The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-02-13
srElMsHIp ON FIRE.

New York. Feb. 12-A steamship with fire raging in her hold ran about the harbor shrieiing for help this morning Three floating fire engines. the New | Yorker, Havemeyer and Zophar Mills, upon which the shipping in the port de- bends for protection, lay at their piers, | but two were out of commission and useless. The third didn't stir The po- lice were left to fight the fire single handed and they did it with such vim and skill, and under the lead of Ser geant Frank Mangin, that in the end they bested it; though they had to chase from stem to stern four mortal hours. The New York Evening Sun says: The steamship was the Ardand- hu of Glasgow, Captain George Walters, in yesterday from Progreso, Mexico, ,af- ter 6 voyage of seven days, with car go Of hemp consigned to William D. Munson of 80 Wall street. The Ardand- hu dropped anchor off Liberty Island yesterday evening, and Captain Wal | ters, having seen all safe aboard, went ashore to his family in Brooklyn, leav- ing the first mate, John Dunn, in charge.
 It was within twenty minutes of mid night when Seaman Herman Bruce dis covered smoke issuing from the forward hold and gave the alarm. A scene of 4 confusion followed. The crew of twen- I ty-four men tumbled on deck, but mo- 1 body knew just what to do except to call for help. That they did with vengeance.
 l The Ardandhu whistles were let loose and rockets were sent up,while the crew yelled police with all their might to at- tract help from shore. The result was to give the pilot on the Staten Island ferryboat Westfeld, that was on its way across the bay, the idea that there was mutiny on board.
 The Westfield slowed up and barley took place which made the situation clear. It was proposed that the Ard andhu's crew should be transferred to the ferryboat, but this was abandoned as unnecessary, and the Westfield join ed :n the concert of whistling, putting back toward New York to call out help.
 It was then that Sergeant Mangin of the Patrol, which lies behind Pier A, I North river, heard the rumpus and went on deck to ascertain the cause He saw the rockets off in the bay and guessed the cause.
 Ordering ou. the two sections of his men in reserve, he cast off immediately and went to the rescue under full steam. He found the Ardandhu steam ing about in great distress between Lib erty Island and the Jersey shore. It's commander had lost his head, and didn't know whether to beach her on the island or on the flats, or to keep her moving in deep water.
 The flames were bursting through the forward hatch and it looked as if the vessel was doomed. The ferryboat, having unloaded her passengers, had come back and was making ready to turn a stream on. The distressed crew hailed the police boat as an angel of deliverance. They made fast the lines she threw them with hearty cheer, and in another minute Sergeant Mangin and his men were aboard.
 The Patrol has powerful pumps for just such an emergency, and it's crew know how to use them. They got out their axes, chopped holes in the deck forward, and shortly turned four big streams of water into the3burning hold. They did it every bit as well as the f1remen could have done, who were all this time snoozing in their berths while their beat out on the water rang with appeals for help and the harbor was lighted up with the flare of signal rock cts.
 There happened to them, too what happens to the regular firemen On oc- casions. When they thought they had put out the fire they had merely chased it From the forward hold into the cap tain's cabin. They went for it there, and when they had it out entirely, as they firmly believed, back it was in the hold. There they tackled it once more, and once more it got away from tnem, only to be cornered again, and this time for good. It was o'clock when the police and firemen rested, sure that the vessel was safe.
 The captain had come on board dur ing the fight, to find everybody working as Well as if he had been in charge himself. He thanked Sergeant Mangin, who had taken charge temporarily of his crew as well as of his own men, and was making them work together with a will The wrecking tugs John Miller and William F. Ferguson had come at last from the city to see what the noisy demonstration in the bay was about, and with their help the steamship was beached on the mud flats off Liberty Island, where she lies this morning cov- cred with ice, but safe. The water pumped into her made her list to one side, and there was danger of her top bling oVer
 During all this time the three pow erful fireboats, whose business 1t is to but out fires in the harbor, lay idle in their slips-the New Yorker at the Bat tery in plain sight, but out of service, the Havemeyer, at the foot of Broome street, East river, likewise disabled and out of commission.
 ' The Zophar Mills lay at the foot of Bloomfield street, in the North river, with steam up and all right, but she did not go out. The Patrol and the volun- teers were left to put out the fire.
 When the danger seemed greatest Second Mate James Robertson had been sent ashore in a boat. He landed in Brooklyn and found his way to the Eleventh police precinct, where at 1:5G a. m. the following message was tele- phoned across to police headquarters in New York: