The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-10


realization of the horror below made
him desperate He rushed to the stairs
and boldly attempted to go below He
did not get down more than half a
dozen steps when the increasing clouds
of smoke and flames shooting UP
around him drove him back on deck.
He stepped back to the shelter of the
pilot house. His face was scorched.
His eyebrows were burned off. He
stood there dazed and overcome for a
moment, then he exclaimed, My God.
no man can go through that and come
out aliyei
When the steward aroused me 1
jumped w hastily and dressed. / ran
forward TO see how extensive the fire
was. The captain was just coming out
of the companionway, after his fruitless
effort to go below. stood by and tried
to, look down the hole. but the heat and
back.
BURNING TO DEATH.
when l looked into the horrible 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.
Il tried to peer through the smoke to
see if the 'steerage passengers We're
running around below, and / hoped
that we would be able to reach them in
some way.
I listened for sounds, but could hear
nothing save the rear OF the flames,
as they grew steadily in volume below
and rolled round and round in the mar
row quarters. There was not a scream
nor shrek; no signs of life below.
'On deck there was, only the hoarse
shouts 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 tine companion
way and through the open ventilators
Only a slight wind was blowing from
the southwark that carried the volumes
of smoke the full length of the ship
and enveloped her in shroud of chok
ing black until the captain gave or
ders to change the course completely
so that the smoke would be blown over
the bow. The speed of the ship was
first slackened, then the order was
given to keep up bare Steerage way.
II stood in the lee of the pilot house
watching the officers and. crew making
futile efforts to reac1 the steerage.
The horror of the situation was at
first paralyzing. 1T seemed as though
the men and women / had seen go into
the steerage the day before were being
cremated beneath my feet
The deck was getting blistering hot.
1Hc ndIlcS DcSdH DlSHSI anu
higher, through every outlet from be-
meath the deck. The pouring of water
down the companionway and the ven
tilators had no effect save to send up
the smoke in great puffs and cause
angry spurts of fire 10 dart menacingly
into the faces of the crew.
STOKERS DESERTED.
when the news Of the fire reached
the lower depths of the ship, where
the stokers were feeding the boilers.
they deserted their posts and rushed
TO the deck, IS of them in all. They
clambored into the second boat on the
port side and began cutting it away.
First officer Wallace and Chief En-
gineer Taylor were after them in a
moment.
Get out of that boat Numbered
Wallace.
The stokers refused to obey and
went on cutting away the lashings of
the boat.
Come out of that beat re-echoed
Taylor. Then he Eashed forward,
reaching with his hand for his re-
volver. I will shoot the man who
cuts away the boatl'
''fhe SDaniards locked at the chief
engineer and then sullenly obeved.
EIGHT ESCAPE.
During the excitement of the first
hour we did not know that anyone had
gotten out Of the steerage alive. but
later we found in the cabin that eight
of them had managed to get out. Their
hunks had been nearest to the COM
panionway, and they had been awak-
ened by the crew rushing out of the
forecaStle. The fire crept up through
cracks about the pilot house and then
into fhp hOuSp itself The QuartermaS-
ter stuck to the wheel until the flames
almost enveloped him. Captain Wilder
ordered signal lights of distress burned
and in a very few minutes there flashed
upon the darkness to the north an an
swering signal. 1t came from the City
of Augusta of the Savannah line. which
came alongside about daybreak.
In the meantime the deck forward of
the pilot house was burned away, leav-
ing the iron cross beams bare and red
hot The iron plating of the ships side
glOwed red-hot.
THE passengers were all transferred
to the City of Augusta in safety. and
the work Of fighting the fire was con-
tinued. About 9 o'clock in the morning
the flames were under control and the
steamer out of danger. The passengers
were sent back to the Leona, and the
City of Augusta continued on her way
to Savannah. The Leona put about
and returned to port under her own
steam
The Leona is a schoener-rigged, steel
screw steamer of 1929 tons gross and
3. 331 tons net register. She was built in
1889 at Chester, Pa. Her dimensions
are: Length. 314 feet; breadth, 49,
feet and depth of hold 20.3 feet. She
has three decks and six bulkheads. She