The Saale and Bremen were now drifting and blazing uncontrollably. Many tug boats played their hoses upon the fire; some catching on fire briefly themselves. Many of the crew of both ships swamped the tugboats as they tried to escape. The tug Nettie Tice took off 104 people from the Bremen alone. Meanwhile, the Main which was moored the farthest north, was unable to be freed from her pier. The tugs worked frantically but to no avail. Some forty-four of her crew died, unable to escape her burning hull. She eventually drifted free after her mooring lines burned, with horrible luck she was drifting to where the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse had anchored. The Kaiser was ordered even further upstream as some tugs had finally managed to secure some lines to the Main's rudder. Mr. Moeller then ordered the tugs to drag her to the Weehwaken Flats. The Bremen in the meantime had been moved to the Weehawken Flats as well, which accounts for the many pictures that are available of the two ships burning together.

The Saale had drifted as far south as Governor's Island, and was then taken near Communipaw, New Jersey. She arrived just in time, as she began to settle to the bottom within 10 minutes. Her steel hull and superstructure was so hot by now that the water from the hoses of the tugboats hissed as soon as it hit the ship.

It must also be said that not all tug boat crews acted so admirably as those presented in the previous paragraphs. Many, lured by the rewards of saving floating barges filled with cotton, coal, or even floating bales of cotton or barrels of whiskey, chose to rescue those instead of people. Though the majority of the tugboats helped that day, more than 100, some were lured by the temptation of profit. Cotton bales could bring in $40.00 apiece, while the coal barges were the most valuable prizes to save. It must be remembered that $40.00 was a good deal of money at the time. There were a few instances where men trying to swim in the water were ignored by these tugs and other harbor boats.

A tugboat with salvaged cotton bales.

Terrible Moments
Some of the most memorable moments were unfortunately horrific. Most centered on the fates of those who could be seen through the portholes of the ships, and could not be saved. At the time, most portholes were too small for an adult to fit through. After this tragedy, their design would be changed and made larger. There were many other instances of horror and tragedy that were noted that day. It is at this point that I would like to quote a section directly from one of the sources listed in the bibliography section, the article from an issue of Sea Classics written by Brad Leonis:

"Then the real horror began. Faces and arms appeared at the eleven-inch portholes of the Saale, Bremen, and Main, portholes too pitiably small to permit the passage of any adult body. A woman appeared at a porthole on the Main. She looked down at a half-dozen tugs and 100 men unable to help her.

The young woman, a stewardess, began praying loudly. Smoke drifted past her head and flames could be seen behind her. Hoping to save her, one man grabbed a rope, clung to the red-hot side of the Main and with a hose climbed to an adjacent porthole, through which he sprayed water on the creeping flames. He fell.

Flames and smoke began to envelope the woman, and she called out "Now listen! Listen! Tell my mother - she lives in Bremen - tell her my last thought was of her - tell her all my money is in the bank - tell her she can have it all - tell her..." Purple fire pulled over her face and with a quick shriek she was gone."

For many of the crews trapped below decks, the story had the same terrible ending:

"Below decks on the Main dozens of stokers, engineers and stewards died miserably, waiting for death as ten feet of flames roared over their heads and ate downward to them.

On the Saale...

"It took three hours for those trapped behind the portholes to die. On one of the tugs a catholic priest, Rev. John Brosnan, lifted up his hands and face to those begging "Wasser, Wasser! Ach, Himmel, Wasser!" and gave them Extreme Unction. Men in the tugboats went mad with their inability to save anyone."

I think those quotes from the article provide a searing image of the grim reality that was being played out that day on the waters of the Hudson River.