Evening star., 1924-11-23

time and to this the staggering
rapidity of the conflagration was no
doubt partially due.
Now, it must be clearly understood
| that, owing TO a curious anomaly, the
New York fire department, including
Its fire boats, had at that time no
Jurisdiction In the State OF New Jer-
sey, and hence was unable to afford
any assistance to the vessels in dis
tress until they were in the open
stream and upon, SO to speak. neutral
| waters Then everything was done
suggest. In view OF the disastrous
turn OF subsequent events. this fact
should be borne In mind.
The first intimation of something
wrong reached visitors In the Kaiser
Wilhelm der Crosse, the then ocean
greyhound" through the appalling
noise of hundreds of barrels filed
with pitch exploding from the heat,
like salvos of heavy artillery. A wild
rush for the gangways followed. but
the ships officers with consummate
GOODNESS averted panic by announc-
ing that the vessel would proceed i'm
mediately into midstream, happily
having a sufficient head OF steam to
accomplish this maneuver. The sea-
men hastily cast Off, but SO intense
was the onrush of the fire that one
the wire already glowing from the
heat.
With her decks ablaze, her wood
work cracking and clouds of steam
roaring through her exhaust pipes,
she presented a terrifying spectacle
as she made her way slowly to safety.
Tugs irrm ediateiy went to her assist
ance, her guests were rapidly trans
ferred and the fire was extinguished,
but not before considerable damage
had been done 10 her splendid and
luxurious cabin appointments, which
had been the talk of both sides of
the Atlantic.
Alas. not SO fortunate were her
sisters. who, not having steam up,
were powerless to escape. To depict
exactly what occurred upon these
vessels at such a time of confusion
and horror would in any case be al
most Impossible, and. in addition. of
the few survivors. none could give
coherent narrative since, practically
imprisoned upon the lower decks,
they were able only to realize that
death in some form was threatening
them.
THE Saale. in the very heart of the
flames. was cast loose and drift
| ed slowly into the stream, a menace
to shipping and a veritable funeral
pyre to those on board. Hundreds
of desperate creatures jumped over
board and We're picked up by passing
boats. But hundreds OF others were
| less lucky and lost their lives in the
depths OF that floating inferno. The
ship finally grounded of Ellis Island.
The case OF the Main was equally
desperate. Although a thousand feet
away from the outbreak. she caught
fire almost instantaneously, and her
decks were swept bare as though in
the path of some giant tornado.
There was no time even TO cast off,
and until the flames had eaten
through the connecting hawsers she
| weltered in a whirlpool OF fire.
A few persons had jumped over
board at the first alarm and were
seen clinging TO her propellers; then
one by one they were overcome and
dropped of in the muddy eddy which
Tapped the dock wall. Thus she lay
for several hours. and it is indeed
| surprising to relate that even ie
persons out of her complement Of
$50 managed to escape. And the
| story Of their escape Is indeed mirac-
ulous They were all coal-passers
or engineers. engaged in their pro-
| fessional duties about the engine
room.
Upon the alarm being given they
had found all means of exit to the
| deck cut off by the flames, and had
consequently retreated to one of the
coal bunkers, the door of which they
| closed For eight hours they re-
mained there, uncertain OF their fate
| ignorant OF what was happening and
| in temperature which made IL pain
full to breathe. For q considerable
time the electric lights burned stead
ily, sardonfc reminder that a super
natural stoker had taken charge of
their duties and was generating the
steam necessary to keep the dynamo
running.
Then came a flicker, the lights
shone with an uncanny briiliancy,
and then there vas darkness. The
silence was still broken by the
monotonous hum of the ammonia
pumps, connected with the refrtgera-
tor plant. It seemed as though their
speed was being increased by some
ghostly mechanic, for the hum de-
veloped into a mighty roar. culmi-
mating in an explosion, and then
there was silence.
1t was at 1870 that night that the
poor, helpless Main was grappIed by
a freboat. the crew OF which, hear
ing voices. located these prisoners
and succeeded in hauling them, one
by one, through a coal port. Their
| condition was desperate. but ulti-
mately they all recovered, with the
exception Of one man who had been
partially blinded by steam and died
in hospital.
THE plight Of the fourth liner the
Bremen, was not quite so criti-
cal. as the fire did not succeed in
getting a good hold below decks.
She was. however, crammed with
visitors, which would account for the
fact that "A persons were aboard her.
Like the others, she drifted away
from the burning docks, and It was
some considerable time before tugs
and f1reboats had succeeded in get
ting her under control. Meanwhile.
/ she was acting as a veritable torch
to all shipping and wharves with
which she came in contact.
Carried by the current toward the
New York shore, she imperiled all
the docks from Thirty third street
| to the Battery. In fact, SO serious
was the menace that alarms were sent
in to city fire stations, and men and
apparatus stood by, ready for all
eventualities. One lighter passed her.
caught afre and drifted alongside the
Baltimore and Ohio wharf. which
promptly in its turn took fire.
| Fortunately this outbreak was
quickly suppressed, but the same
| thing occurred at several points, a
sufficient indication Of the peril which
was threatening the whole river
front. However, the danger was
averted and the Bremen secured and
later beached in shallow water.
| On the Jersey side OF the river, the
desperate work Of the fire-fghters
had had its effect, and the Scandi-
navian-American Line docks. which
| adjoined the North German Lloyd,
escaped with the inevitable injury