Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-08-25
For the Ellsworth American
Burning Of Ship Hornet" in 1866.

In March, ls61, while our ship lay In
Bramley Moor Dock, Liverpool. the ship
General Mcclellan" of and from New
York, arrived and came into the same
dock. She was In command of Capt.
Mitchell, native OF Freeport, Me, fine
>hipmsster and gentleman with whom We
became acquainted many years before.
We visited each Others ships, and. one
evening on board of his, he related the
particulars of the burning OF the Hornet
the previous May, which entered in my
journal at the time and here reproduce for
the beNeht Of those who may care TO read
Il.
The Hornet was a fine New York clipper
of 1900 tons register. built for the Cali
fornis aud China trades in l95S, 10 which
she had always been employed. At the
time Of her loss she WAS bound from New
York TO San Francisco. had rounded Cape
Horn. crossed the equator in the Pacific
deg. West.
The mate on the fatal morning, went
into the half-deck with lantern to draw
varnish from barrel to put upon the
spars. He took the lamp out of the Ian
tern that he might more clearly see what
he was about. which set fire TO the gases
from the varnish. which. just at the close
of the War of the Rebellion, WAS made of
benzlne. tar-oil and other materials almost
a inhammable a gun powder. He tried
in vain 70 put it out, but was obliged TO
gave the alarm, too late TO save the ship
as her fate was sealed. The fire commu-
nicated with barrels of oil, tar and other
combustiole matter and that part of the
ship was soon in blaze.
The captain came on deck and at a
glance his quick eye took in the situation,
aud he ordered the boats to be got out i'm
mediately. into which the crew hurried
with what clothing they had upon them.
Each Of the three boats had keg of
twenty gallons of water in them, kept
v.
and 10 them were added q ham, small
box of tobacco and about twenty pounds
of hardbread, just what came to hand, for
from the rest Of the ships stores they were
cut of by the fire then raging. With that
small supply of provisions they abandoned
their ship, with the captain and fifteen
men in one boat and the first and second
mates with the balance of the crew in the
other two boats.
They lay by the burning ship during the
| day watching the flames as they hisseC
and ran up the tarred rigging like demon.
exulting over the ruin they were causing
and those men, with feelings better imag
ined than described, SAW the grand anC
awful sight of the destruction of PROUD
and noble ship.
As the fire ran up the shrouds it ignitel
the sails and the whole expanse Of canva.
became pyramid of fire, awful in It's sub
Unity, but of transient duration. Thei
ropes. sails and spars were one huge mas;
ablaze One after another the burnin.
spars aloft gave way and fell with q crasl
upon the huge fire below, until finally th
lower masts gave way and fell over tn
side into the water. The fire worked it
way into the cargo below decks amonl
which were cases of kerosene, lard ant
other combustible materials upon which /
fed its hungry greed, and which caused Al
explosion, scattering far and wide bits 0
burning matter.
All of that long day the captain and hi
crew sat in their boats watching with In
tense interest that grand, but solemn an
sublime scene, the burning of their ship a
sea. Night set in with its shades abou
them, while the flames from their burnini
ship lighted up the expanse for mile
around. Towards midnight the burnin
ship gave a sudden headlong plunge beneat
the waves of the Pacific and sank to res
beneath its waters, which had so many voy
ages before borne her safely over ther
upon its heaying bosom. Thus tragicall
ended the eventful career of the good shi
Hornet"
Darkness, suddenly and blindingly t
those men In the boats, was the result o
the extinguishment of the flames OF th
burning ship, and darker still we're tn
forebodings on that, their first night In
open boat upon the broad ocean 5000 or 400
miles away from the civilized habitation
of men. Could they then have realized th
hunger, priyations, thirst. dangers an
death which lay before them they migi
well have given up in despair and praye
that an end might be put to their lives, bu
those things were prudentially and wisel
withheld from them veiled in the obscu
ity of the future!
For several days the boats kept togeth'
near to the scene of their disaster, hopin