Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-08-18
A PERILOUS VOYAGE.

nS park HAIRY Barrs takes fire at sea
struggle.
On July p the bark Mary Bars, of Var
nIoIVn' 4Ialhe, from Boston to Barbados,
WIN d IulI edrgS Of ''ShOoks" in the hold
anu anu q neelty ITNecA-Ioad Of mules and sheep,
put into tile East River al fta, bs,-;v,r, r
fenced most perilous vovaga T5e n IL
started from Boston on july 10tb and ''fIr for
three days she made good headvay without
experiencing any difficulties. lie animals
on board were packed together in an encIos-
ed pen, with sufficient room to move ahont
and between the pen and the poop Were
stored the bales of hay and straw, and
water barrels. On the third day, when the
vessel was under full sail, one Of the sailors,
in passing the place where the hay was stOr-
ed, dropped a spark from his pipe. 1t lg-
nited the hay, but as he thought the fire
was at once extinguisheC, and as he had
been violating the rules he did not mention
the circumstance for fear of punishment.
Unfortunately the fire had not been entire
ly extinguished but smoldered during the
afternoon and till the following night, when
the mate gave the alarm that the vessel was
on fire. The watch was set and every pre-
caution taken, while most vigorous efforts
were made to discover the source of the
smoke. several bundles of smoldering hay
were thrown overheard. The wind was
high. and it famed the smoking hay into
flames and filed the air with sparks. The
cattle on board became frantically excited,
and for a time the men were almost panic
stricken. The timbers of the eattle-pen
were the next to catch fire, and this mad
dened the mules and sheep. The mingled
noise of braying mules and bleating sheep,
the cracking OF burning timbers, and the
shouting of excited men, as they battled
bravely with the flames, is described as be-
ing frightful in the extreme. Many Of the
mules broke loose and ran frantieally about
the deck, creating frightful confusion, and
ultimately leaping into the sea. Many of
the sheep were roasted to death, and before
the flames were got under control the vessel
had sustained serious damage. A sailor
named Gibbs was severely burned, and he
and another Of the men are now in Bellevue
Hospital. On the morning Of the 18th the
full extent of the damage to the vessel was
and it was at once resolved to
run for New York. Her subsequent adven-
lures illustrate the old saying that misfor-
tunes never come singly. When off Fire Is
land, on July 20, the unfortunate bark was
run into by a steamer. The bowsprit and
jibboOm were smashed and her bows stove
in. The sailors say the steamer was crowded
with people, and no attempt was made to
render any assistance to the unfortunate
men on board the bark. 1t was with great |
difficulty that she managed to reach the
East River. The Mary Bars is about three
hundred tons burden. She has lost her top
mast; the ropes are all burned; the canvas
is useless. The yards are badly burned.
A large hole has been burned in the bow.
The shedding structures, between the fore
and main masts, in which the animals were
confined, burned almost to a einder; her
timbers are scorehed, and the bowsprit is
reduced to a mere stump of wood. The
vessel is now undergoing repairs at Pier No.
43. The cargo was consigned to Trow-
bridge & Co., Of Bridgetown, Barbados.
N. Y Times.