The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-06-16
.GHOULS ON WATER;
NEGLECT ON BOAT
Blackened Bodies Of Excursion
Victims Robbed Ere Res
cuers Reached Scene.
YACHTS SAILED PAST,
IGNORING ALL APPEALS
Hundreds Missing Whose Bodies
the Waters of Hell Gate
May Never Yield.

May Never Yield.
New York, June 16.-The loss of life
by the burning Of the steamer General
sIocum In East river yesterday will APP
proxmate 1000. This estimate Is based
on the opinions Of the chief of the fire
department., OF the coroner's office and Of
the police. At $3.50 o'clock this afternoon 522
bodies had been recovered, of which t5s
had been Identified. There are reported
missing 467 persons, and the hospitals had
III Injured. The fact that, tWenty-four
hours after the disaster, there are still
missing nearly 500 persons warrants the
belief that the estimate OF 1000 dead will
every source at their command to locate
all who escaped.
New York, June 16.-When the
dread tale Of the General Slocum dis
aster is fully told-when the last
blackened body has been taken from
the burned hull and the swift waters
of Hell Gate give UP their dead, the
catastrophe will take it's place as the
most appalling in the inland waters
Of America.
Definite figures on the loss Of life
500 persons persisted Is a horrible GER
tainty, but how much in excess of that
number the total will run will only
be known when the missing" column
is finished.
All thru the night and the early
dawn of to-day the sad work Of ex.
ploring the Slocum's hull went on ana
from dock to morgue the procession
of ambulances, each with its pitiful
load, wound its way from the river
front to the morgue at the foot Of
Twenty-sixth street.
At 2:3O this afternoon 522 bodies
had been recovered.
Most of these came from the wreck,
but the night-long patrol of the
| waters of the East river added its
! chastity quota.
There are many bodies still in the
| hold Of the burned vessel according
to the divers, but the riverzis looked
to to complete the list. How many,
preferring death by drowning to the
agony of death by fire, went over the
! rail, never to rise again, during the
i mad rush of the vessel for the beach,
will probably never be known, for the
! treac herous waters Of Hell Gate do not
willingly give UP their victims.
Blow on One Neighborhood.
Unlike the Iroquois theater and
! other great catastrophies of recent
years, where the woe Of disaster
reached turnout the land, the blow Of
cally upon one little neighborhood Of
a great city. st. Marks parish, which
/ furnished nearly every victim, lies
within ten crowded blocks of the mid
die East side, and therein to-day there
is hardly a house that is not one Of
the mourning. The membership OF
the little Lutheran church is practi-
1 cally German or of German descent,
and all Of the comparatively well-to-
do class.
The race Of the burning steamer.
from the moment the fire was discov-
shelving beach of North Brother
island, lasted a little more than ten
minutes.
| Yet that time sufficed for deeds OF
heroism which made the one bright
chapter in the Nheartrending story.
Brave men, devoted mothers and
even maidens and youths Of tender
. years each contributed their part to
the roll Of heroic acts. There were
= rescues in the face Of almost certain
death and useless but exalted self
sacrifice.
The credit for the greatest saving OF
q life is due to the hardy tugboat men
and other followers of the river, who
braved flames and held the noses OF
their boats against the hre-wrapped
!. steamer until driven off by the awful
!, heat, scorched and choking.
Il
with their burned arms clasping close
! the pitiful forms Of little children
and babies were found, their tiny arms
enfolding each other In the stiff en-.
brace Of DEATH
Darker Side Hinted.
But-ther is a darker side limited a
along the river front, where are tolt
stories that seem to be the inevitable
accompaniment of all great calami
ties. There has been no evidence o.
q character specific enough to faster
: 1T upon individuals and permit o
| punishment, but. survivors and eye
: witnesses say that some brutal act
$ Of selfshness and cowardice on tn,
s part of the Slocum's crew were seen
= and that distress signals from thu
burning boat were disregarded b.
Y passing craft.
!, One man AYERS that a big, whit
s yacht passed the Slocum when TIL
: bodies Of women and children wer
n going overheard and did not evel
e slacken speed. According to this mai
0 the yacht flew the pennant Of the New
s York Yacht club, but not the owner
pennant, which always signifies tina
he is aboard, and after passing tn
Slocum, she steered over to the west
ern shore and hove to, while on he
bridge a, man In uniform with bfnocu
4 lars to his eyes, watched the vesse
I'd & Jpurn.
III Ghouls in Boats.
II Even more horrible than this an
: similar acts of incredible callousnes
= is the story Of Miss Martha Weirt
= who says that while she struggled i
q the water boat drew alongside OF he
d and that men in her, after strippin
y her of her of her rings and other jew
elry, pushed her back into the water
The body of the steward had bee
rifled when found and of several hur
"A bred dollars he was supposed to hay
Is in his pockets not a cent was fount
lg There is open criticism Of the fai
Is ure of the Slocum's officers and Gre
id to meet the emergency That ther
a was terrible failure to meet the re
responsibility is undoubted. No effort 6
far as can be learned was made |
launch the Hferafts or boats and n
/ concerted attempt made toward
N equipping the helpless women an
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