer
claimed by friend or relative.
During the day &c, bodies were re
covered, and 1t was not till after darl
when the great majority Of the search
ers had ceased to work that the othe,
IL were found. Most of these came u,
from the bottom and floated into shore
While the list of missing has bee,
cut somewhat by the identification.
made. today. II new names were added
to that roll, thus leaving the total o
missing almost as it was OIL Saturday
something more than 500.
Early this morning, the searchers be
gan anew the work of locating the
Slocum's dead. Within an hour the,
had recovered 13 bodies off the shore
OF North Brother Island. Three of the
bodies were found floating and it is
the general opinion that many more
Will come to the surface during the
week.
Up to 10 o'clock at night IL bodies
mad been added to the long list OF
dead that have been taken from the
wrecked steamer and it's immediate vi
entity. A majority of the bodies were
identified during the day.
Three men working with an impro-
vised graprler consisting of block OF
wood to which many blue-fish hooks
were attached drew up the section OF
the rail Of the upper deck of the Slo.
cum about so feet in length. The bodies
of four women We're clinging to the
rail. the fingers gripping the interlaced
wire roping. This is part of the rail
which had given way just before the
steamer was beached. precipitatlng
about 100 persons into the water
While the rail was being brought
ashore two of the bodies broke away
ly; the other two were still clinginc
to the rail when it was landed.
The funerals of nearly 100 victims OF
the disaster were held, today. In many
instances two caSkets We're carried in
the same hearse and in some cases
two and even there hearses bore away
the dead of a single family.
Department officials for the purpose
of obtaining evidence. today. went over
the exact course taken by the Gen.
Slocum, on Wednesday last. Coroner
Berry said that he was entirely salts
fled with the results of the trip. He
said also that he had issued an order
for the detention Of the captain, pilots,
engineers and crew of the Slocum.
Secretary CortelyOu. of the depart
ment of commerce and labor, visited
the scene Of the disaster, today. Mr..
Cortelyou left for Washington. tonight,
and will consult with Assistant Sec
rotary Murray of his department, to-
morrow morning. Mr.. Murray will
then come to this city to be present at
the investigation to be made by the
steamboat inspectors, which will begin
probably, Wednesday,
Evidence is accommodating to show
that the fire was known to the officers
of the steamer much earlier than they
admitted at the outset. Charles A.
Lang, who is searching for a missing
child, informed the police, yesterday,
that deckhands knew of the fire before
the Slocum passed 57th street. Lang
said the flames were visible to all
aboard by the time the steamer reached
S9th street.
Witnesses summoned to appear be-
fore Coroner Berry, Monday, will at
tempt to show that member of the
crew was responsible for the fire. He
admits that he ran away as soon as he
learned of it, and one of his former as
sistants insists that he ran before any
body else knew that there was any
trouble.
Testimony will be given to show that
the fire was caused by the negligence
of this member of the crew, and that
the spread of the flames was primarily
due to the cowardice of this man in
running away, instead of stopping to
fight the blaze he had created.
Another man who worked on the boat
has declared that some time before the
alarm was given he saw this man rum
ming from the direction of the forward
ca bin, where the fire originated. The
fact that only one Of the crew was
VIII .SiouiIu lOE uttcStt-
cation.
One of the most important witnesses
will be Capt. Van Schaick, who is now
detained at the Lebanon hospital, suf
efring from the fracture of bones in
one of his heels. His condition. yester-
day, was reported excellent, but the
police. who have him in custody, would
not permit him to receive visitors. More
than 200 subpoenas have been issued
for the inquest, which may last a
week. Pilots and rivermen will testi-
fy about the opportunities to beach the
Slocum before reaching the island and
about the conditions of wind and tide.
An important witness will be Harry
S:lleck, the senior member of the firm
of H. G. Silleck & Co.. which has a
large lumber yard on the East river
front. south Of the One Hundred and
Thirty-oiptth street dook He aavS he