The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-05-13

to 90 below. He did not get down more
than half a dozen steps when the in
| creasing clouds of smoke and the flames
| shooting up around him drove him back,
| HE stepped back 10 the shelter of the
pilot house. His face was scorched and
| his eyebrows were burned away. He
stood there dazed and overcome for n
| moment. then he exclaimed: My God,
| no man can go through that and come
out aliycv
when the steward aroused me /
| iumped up hastily and dressed. / then
ran forward to see how extensive the fire
Twas. The captain was just coming out
of the cOmpanOnway, after his fruitless
effort to go below. ! stood by and
tried TO look down the hole, but the
heat and smoke were so great that | was
driven back.
"When / looked down into that hor-
rible hole the thought came over me- like
it had over the captain and crew, that
there were helpless people down below
who were probably burning to death.
II tried to peer through the smoke to
see if the Storage passengers were run
ming around below, and hoped we
would be able to reach them in some
way.
~ listened for sounds. but could hear
nothing save the roar Of the flames as
they grew steadily in volume below and
rolled round and round in the narrow
quarters There was not Il scream, not
Il groan and no signs of life below.
"On deck there was only the hOarse
shouting of the captain and the hurry and
hustle of the crew as they rushed about
laying lines Of hose and pouring streams
of water down the companionways and
through the open ventilators.
n,I al; ,h ,t,;nI l,In mi from,
the south, and that carried the volumes
of smoke aft over the full length of the
ship and enveloped her in a shroud Of
choking black until the captain gave or
ders to change the course completely, 50
the smoke would be blowing over the
bow. The speed Of the ship was first
slackened, then the order was given to
keep up bare Storage way.
II stood in the lee of the pilot house,
watching the officers and crew making
futile efforts to reach the Storage. The
horror of the situation was paralyzing
1t seemed as though the men and women
whom | had seen go into the steerage the
day before were being cremated beneath
my feet.
"rhe deck was getting blistering hot.
The flames began creeping higher and
higher, through every outlet from be-
meath the deck. The pouring of water
down the c0mpaniOnway and through
the ventilatOrs had no effect save to send
up the smoke in great puffs and cause
angry spurts of fire to glare menacingly
into the faces of the crew.
"When the news of the fire reached the
forward part of the ship, where the
stokers were feeding the boilers, they de-
serted their posts and ran to the deck,
eighteen of them in all. They Chamber
ed into the second boat on the port side
and began cutting it away. First Of
ficer Wallace and Chief Engineer Taylor
were after them in Il moment.
Get out of that boat" Numbered Wal
lace. The stokers refused to obey, and
went on cutting away the lashings of
the boat.
"'Come out of that boat roared Tay-
lor. Then he added, reaching his hand
for revolver: Il will shoot the man
who cuts away the boat
"The Spanards looked at the chief en-
gincer and then sullcnly obeyed.
Eight of the stecrage passengers es-
capped.
"The fire burst up through the cracks
about the pilot house, and then into the
house itself The quartermaster stuck
to the wheel until the flames almost en-
vcloped him. Capt. Wilder ordered sig
nal lights of distress burned, and in n
very few minutes there flashed up in the
far to the north an answering
signal 1t came from the City of Au-
gusta, of the Savannah line, which came
alongside about daybreak.
"In the meanwhile the deck forward of
the pilot house was burned away, lcav-
ing the cross beams bare and red hot"