The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-06-16
STEAMER
HORROR
Further Details Of Awful
Accident Yesterday.
OVER 900 PERISHED
Incompetent Management Was
Responsible for Fatalities in
Large Degree.

NEW YORK, June 16.-One Of the
most appalling disasters in the history
of New York, tragic in its immensity,
dramatic In its episodes and deeply
pathetic in the tender age of most of
its victims, took place in the East river
at the entrance to Long Island sound,
within Il short distance of the New
York shore and within sight of thou
sands of persons, the majority of
whom were powerless to minimize the
extent of the catastrophe.
BY the burning to the waters edge
Of the, General Slocum, a three decked
excursion steamer, the largest in these
waters. more than GOO persons, the ma
jority of whom We're women and chill
dIon. were burned to death or drowned
by jumping overheard or bys being
thrown into the whirlpools by the
lurching of the vessel.
Within a few hundred feet of the
spot where the Sedwanhaka was burn
ed TO the waters edge in 1850 this
similar disaster has resulted in
greater loss of life.
The Slocum caught fire in midstream
soon after passing He'll Gate and, with
flames sweeping over her decks, ran
up the East river 10 the shore of North
Brother island. where she was beached.
Hundreds of Sunday school children,
with their mothers, friends and teach
ers, jumped overheard and were
drowned. Many more, fearing to leap,
were consumed in the fire. Others in
the huddled multitude on the lower
decks were crushed by the collapse Of
the hurricane deck after the flames had
eaten away the supports. 1t may never
be known how many remained in the
seething hulk or were carried away by
the tide and left to settle in the river
bed half a mile above.
Coroner O'Gorman has reported that
40S bodies had been recovered. OF
these 1876 were examined and tagged
by him at North Brother island. The
others were taken from Rikers island.
The value of the money and jewels re-
moved from the bodies was fully $780,
600.
Many of those present at the destruc-
ton of the steamer believe that fully
300 or 400 persons whose bodies have
not been recovered lost their lives. The
list of missing runs even above these
figures, and the number of lives lost
may not be accurately determined for
several days.
Passengers who were saved have
made specific accusations that the life
preservers were so rotted by age that
they fell apart in their hands and were
practically worthless.
Scathing arraignment of the alleged
lack of discipline of the crew and of
the bad condition of the emergency
fire hose and the life preservers has
been made by John HoIthusen, the ven
cradle sexton of St Marks church.
Captain William II. Van Schaick
said:
IL did The best | could. l ordered
Van Wart to beach her, and we start
ed for shore at One Hundred and Thlr-
ty-fourth street. But the shore there is
lined with rocks, and | was afraid we
would founder. There the captain of
a tug warned me off. He shouted that
the steamer would set fire to the oil
tanks and the lumber Then we start
ed for North Brother island. My cloth
ing and hat were burning when jump
ed into the water.
"Van Wart and Weaver got Off ahead
Of me. jumped through the flames
on the starboard side. I hit the bot
tom and hurt my leg. Some nurse
helped me on the bank, and then the
dominic grabbed me. Thank God,
you're safer he said. One of the deck
hands came up and kissed me-"
Here the aged, white haired man
broke down, and tears coursed down
his cheeks. 81 can't tell you how it
happened" he said.
Four hundred and ninety eight bod
les have been recovered and are now
being tagged at the morgues of Belle
vue hospital andsHarlem. Divers are
still busy taking bodies from the hold
of the vessel, which, they say. is
choked with bodies, and hundreds who
leaped or were thrown into the river