The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-28
FIRE AND DISCIPLINE AT SEA
,rr GELLLR1's PAssEMG ERs ASLEEP
WHILE THE CARGO BURNED.

t,i,, on at Observation-Disclosures Hours Of
r,rb,ipc Before tho Fro Wa, Out-Lire.
bont- Made Ready, Provirioned. and
c,,rled by Sailors W itb ID rnyyn Revolver,
nnidnight orfSunday. whilo the Hamburg
Imerirnn steamship Gelert was plunging
,broueh crested swels under q stormy sky
toward this port q Whit OF smoke that did not
,ome from her streaming funnel struck the
ouartermas:er in tho face Tho odor indicated
tohim that tho ships cargo was probably aflre
No did not get excited. OF course. for he had
,sryed long apprenticeship under the dlsci-
mime OF stolid German shippers. lie traced the
.moke TO n ventilator on the stnrboard side OF
tha ship abaft the saloon. The ventilator is
eopnected with the after Storage deck. which
v.s filled with general cargo The ships 221
Average passengers were Quartered forward.
md 40 we're unaware OF tho existence OF tho
fire.
After assuring himself that q part OF the
ship's cargo was really ablaze. the careful
ouartermaster went UP or the bridge and COM
mupicated his discovery to Second Oflcer H.
- y,unswig. who then had charge OF the ship.
fheNecond officer sent for First Offlcer II. Mes
ttcrmshn. He received the news with tho
eoaninity OF man of-war's man. He had had
sxrJIence fighting fire at sea notably on the
~,
yesS ago. and he took 1t somewhat as mat
ter 6f course.
Hemade o personal Investigation and con-.
yiuced himself that the Gellert's cargo in the
after com partment on the steerage deck. Just
below the main. or saloon deck. was burning.
Eyery officer. engineer. fireman. seaman. and
steward aboard the ship was called on deck for
Immediate duty. Then tho FIRST officer sum-
moned Capt Kaempf and told him what had
happened.
The Captain made q little speech to the
men He told them that the ship was on FIRE
and warned them not to manifest any excite
usnt. because he did not want the passengers
toknow anything about It Just then. Then
all hands were set to getting out the hose
Meanwhile tho engineer had turned steam
into the perforated pipes running along the
Ldes OF tho compartm emit where the fire was
smouldering. The iron doors Of the com part
ment had been closed and the ship was
stopped for two hours. The ventilators lead
Ing from the compartment were plugged up
10 prevent the entrance Of air. The skipper
Intended to do what all other shippers do
under similar circumstances. to smother and
drown out the fire.
The stewards were set to work provisioning
he liieboats. which were made ready for
launching. This work was accomplished in
less than an hour: A sailor with q revolver In
Instructions to kill any PASSENGER Or member
xAS TO- beard 3R.t md l0Wef
not 1T any Of bis passengers Know OF the ex-
stsnce Of the Are until daylight, when he eK-
pected to make systematic attempt to SUBJ
due 1T There were q dozen or more cabin pas
nsdiitely over the Ore. Tho skipper did not
wsIs " wake DANGER and he
eAhout daylight on Monday. morning the
%. It ssy oossd g I'll: III.
Be q. o ship eA caD
s sssla Ed s.ssssss sailed At. IL teld them
@ ass s s hs hut tas
% hs Fsss tS E, The sse s IL S a ta
i:.I o. s8elsemsns. II %h e' be ' Sads them
s!tand let their wives and children:know what
Smoke was now oozinR through the seams
patss on the starboard eide aft were nearly
crew We're out to WORK shtns The IRE. The
stsaming plates were constantly doused to
Az saloon CARPETS wers satarsseS. The
saloon s deck became so hot that the car.
ID sIe holes Tss
poured s. The heat was intense and the men
bound with wet cloths and blankets. They
we're driven from the saloon several times
oR o. Rsey we're On By Sadi
* their comrades and revived In the open air.
me main deck for nearly twenty.tour hours
70 first tTenty, four hours Of his battle with
J9hn's, newfoundland, about $50 miles away:
shes the
gers showed no signs OF panic. but there was
much excitement In the Storage.
hsempf1 went down among them smoking q
e cigar and ordered the steward to bring him
hey Tss Ss tho CAPE
tain, and said, . "
must 1f {. t xsi smokes and drinks. SO all
VA. AT that time all was not exactly well. but It
wcst sOo ona to be So The deuge was doing It's
Ham names had been sufficiently luenched to allow
m ho sailors to open and onter the hatch Just
, snS OF the saloon. derrick was rugged.
S91nsiSitng mainly of bales Of bed feathers.sacks
al al dm,uiet backing cases Of china ware rubber.
IN. inc stewards Of the Gelert had al. their lug
kkSge stored In the com partment that was aiire.
s sssy made effort to + They hsIYsa
.nS. ABOVE the Are. unconscious Of it's exist
shss' to their new berths eonsoled the women
IN me s oHT also attended to the wants OF
me, Officers and men. who were thrty.six |
HSTrs without sleep battling to sayo the, shin. |
!, mere mere was one being aboard sadly neglected.
Il S ros a pct crow; and nobody thought about |
ron sunday night until Tuesday morning. |
t taen is, Is ownor; The second officer remem:
So,sl mat he had locked 1t in HIS room, 1t |
II,v'.eu out unstendily, faint from lack OF food.
sn S want" rants were attended to. and 1t went down
s9n su2erintended the jettison OF the cargo. |
sf ,ne , IRE i supposed to have started just |
tha ef me me ship left Hamburg, on Oct. ~. At
We tme millet which Is an oily grain. became
ahu; through fermentation and friction |
sSwn I'VE ignitel, Some OF the passengers,
t"I % Iays before the discovery OF the fire. had
W Waa me ilrst officer that they believed there |
tha something burning on the ship. They, said |
On burning aierial had the Odor Of feathers,
IT,, ,,atuIdAy the same Passengers reported |
the h uIeS believed something was burning In
b m, nold. The officers made an investig alton. |
W could find no evidences OF fire.
lar, ~ felInG OF the after steerage OF the Gel
MA MA ~ Daily charred Otherwise tho vesse Is |
seNuatmthg"d, she will be ready to sail her |
an "i .uul Al the cargo ON the STORAGE deck |
"Wss ihsIred.
a