The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-06-21

Another Mysterious Fire on a Ward Line
| Steamer-Hemp, Coffee, ETC.. Make a
Furnace of the Yumuri's Foreholds-
Little Excitement Among the Passen-
gers.
New York, June 30 The Ward line
and Havana last evening with a raging
fire in her forehold. On Tuesday night at
| 10 O'Clock several of the crew detected a
strong smell of smoke, which soon be-
came noticed throughout the forward part
of the steamer. The alarm was given,
and the crew were called to quarters. In
vestigation showed the fire to be in the
| forehold
| Steam was turned into the compart-
ments of the hold from which the smoke
came, and for a short time it's headway
was checked. The steamer was forced
ahead at as great speed as possible with
| the enormous loss of steam which was
used to fight the fire.
At the, time the fire was discovered the
Yumuri was off Cape Henry. She forged
ahead steadily with the wind from the
northwest, which gave her a list to star
board, which increased as the fire con-
sumed the cargo. There was only little
| excitement among her passengers and
| crew when they arrived at Quarantine,
| and it was said that no great excitement
had existed at any time since the fire
broke out.
When the steamer was reported passing
Sandy Hook, Health Officer Doty
hastened down the bay to hurry the in
| spection in order to avoid delay. The
| Yumuri was met off Hoffman Island,
and the inspection quickly made.
| Dock Superintendent Walsh and J. W.
Barrett, of the Ward line, also met the
steamer outside of the Narrows with the
tug Jack Jewett
The police boat Patrol and the fireboat
| New Yorker, appeared off the boarding
station, and accompanied the burning
vessel to her pier. Superintendent Walsh
said that the steamer would be moored at
Wall street, and the matches opened. The
| fireboats would endeayor to suppress the
| fire at the pier. Should they fail, the
| seacocks would be opened, and the
Yumuri be permitted to sink to the
| bottom.
The hold where the fire exists contains
hemp, pineapples, coffee and other cargo.
| The holds affected are all forward of the
amidship bulkhead. On approaching
| the coast the Yumuri hoisted signal letters
IN. NJ. signifying 81 am on fire. -
The Yumuri brings $780, 900 in specie,
which is located in the safe in the
purser's room. Beneath this room, in the
pantry, the decks are shored up with
| timbers to increase the strength of the
| deck above. The cargo consists of cigars
tobacco, bullion, skins, hides, hemp,
| honey, broomhuck and many other
| Mexican products.
There are fifty-six passengers on board
most of them from Havana.
| Nothing could be learned of the cause
of the fire, as the officers were unwilling
to impart any information whatever. Six
readiness to launch should the occasion
require.
| Two of the Cuban passengers after the
| fire was discovered, demanded that the
steamer be put into a port nearer than
New York. The circumstances did not
require this, in the mind of Captain
Hansen, and she continued on her course
| The freboat New Yorker was unable to
| tie up alongside the steamer, and she did
not get a hose on board until the boat
was warped alongside her wharf Truck
No. Is was on hand when she arrived at
her pier and its crew, with the men of
the freboat and a couple of tugs, were set
to work extinguishing the fire 1t was
believed at the pier that the fire could be
put out without opening the seacocks and
sinking the vessel. All the passengers,
however, were ordered to disembark last
night, and the customs officers were on
duty to pass upon their baggage.
| The Yumuri took on the hemp part of
her cargo at Vera Cruz and it is sup
between decks in the forward hold.
| "