The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1904-06-18

hurricane dec6 Wlicro n great NAM
of the women and children were ai'
crowded toeothor. AM soon burnc .
away the light wooden uprisnts whicl
came down with crash on those D.
low. II is thought that most OF thos
on the hurricane deck were burnc /
to death
As the FIRE increased the struggle
10 gain point of vantage at the sierra
became frightful Women and emil
drcn were crowded against the AFTER
rail until II gave way and hundreds
were pushed off into the river. AFTER
this there was a steady stream oil per
sons who jumped or were thrown INTO
the water. Mothers and children DC
came separated and frantically sought
each other. while In several cases.
fathers and mothers. gathering their
children together. jumped with them
into the water. Lttle children. holding
each other by the hand. jumped to-
pcthcr and were aftcrward found
clospcd i'm each others arms. II Is al
legged that men fought with women to
oscapc resulting in the tramplng IN
der foot of scores of children.
Small Boats Rush TO Rescue.
BY this time the shricking whistle
Of the Slocum had attracted the attcu-
tion of river craft for considerable
distance around and tugs and other
small boats were rushing To the as
sistancc of the burning steamer.
These small boats rescued all those
in the water whom they could reach
but many persons struggled and sank
before any help could reach them. I'm
the wake Cf the Slocum as she hur-
ri,d up stream was a line of itil'
black spots. marking the heads an
bodies of those who had sought to es-
cape the roaring furnace on tNe snip
bv throwing themselves overheard.
Few of those saved by the small
boats had on lie preserycrs. Al no
time during the progress of the fire
was hcro any Opportunity To either
lower the life boats or get the life
prcscryers ont from underneath the
seats This perhaps gives an idea OF
,hc rapidity with which the flames
swept the decks.
u was an experience narrowing and
terrible. ami that any escaped alive
seems wonderful
Through all the wild panic. during
an that inferno. with fire and smoke
surroundings them. the officers and
men of the doomed boat remained at
their posts. hut they were powerless
ro avert the catastrophe
The Slocum got within 80 feet of
the northwest point OF North Brother
Island and there stopped in the shall
low water
TUG Tracey Reseues Many.
II was just before she heached that
the hurricane deck the supports OF
which had burned away, fell with its
load of women and children. adding
TO the panic and horror of those on
the deck below Very soon after parts
of the second and third decks also
caved i'm. But before this happened the
fug Walter Tracey had come along
side tSc burning steamer and been
dashed 10 it. Many of the passengers
were taken of by the crew of the
Tracey. which remained alongside the
steamer until the tugs pilot house
took fire
The point where the Slocum beachcd
was Just of the scarlet fever ward on
North Brother Island. The patients
who had been out on the porches and
lawns watching the approach Of the
burning steamer. were ordered in.
doors. and the physicians on the island
FASTENED to the assistance Of those
who were being brought ashore
through the shallow water Many OF
those who leaped from the Slocum
were carried away by the current even
after she was boached and We're
drowned.
The scene on North Brother Island.
as described by the rescuers was a
pitiful one. Body after body wa
washed ashore or brought in by boats
and added TO the long row on the
beach. Fifty-three persons died there
while the doctors were attending 10
them.
As the bodies OF the living and the
dead were taken out Of the water.
those alive were taken 70 the hospitals
on the island or sent across the river
TO hospitals in Manhattan. Here am
balances from almost all the hospitals
in Greater New York. and every other
sort of conveyance which could be
found. were put into service
For hours the bodies OF the burned
and drowned drfted ashore on the
island and between 13lst and 1SSth
streets in Manhattan Some came
ashore still alive Many Of these died.
while others will recover
Pitiful Scenes on the Beach.
The scenes on the beach Of North
Brother Island were pitiable in the eS-
IRENE as the living and the dead were
brought in. The row of bodies stretched
along the beach. and hysterical women
and frantic men went along looking at
one after another. searching for chill
dren and friends Women with disiig-
ured faces, their clothes partially
stripped from them. were carried 10
the improyised emergency hospital.
crying for children who had been torn
from them in the mad rush when the
boat took fire
Meanwhile the Slocum. burned e.
the waters edge. sank. 1t is estimated
that there were then nearly Ice
charred bodies on her decks Just
after the steamer sank the wataf
nearby was black with bodies. Tn
tug Fidelity succeeded in picking M
SO charred corpses in Hunts Cove On