The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1868-07-25
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
SATURDAY. JULY %.
Was 1t Spontaneous Combustion,
or Not2

or Sot
On "Wednesday about 10 O'Clock a. NJ, fire
was discovered in the hold of the mail steamer
Montana, and on examination it was found that
| three bales Of pulu, which had been slowed down
only two OF three hours, were ON fire. This Pulu
had been lying ON the wharf some days, and 1t -
supposed that, either from getting Wet while
there, or from having been packed In n damp
condition, combined with the heat of the sun, to
which 1t had been exposed, heat was generated
and spontaneous combustion produced. We have
never known Of n similar case to this, which we
take to be suppositional, and until it can be corro-
bOrated, must doubt it as the origin OF the fire. If
there ever has been n case of spontaneous conf
bustion of pulu on the Islands, we trust any, who
may know the particulars, will make it public,
for it Is not Just that an article Of commerce,
which for twenty years has been constantly ship
ped without the slightest accident on board ship,
should be Chased as hazardous or extra hazardous
OH mere opinion. IL is stated that several of the
bales, on being opened, were found to be 50 hot
inside, that it wa almost impossible for n person
to hold Lis hand there.
The other suppOsition as to the origin of the
fire is that it was caused by the cigar or pipe of
some =tragglcr, or Il spark from the steamer stack
pipe. Until something more definite IL known. 1t
it IL more reasonable to conclude that this was the
cause.
Immediately ON the occurrence of the above
accident, every bale that had been put on
board was ordered ashore again. This course,
under the circumstances, was perfectly proper, rs
there would have been some risk in taking any OF
this lot, and more or less needless alarm would
have existed among the passengers, had it been
taken. 1t is very fortunate that the accident hap
pened as it did, while the vessel lay ut the wharf;
for had the fire not been discovered till after she
had gone to sea, it would, in all probability, have
caused considerable damage, and compelled her to
return to this port
We have never known any case of the burning
| Of puIu ON shipboard, unless in one instance some
Is years ago, when the ship Gloucester was set on
FIRE. In san Francisco n few months ago, n store
house filed with bsIed pulu was burned. In at
tempting to put out this fire, the fremen found it
almost impossible to cope with or quench the
burning pull, which few about in the air like
finder, burning their faces and clothes, wherever
it lodged. 1t was found ON this occasion to be
one of the most dangerous combustibles known
winter having no effect in extinguishing it.
If it should become an established fact that
pull, under amy circumstances, is liable to spOn-
taneous combustion, the most proper way to
overcome tho extra rick 10 to have tho bales put
up with Dillon's patent iron hoops and keys,
fastened with which it would be impossible for
the pulu to burn, except on the outside of the
bale, while it could be handled or extinguished
very readily.
Formerly cotton bales were fastened with ropes,
but it became 80 frequently the cause of extensive
confiagratiOns in New York, Liverpool and other
large cities, that insurance companies will now
only take risks on rope-baled cotton at very heavy
rates, while the United States Government has
forbidden the storage of a single such bale in its
bonded warehouses. On the other hand, the
rates of insurance on cotton baled with iron hoops
has been reduced to n low figure, as il il found
next To impossible for the cotton to burn more
than to char the exterior. These hoops are the
best safeguards against the spreading of flames
that have been yet introduced. All wool, Pulu and
cotton bales should be put up with them.