Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1904-06-16


hundred bodies have been recovered
as 2 result Of the burning 81 the
\ steamer General slocum yesterday at
noon. According to the best obtain
able information about $50 persons are
/. reported missing. The coroner's Of.
i fee, chief Of the ire department and
! police agree In the estimate that the
h total loss Of life will closely approx.
mate one thousand. 81 h i3sz2 rff \.
New York, June 916.-Five. hundred
persons, mostly children, persisted dur
{ Ing the day by the burning st the ex-
cursion steamer General Slocum near
He'll Gate. IN the East river. q ss$ sSf&5 !.
The Slocum, with the annual Sunday.
school excursion Of ST. Marks German
Lutheran church Of this city on board,
was proceeding up the river to one Of
1 the many resorts Of Long Island sound.
When near One Hundred and Twenty
NTH street persons on shore saw
smoke and flames spring from the up
: per part Of the crowded steamer. A
panic ensued on the boat almost in
stantly. The crowds on the forward
4 deck began to spring overheard or to
\ crowd to the after part Of the boat.
The screams of the, terrified passen-
Eers could be heard on shore and hun
dreds Of small boats Immediately put
off to the rescue. Il Owing to the rocks
4 pm either side Of the channel at this
Z point It had been impossible to beach
y the ship. The captain stuck to his
y post at the wheel and headed the yes
gel straight up thesyS river for North
Y Brother island, where she was put
Il aground in the shallow water. Several
II hundred feet Of open water still lay
between the burning steamer and the
y shore and many persons persisted
sither In the water or on the burning
4 vessel after she had been beacheu.
/ It was estimated that the steamer car
sFied more than I, 200 persons. She was
I the largest excursion steamer in these
waters and could carry 1000 passen.
Il gers. sst; Il t.s. i.
\ Ss The Slocum sailed from the foot OF
Third street, East river, shortly after.
s D o'clock. The exact point she had
{: reached when the flames were discov-
Hred In the forward part OF the boat
u was off the .,Sunken Meadows at the
extreme east end of Randalls island
4 30 quick was the spread Of the flames
4 that the captain OF the Slocum could
not turn and was forced to make head
1 pm for North Brother island under.
n lull steam. II. /. sss 25Ss.. n
n MANY JUMP oVERBo ARD /.
WITH CLOTHING Hu RhiNG.
BY the time the Slocum reached One,
Il Hundred and thirty-fifth street the ex-
4 sursionists, driven to the rail, many
/: 81 them with their clothing on fire,
began t03jump overheard by tWos and;
threes. 81 When One Hundred and
Thirty ghth street had been reached
II the heat from the fire had become so
intense that men. women and children
4 plunged overheard by the score. There
y Vas terrific crash when the boat was
II beached at the reef at the northern
end Of North Brother island, where
. The rapidly burned tpathe water ssedge.
From 300 to- 800 persons persisted In
he flames or were drowned. Tits inn
4 possible to more than estimate the loss
sf life. The disaster is the most ap-S
B palling that has ever occurred IN New
Fork harbor and is made more dis
.ressing BY the fact that most Sof those
who lost their lives were women or
shild ren OF tender age. E3$
s3gSgE IT is said the IRE started In the lunch
4 counter I'm the forward end of the boat.
Y When the alarm spread among the
passengers the hurricane deck was
Il deds and when on One Hundred
n md Thirty etghth street this deck col
apsed. ass Many persons were thrown
nto the Water. but hun dreds were pr
Il :ipitated into the lower deck, Which
VAS itself as mass III women and chill
n lren.s A tug of the New York Central
abroad saved Slearly q score through
he heroism OF some unknown man. 4
& This man stoooadi on le paddle wheel
& lpx of the Slocum and passed women
& md children to the tug until he war /
Il 1riYen bac II BY flames. n He then
umne into the tug himself. Neifhas
police nor dTemen, when they arrived.
B waited to remove coats 0r clothes. hut
Il himpsd gover'bo and saved q great
mary who would otherwise have been
sToWnetl.
Many OF the bodies recovered were
b lortibiy burned. yVreckers say that
Il mi II .bes hours before the fire III the
lold 0f the boat is out and the bodies
d here can be recovered. L Both firemen
81 Ind WreckersS say that the greatest
oss of life, extending into the hum
lreds, VIII be found in the hold.
I coLLAPsE oF UPPER DECK
cAusEs on MANY DEATHS.
AZ eyewitness said that The great.