Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-01-19
A FURNACE AFLOAT.
4 Story Of the Sea- Brave Crew Bat
ties for Life for a Week on
Burning Vessel
In Mid-Ocean-IneessaBt Work Between
Frost and Fire-Delirium, Exs
haustion and Rescue.

| NEW YORK, January 18.-The Herald as
published the following narrative of unparal-
| leled suffering and endurance: "For nearly
a week we were on a floating furnace" said
| Capt. Charles Nichols yesterday. "For
nearly week with the deck timbers scorch-
ing under our feet, and never a chance OF
popping below without suffocation"
He sat in the cabin of the steamship
Necker, Just arrived from Bremen by way OF
Southampton, with one of the men who had
suffered with him alongside These two,
with five other men, had been taken on board
In mid-ocesn from a burning vessel which
was not expected to hold together for two
hours after she was abandoned.
"My craft was the barkentine Mary Lizzie,
OF st. Johns n. F." the captain continued.
'She was owned by P. q L. Tester, of that
port, and on the Sd of January we left it
with a cargo of Goldfish for Bahia, in the
Brazils. The weather was fair. We had
fresh breeze from the northwest and made
good headway until we were out of sight Of
land. At o'clock next morning the wind
hauled around to the southwest, and at 4
O'Clock that afternoon it was blowing a gale.
We took in double reefs and kept on till the
following day. AT 8 o'clock called all
hands on deck to shorten sail. We clewed
up the foretopsail and hauled down the
standing jib. The ship was brought TO the
wind. 1t was blowing a heavy gale from the
northwest aud the sea was running high.
Inc men were busy balance-ree6ng the main
sail, when l CHANGED TO look forward. A
Whit of smoke caught my eye up toward
the bow, aud / sent one of the men to see
what was the matter. He came running
back with his face white as a ghost. The
ships sfire" he cried. The iorecastle's all
A IL =
hurry, can tell you. There was sight for
us there.
"Tne whole of the vessel below deck was
in blaze. The flames were rushing up
through the forescuttle, and the smoke was
creeping up throug h the timbers. i tried TO
go below, but was met with blast that
seemed TO come from furnace, and saw the
lorecastle under me mass Of fire. We
never found out how it occurred. suppose
the lamp must have fallen down and the oil
caught in the bogy. The whole place had
sprung into flames in twinkling. called
| all hands forward and we tried 10 get at the
fire. 1t was no use. The forehatch was
hlled with flames and no one could get down.
We got sails and canvas together and COW
cred the forehatch and ventillating holes to
| keep the draught off, The smoke was COM
| ing up still, and we could hear the roar of
| the fire underneath; but il seemed a bit
| stified, aud we cut small holes in the deck
and kept heaving buckets. of water on them
All hands worked with a will. The men
knew their lives were in peril, and they
worked in downright earnest.
''The wind was still blowing, and it would
go hard with US if it crept through any loop
hole. We used the canvas 20 cover every
thing, and made every effort to prevent the
| fire going aft. We batteued down the after
companion and skylight, and closed up all
| the vents we could find. 1t was of no avail.
The smoke kept coming up, and we heard
the cracking of the flames as they worked
deeper and deeper into the heart of the ves-
sci. There was no escaping the truth. We
| wers aboard burning vessel-an actual
| floating furnace-iu mid ocean, and we could
| do nothing TO help ourselves. Our lives de-
pended upon the speedy appearance of a
passing ship. We got out the boats and
kept them ready for an emergency, but made
| up our minds not to take them till the last
moment, when every hope was gone. Oar
| spirits were low enough, can tell you. But
there was little time for reflection. Every
man was busy. We were safe while the
flames could be kept below, but we knew
that at any moment they might burn up
through the deck timbers and make vent,
and then all was over. 1t was this we had
to fight against, and we had to be at work
| lHCSSSautly 10 10 IL. 1ue CeCK na0 10 De
saltwatered, and day and night through all
that dreadful time the men were never
spared moment, but went rushing
about with buckets, FLASHING the water
over the canvas and empLying it on the
timbers. At the start we got some provis-
| ions up on deck from the cabin, and it was
lucky we did, Tor before long it would have
been beyond our reach. The mate and got
what clothes we had out of the cabin, and
they had 10 serve US all, for the crew had
their kits In the forecastle, and none of them
were able TO save stitch. Poor fellows;
| they had to suffer a greatdeal. The weather
was bitter cold, and sometimes the sea would
| splash over them, wetting them through and
| through. Some of them were covered with
| ice as they handled the buckets, and it was
hard work for them to keep their feet. No
| one dared go below, and there was no place
| to snatch a moments rest. Indeed. tn at
| could not be thought of anyway, for there
| were only eight men, all told, on board, and
not soul could be spared while the fire was
liable to break out under US. For three
days that unceasing struggle was kept up
without change; no sail in sight, no hope
| OF assistance! Nothing but the smashing of
water about The deck, with the smoke steam.
