The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-12-18
NINE LIVES LOST
IN STEAMER FIRE
THE GLEN ISLAND BURNED.
TOOK FIRE ON PASSAGE THROUGH
LONG ISLAND SOUND.

steamer orly Abandoned When
Flames Swept From Stem to stern.
Those Who Lost Their Lives Were
Cut on Before the Alarm of Fire
Reached Them-ExceIlent Discip-
line Was shown by the Grew OF
the Vessel.
New York. Dec. 17.-By the burn
ing of the Starin line steamer Glen
Island in Long Island Sound to-day.
nine lives were lost and property
roughly estimated at a quarter of a
million dollars was destroyed.
That more lives were not sacrificed
undoubtedly was due to the personal
courage of the officers and crew, and
the excellent discipline maintained
when a horrible death for all seemed
almost a certainty. When the steam
er was abandoned she was fiame-swept
from stem to stern, and yet the only
persons who lost their lives were those
whose escape had been entirely cut off
by the fire before the alarm reached
them.
ten passengers, who sailed away on the
Glen Island last night. twenty-five,
including eight passengers, were
brought back to-day.
List of the Dead.
The dead are:
ssengers-UnknoWn Hebrew wom-
an. believed to be Rosa Silken, who
lived at 206 Hamilton street. New Ha-
ven.
Unknown man, supposed to be a New
Yorker.
Crew:
W. E. Hendrickson. assistant en-
Eineer. ..-
Luman Miller, fireman.
Frank Bush, fireman. a. liz
John Burke, fireman. La
Otto l.. Alofran, fireman. 80
o. Berg, deck hand.
Peter benson. deck hand.
The Glen Island left her dock here
at $3.50 o'clock last night on her reg
ular trip for New Haven. There were
ten passengers and crew of twenty
one men, including Capt. Charles E.
McAlIaster, First Mate Ira Larsen, Pr
lot Thomas McMullen and Quarter
master John O'Brien.
When Fire Broke Out.
The trip through the sound was with
night, when about three miles west of
Greenwich, Conn. Capt. McAllaster left
the pilot house and went below for
his midnight lunch. AT that time there
was no indication of trouble of any
kind, but hardly had the captain reach
ed the galley when there came a rush
of sitting smoke from the hold of the
steamer and every electric light on
board the craft was extinguished. When
the captain rushed to the deck smoke
was pouring from every passageway,
and flames were sweeping up through
the aperture around the walking beam.
Capt McAllaSter sent in the alarm
for fire drill, and the men came
tumbling cut of their hunks. In the
meantime the steering gear had been
blocked and the pilots, finding them
selves unable to direct the course of
the steamer, hurried to the assistance
of the other members of the crew in
saving lives.
Boats Ordered Away.
Capt. McAllaster ordered McMullin
to go to the hurricane deck and loos-
en- the two large lifeboats. He man.
aged to loosen one of the boats, while
Capt. McAllaster went to the main
deck and tried to loosen the two large
life boats. Capt. McAllaster manag-
ed to loosen the port life boat. The
lother life boat was frozen to the
ready to be lowered away.
While the officers and crew were
working there was a fearful scene of
confusion among the ten passengers.
They ran about the saloons in disar-
ray. The woman who lost her life
had been aroused by the ,stewardess
and was on her way to one of the
boats, when she suddenly turned and
dashed back into the flaming cabin.
1t is supposed that she went back for
her valuables. She was not seen again
and must have persisted.
Took to the Boats.
There was no possibility of waiting
for the rescue of those who failed to
appear at once. In the large boat fif-
teen people were afioat. They included
the eight rescued passengers and seven
of the crew, including the captain. The
large boat was just about to be low
cred, when the latter ran up and jump
ed in just in the nick of time, or he,
too, would have persisted.
The smaller boat, which Pilot Nc
Mullin had managed to free, carried
seven passengers. The two boats were
rowed as far away from the burning
steamer as was necessary to escape
destruction and waited there and
watched the boat burn. They made
every possible effort to find any posi-
BILE survivors, but there was none to
ne rOunQ.
The burning steamer drifted away
toward the Long Island shore. In the
meantime the tug Bully, which was
passing with a string of barges in
tow, sighted the burning steamer. cast
her tow adrift and came to the rescue
of persons in the boats. They were
taken from the small craft, placed In
the furnace room of the tug, clothing
was given to them and when the
steamer Erastus Corning came along
shortly afterward were transferred to
the latter and brought to New York.
The fire is believed to have started