The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-05-10

There was no excitement among the
saloon passengers. Most of them pack
ed their luggage and carried it from
their staterooms into the main saloon.
They gathered in the saloon and re-
mained there, and after the officers had
assured them that there was no imme-
diate danger They took matters quiet
ly.
Captain Wilder rushed on deck at
the first alarm, clad only in an under
shirt and trousers. He assumed COM
nand, and at once ordered the crew to
rescue the steerage passengers. On the
same deck with the steerage passen-
gers, on the port side of the ship, a large
quantity of cotton bagging was stored,
separated from the steerage passengers
by board partition.
"The main deck was almost complete
ly filed with freight, cutting off all exit
from the steerage to the afterpart of the
ship. The only way out from the steer
age was up the forward companion
way.
THE crew on the captains orders
rushed for the companionway and at
tempted to descend They were driven
back by dense volumes of smoke and
flames quickly followed. The smoke
and flames also came up through the
ventilators and it was apparent to all
who were on deck that below decks was
a roaring furnace.
Then it dawned on the officers and
crew that the unfortunates in the steer
age were probably burning to death
Captain Wilder saw his crew driven
back from the companionway and the
thought of the horror below made him
desperate.
"He rushed down the stairs and bold
ly attempted to go below. He did not
| get down more than a few steps when
dense clouds of smoke and the flames
| shooting up around him drove him back
| on deck.
''He stepped back to the shelter of
| the pilothouse. His face was scorched.
His eyebrows were burned away. He
stood there dazed and overcome for
moment. Then he exclaimed: My
God, no man can go through that and
come out alive
| when the steward aroused me l
| jumped up hastily and dressed. I 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. I stood and tried
to look down the hole, but the heat
and smoke were so great that I was
driven back.
Il tried to peer through the smoke
| to see if the steerage passengers We're
| running around below, and l hoped
| that we would be able to reach them in
some way. I listened for sounds but
could hear nothing save the roar of the
flames as they grew steady in volume
below and went round and round in
the narrow quarters. There was not a
scream, not a shrek, no signs of any,
thing below.
'The pouring of water down the COM
panionway and through the ventilators
| had no effect save to send up the smoke
in great puffs and cause angry spurts
of fire to dart menacingly into the faces
of the crew.
when the fire reached that portion
of the boat where the stokers were
feeding the boilers they rushed to the
deck. They clambered into the second
boat on the port side and began cutting
IL away. Il IL ~ NlotC w dlldCS w DIS dlltI
them in a moment.
Get out of that boat!' thundered
Wallace
''The stokers refused to obey, and
went on cutting away the lashings of
the boat
Come out of that boat!' re-echoed
Engineer Taylor. Then he added reach
ing for his revolver, TIL shoot the man
who cuts away the boat
"The Spaniards looked at the chief
engineer and then sullenly obeyed. Dur
ing the excitement of the first half hour
we did not know that any one had got
ten out of the steerage alive, but later
we found that eight of them had man.
aged to get out. Their hunks had been
nearest to the companionway, and they
had been awakened by the part of the
crew rushing out of the forecastle
Two walters and a cook who were
slow to rush out lost their lives. When
they tried to follow their companions
the passageway was filled with fire and
it was too late.
Between the stairs and forecastle
was the steerage and on the port side
rolls of cotton bagging was stored. In
| LlliS bu6slilS Ilie SldTleu lECHI SpOU-
taneous combustion, so the captain
thought.
1--WE were well out to sea by this
time. No lights were visible from the
shore, for We were we'll off Delaware
Breakwater. The flames gained stead
lily. They began to work aft through
the cargo on the main deck. Then
there was fresh burst of flame and
the crew was driven back. The fire
crept up through cracks about the pilot
house and then into the house itself.
The quartermaster stuck to the wheel
until the flames almost enveloped him.
Captain Wilder ordered signal lights
of distress burned. Along the rail on
the port side men were stationed to
burn the signal lights. 1t was near 3
o'clock in the morning. The men
touched off the lights that could be
seen far across the sea and would tell
any ship within the range that help
was wanted.
THE flames forward had broken
through the deck and shot upward in
the air. making a greater light than the
colored signals, but they ded not tell
the same story of distress.
I'm a very few minutes there flashed
up in the darkness far to the north an
answering signal. In little while we