New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-10
TWENTY BURIED ALIVE.
MANY BODIES GREENFIELD.
Whole Streets SScallo5oed By Haver-
stra1o Pit of Ouicksand.


day night. which dumped the northeastern cor
ner of the Hudson River village of Haverstrayv
into Il yawning clay pit. at least twenty men and
women lost their lives The bodies of some Of
them were destroyed by the fire which was rag
ing even before the dust of the slide had blown
away. Others are buried under hundreds OF
tons Of clay and debris. which is pushing them
deeper into the quicksand which underies the
clay beds
hundred volunteers worked in the Dit all
day yesterday They shovelled clay as only ex-
cited men can. and picked around in the debris
In a frenzy. but up to late hour last night not
single body had been discovered
THESE workers were in great danger as sew
eral times in the day there were warnings that
more of the bank about to come tumblIr.
down.
Eleven houses and stores have already gone
into the pit. and eight nine more are GER
tain to follow.
Inc disaster rendered thirty families homeless
and the charity Of the little village has boa,
taxed to the utmost All Of the survivors v-ara
housed before dark. however and last night a
mass meeting was held at which measures vera
taken to care for the destitute and the orphans
1his meeting was also of THANKSGIVING for
'iie escape OF the village from general confa-
grafton. which threatened for several hours
Although the houses which went into the mir
a
lost desire to save valuables, after pIacinp
their little ones in safety is responsib1s 4o- +b
death of all but four or five heavy sleepers who
oid not hear the warning cry Several Of those
who perished died in their efforts to save others
and curiosity is responsible for the death of ar
| least two persons.
WE'RE WARNED OF DANGER.
The danger OF the undermining Of this portion
| byy he brio
| known for months. and repeated efforts have
been made in the courts to halt the work Non
day afternoon the streets of the district began
| to crack. and personal warning was carried
| to every tenant by the Chief of Police The
| people had lived so long the rim Of the pit
| that they thought a day or two longer would
| make no difference. and did not move. The Dis
| trict Attorney declares that he can plainly sec
| criminal responsibility for the disaster and
| that the guilty will be speedily punished
| The list of missing, all of whom the Haver-
| straw authorities declare are unquestionablv
dead. is as follows;
| ALDEN. Rabbi
| ALBERT Joseph butcher.
| BARRY, Michael. rfverman
| COYNE. William.
CoYNE. William
| DAILY, Mrs. Joseph.
| DIAS Abram
| EIDENBAUM David vernon-ave Brooklyn.
| HEFBERNAE Edward
| HUGHES. William.
LYNCH. Thomas.
| MkNIoN, Lawrence.
4 DiANION, Lawrence
| MCURDY John barber.
M'GOvERN, Barley.
NELSON. Heske. clothing merchant.
| NELSON. BENJAMIN; his
| PROvITCH. Wolf.
| sILvERMAN. s.
| sILvERMAN. Abe: her
Mrs. Beauchamp. the only one of those who
| went into the pit to escape alive. is the worst
| injured. suffering broken leg and countless
| scratches. Moses Nelson, whose father and
| brother were lost and who had a miraculous
| escape, has a broken nose. A score Of others
| are suffering from cuts. bruises and exposure.
For a century the clay banks at Haverstraw
| have attracted brckmakers. and the entire
! stretch Of waterfront IS filled with kilns- One
| Of the finest beds stretched back from the river
| at the northern end of the town. The Excelsior
| Brick Company. the Giles estate and EcAerson
| Brothers have been the chief operators. The
last named have carried their operations further
/ inland and It is against them that the village
| has been endeavoring to secure restraint from
| the courts.
| The operatfons of the brtcknakers have
/ formed a vast Dit three-fourths of mile long
| and one fourth of q mile wide. The river over
flowed into this pit two years ago. but the brick
makers pumped 1t out and continued their WORK.
| Since that time the people living on the DluIL
have had many warnings OF the slide which
came on Monday night The streets on the
huff form an L." with Rockland-st. the perpen-
dicular line for six hundred feet or more. and
| Dt,,iston-st the horizontal line for some i've
hundred feet The houses facing west on ROCK
Iand-st. overhung the pit
| Monday afternoon word was carried to James
| Call Chief of Police. that there was suanse
/ ,oolrine crack in the centre Of Rochand-st- IN
| s.,sa+ton showed that the long apprehended
| ,andsl,de was about due. Personally the chler
! yent 70 every householder along the edge OF
| the rit and warned them to move. The people
| ware poor. moving was expensive. and besides
q small blizzard raging and II would Os
most inconvenient TO turn out
.'I guess the bank will hold a while longer
was the way Heskel Nelson put 1t when the
chief visited his clothing store. and the others
thought the same. No one moved
SAW HOUSES SWALLOWED UP
At 1870 O'Clock Monday night John Russell.
Ran Nelson and Joe Levy were talking in a shell
torad doorway at Division and Roclland SITS.
rbav heard a strange rGmbling from the pit
ord then the crashing OF timbers. down Rock
Ian1st near the corner OF Liberty. Looking
that way they saw the Beauchamp house slowly
sinking into the big hole, and heard 1t land
ar the bottom with crash. The Novack house
disappeared in a similar way. After that
one kept count.
Russell had been visiting at the home OF Will
lam Coyne and rushed there to warn the family.
F3reaking a window with rock, he cried out the
danger 10 Mrs. Coyne. who answered his call
Several members OF the family hurried out. AS
the house began to totter on its foundations