ing up and choking US, and wind and rain
beating down good part OF the time.
Goa Saturday, the 9th OF the month. / no.
ticed signs OF great danger forward. The
ship was getting very weak there. 1 sup
posed she was fairly Quilted and all the cell.
ing and timbers were burned. There was no
telling whether she would break I'D or not
10 guard against it we had to cut the two
anchors adrift from he bow and let them 90
This eased her for the time and we went on
with our work. We did not hear the flames
cracking any more, but the smoke sill kept
| rising, sometimes in a dense volume. It
filled our throats, but We were too much oc-
cupied 10 mind it and toiled on without rest
and very little food. On Monday, the 9Th, a
| strong gale blew from the southwest. The
| rain came down in torrents and heavy sea
tossed us about and seemed likely TO mash
the vessel 10 pieces. To Tighten her we cut
away the foretopgallant mast, the royal m asst
| and the jib-boom. The Mary Lizzie was
now a little more than hulk, without
| anchor, with little timber standing, at the
mercy of the winds and with a blazing FIRE
| shut up in her. II was no wonder some of
| us began to sink under the excitement and
| suffering, and came near losing our senses
| The smoke, too, always coming up about US,
always frightened us with a scare of fire
here or there, wherever ii was thickest
| seemed to have gone to our brains
and crazed US. l was the first to
| feel it. L had made shift TO creep into
| the cabin on Sunday morning. 1t was thick
with smoke and could not endure il long.
| / tried TO go on deck, and was going up the
hatch when the place got dark and 1 fell
down senseless. They carried me up on
| deck, but it was quarter of an hour before
l recovered. From that the men were all
more or less Frustrated in the same way. /
| remember four who had severe attacks.
| They were William Liscomb, the cook; the
| mate, Daniel Kane, and two sesmen, John
| Thompson and John Adams. They were
| working on deck when it came upon them.
Their faces would get as white as a sheet,
and in jiffy they would be down on the
deck working in a fit. 1t was dreadful to
see them rolling about there, raving like
| madmen, and looking the picture of death.
| II was the smoke and the work snd thssex.
| haustion did it. All we could do for them
was to hold them down and keep putting
| cold water in their mouths and rubbing their
| foreheads with it. l suppose that the thick
| smoke was the chief cause OF the trouble,
| and We battened dowa the companion and
| secured all the matches for good, and from
| that time no one was allowed TO leave the
| deck
"Our little provisions we're giving out now.
We had been able to bring up only what we
| could readily look after in the first instance,
and it would not hold out long. The men
looked like ghosts and were barely able to
trudge about and keep the decks wet. Two
Of them-LiscomD and Thompson-were
| frost bitten, and all were suffering severely
from exposure. On the morning Of Wednes-
day last the smoke was coming through the
| timbers from stem to stern. The water began
| to steam where it fell upon the decks. TWAS
hot under foot, and We could feel that the Ere
had traversed the vessel, burned up all the
| inside and would soon break out. We looked
| 10 the boats and dreaded the moment we
| would have to take to them on the open sea
| in such bitter weather. We were all ex-
hausled Some OF the men after their hard
fight, were for giving up: 1t was two hours
after midday, and we all believed the vessel
could not stand two hours longer. The fire
| even then was rushing TO the cabin. and