The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-07-06

New York City.-In the greatest ma.
rine disaster in history-the greatest
holocaust this country has ever known
probably 900 persons lost their lives
by burning or drowning, when. laden
with 1900 women and children, bound
for a day of pleasure on a church pic
mic, the steamboat General Slocum
caught fire north of He'll Gate a little
after 10 a. M, and in less than fifteen
minutes was burned to the waters
edge.
The Slocum had left East Third
street at 100 o'clock with a Sunday
school picnic party from the st. Marks
German Evangelical Lutheran Church
at No. 1928 Sixth street. Women and
children, many of the latter class in
fants in arms. made up by far the
greater part of the party, and by the
time the steamer waS off Ninetieth
street all had settled down to the en-
joyment Of the day. Children had run
romping from their mothers and boys
had wandered off along the decks with
their little sweethearts. Suddenly
flames started on the boat in Z room
on the forward part Of the freight deck
about 10 a. M, when the General Slo-
cum was passing the Sunken Meadows
and spread with great rapidity, engulf-
ing the main deck and the hurricane
deck. Captain Van Schaick ran the
boat two miles to the north shore Of
North Brother Island, where he made
an attempt to beach her.
Many Of the people of the steamboat
went overheard on the I'll to North
Brother Island. Hundreds Of women
came insane with terror, having to
choose between death by the rapidly
advancing flames and almost equally
certain death by jumping overheard.
In the rush toward the stern Of the
boat the frantic people forced others
against the ratings and stanchionS Of
the decks with such violence as to
break them down, crowding many
overheard.
Before the shore of North Brother
Island was reached hundreds had
dropped from the decks. and when the
boat had grounded nearly fifty feet
from land hundreds more threw them
selves off the decks. The rest Of the
people were burned to death on the
steamboat.
Heroic work Of rescue inexperienced
by nurses and helpers On North Broth
er Island and by persons in half a
dozen boats that got lear the steamer
while she was blazing at the shore,
and about 300 people were saved and
sent to hospitals.
Before the General Slocum burned
to the waters edge she drifted away
from the North Brother Island shore
and sank opposite Hunts Point. Be-
fore her decks were covered with
water many burned corpses were in
view.
Of the vast number lost 400 bodies
have been recovered, of which 127
have been identified, but the missing
list is 625, and there is very little rea-
son to hope that very many of these
are alive. In fact, Coroner O'Gorman
at 2 O'Clock on the morning after the
tragedy estimated that the loss of life
would reach 1900.
TO add to the horror of the accident
it is specifically charged that life pre-
servers on the ship were so rotted by
age that they fell apart when passen-
gers sought to adjust them. The an
swer to this charge is that the vessel
had been inspected recently and every
requirement Of the law observed.
AS the flames ragged hundreds of
Sunday-school children, with their
mothers, friends and teachers, jumped
overheard and were drowned; many
more, fearing to leap, were consumed
in the fire; others in the huddled null
titude on the lower decks were
crushed by the collapse of the hurri,
cane deck after the flames had eaten
away the supports. 1t may never be
known how many remained in the
seething hulk carried away by the tide
and left t. settle in the river bed half
a mile above.
Coroner O'Gorman reported at mid
night that 4S9 bodies had been recov-
cred. Of these 436 were examined and
tagged by him 1T North Brother ISL
and, and were sent to the Alexander
avenue police station, and the others
were taken from Riker's Island and
sent to the Bellevue Hospital Morgue.
According to the Coroner, the value of
the money and jewels removed from
the bodies and placed in his custody
was fully $4,000
No gayer decked excursion craft ever
swept through He'll Gate and none
ever carried a lighter hearted throne
than did the General Slocum as. with
band blazing and StreamerS huttering