Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1904-06-22
A PLEASURE BOAT BURNED
Over Seven Hundred Lives Lost By Disaster Il
Excursion Steamer Near New York

owners of the Slocum, the number OF
was S7S, that being one
third of the vessels licensed capacity.
The Slocum had reached a point
uear the Sunken Meadows. off 135th
street, Manhattan which is at the eX-
treme eastern end of Randall's Island,
when fire broke out in a lunch room on
the forward deck The blaze was
caused by the overturning of a pot of
grease. The headway of the vessel and
a high wind almost instantly famed
the Insignificant flame into fury Eff
forts were at once directed to subdu-
ing me fire, but they were futile. The
blaze spread aft with almost lightning
rapidity Captain Van Schaik, in the
pilot house, had been Informed of the
outbreak of the fire, and realizing the
danger. decided to send his vessel to
shore 1T t34th street. At this point
there are a number of yards and sew
eral huge oil tanks. and the captain
was wurned that to attempt to land at
this point would endanger the property
and perhaps further imperil the scores
of people, who had already been fright
ened into state of almost uncontrola-
BILE excitement.
Changing the big steamers course
slightly he headed for North Brother
Island. half mile away BY this time
the flames were rushing by leaps anu
bounds from the forward part of the
ship aft
The women and children began to
jump from the vessel into the seethins
water below. and scores were drowned.
The upper deck fell in, crushing hun
dreds in its fall. and hundreds more
were suffocated by the heat. The scene
was heart-rending in the extreme The
blame has not been fully located.
The Number of the Dead.
New York, Special.-At Midnight the
authorities at the morgue made the Of
1icial announcement that $50 bodies had
been recovered. OF these 517 had been
identified and 80 of those remaining
were charred beyond recognition. Later
in the day Friday four bodies were re-
covered at North Brother Island by
rcscuers at work in boats and taken
ashore. They were removed to the
morgue and are included in the total.
The morgue officials only Friday
night discovered they had failed to ac-
count for the bodies of twenty-six men
women and children that had been
identified at the Alexander avenue sta
tion on Wednesday within two or three
hours after the accident and turned
over to friends or relatives These
brought the list up to $50 recovered
dead.
Friday evening the body of a girl OF
eight years which was declared by
reighbors to be that OF the little daueh-
ter of Henry Heinz, of Front street
vas washed up against the side of
rier at the foot of Clinton street in the
East river. hardly a block away from
the girls home. The tide by strange
VaSary had carried the little body from
the scene OF the calamity of North
brother Island down through the mar
row channels of the river to this poin.
SO near her home. The girls mother
Mrs. Annie Heinz, is among the dead
mere has Deen great. difficulty in the
matter OK recovering and identifying
the dead.
mere are number OF places where
tEe hving may have landed. and il is
believed that many now reported miss
ing are safe and eventually will be
heard from by the officials who have
me rescue work in hand. Indeed. to-
Iusht surprising number of persons
ieported TO these officials that they had