Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-07-23
BURNED AT SEA.
Details Of tho Disaster to Whaling
steamer.
by lolegrsph 70 he Dls9atoh.i


NV BEDFORD, Mass. July 22.-The
whaling Franklin arrived here
TINS morning with the crew Of the steamer
Lorenzo -. Baker, from Port Antonio ia
maica. for bos Sou, with fruit, before re-
ported overdue. The steamer Was burned
40 $685. Captain Wiley reports:
Ne lcit Port Antonio ou the 10th Of
july with cargo Of bananas for Boston,
and bad .iX cabin passengers Mrs. Liza
beth Slime. of Dundee. scotland JOSIAH
Dillon. oi iowa. Lorenzo %. Baker Jr., Of
Moiiicct Massachusetts, jeremiah O'Cal-
larlln ard Jeremiah q. OCailaghan. Of
Boston wur.- ami nephc So; Erncst T..
ihslu1. OF Ltuu. and Lawrence Jensen
uHt Potter ~GAhclI. sailors. who we're work
ing the.r passage. and nineteen officers and
cr0r. Ne la1 faar. smooth water up 70
tue evening * July 18th CHE dag % the
DISASTER, when We were I'D latitude 80 de-
.rces ID minutes north. longitude o.
degrees 40 MINUTES. At this tine %
fresh gallo from the southwest set
DO. causing the ship 20 roll some, but
NOT severely. At midnight there was
an alarm Of fire. ! went on deck and saw
the engine room Ia "a blaze. ] ordered the
Aose on. bat III" engineer saId be could not
get 40 the pumls. Then I ordered the fire
buckets and alarmed the passengers, and
ordered the boats 90 bc swung out. ~ this
OF Che cugiuc-ro9m and the starbOard boat
Was ou fire. We swung out the port boat
and lowered hey o. tho rail- ] ordered TINS
one o. bc manned. Two rthree passengers
got into Che boat The fire was n0W within
three feet of us and the heat 90 those who
stood bv the boat wa intense. Placing the
boats painter ia the hands OF a sailor and
telling him to hold il fast, ordered the
first mate 90 take tho bow, and, springiug
I. I'D lou
thinking that rs soon IS the boat was ahoat
and detached from the tackles. 10 return
Oh board and get ont q raft and small boat,
ns they wcro comparatively safe and away
from thrhrr But In lowering the boat. as
D. struck the water Il Immediately capslzed
and threw us into the water. On coming
o. the surface found that the man holding
the painter bad let 90 OF II when he saw the
dIsa Ter. so that the boat was near us. Help
sing the passengers 20 "a safe hold ON the keel,
I'm "a fcW minutes the mate and ITghted tho
hoat. in getting our company 10 safe posi-
tlors AGAIN We Dalle1 the boat took the
passengers lu. and looked around for the
ship. which had 10y this time drifted about
half q mile away. IL had been twenty min
ut-s from the time Of lowering the boat
until We were IN 10 again. We put away
for the steamer. and when about half way
80 IL We fen IN with raft which bad eight
10.
above the water, having been injured IN
launching. Wet0ok oh from the craftnto
the boat The wind had now increased
and the sea Was high. Some time was con-
-uucI with the raft, and We were a mile
from the wreck when we started for her
After rowing some time We picked
up sailor floating on the gangs WAY
steps. From him we learned that he had
gone iu "a small boat, and that four sailors
and two hrrmru were lett on board the
steamer. they having got mt Of from the
boats by the fire. One, Il fireman, bad been
drowned M trying To reach the small boat.
We now found 90 our sorrow, that the dis
lance between us and the ship was lncreas-
ing. but sull a. The wind and sea would
permit we struggled 10 get to the wreck.
Tine forenoon Wis rapidly passing away,
when To- our 10Y We saw schooner
bearing down on the ship. We saw her
iav hy and take of some men and then
come to AS. We were soon safely on
board the vessel which proved 10 be the
Franklin. Captain Ross. of New Bedford.
Nc found she had taken five men from q
spar alongside the steamer. Another ire
maui had been drowned in swimming from
The steamers boWsprIt 10 spar At thus
time the steamer. had burned 10 within
three feet of the waters edge. We soon
found "a small boat. and twenty-five out Of
twtuty--cYcn souls who had been on the
steamer we're safe on board the Franklin.
The most generous treatment was accorded
as by Captain Ross and crew of the
schooner Tire best our rescucrs had vas
freely offered us Sud Captain Ross {;
NV vougc Viii not be up for month,
hut viii carry YOU into port and we
started for New Bedford. The cargo was
valued at $40, 900 and the vessel insured
for 1000.