Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1898-02-10
Che ro$$ Of TIE
"Garl Of GIdou,''
ON THE 9Th of August I embarked

one OF the finest and strongest ships in
the trade, and any insurance might have
been bad on the chances of her success
fully resisting the winds and waves.
She was laden with cotton. The num-
her of individuals on board were 10, in
Guiding three ladies and an infant and
the captain and his crew. 1t unfortu-
nately happened that the cotton had
been brought on board in damp state,
not being dried at the warehouse pre-
yiously to being put On board, and it
seems not unlikely that the fire damp
may have been generated within, In the
same manner as in haystack when 1t
has been stacked damp.
On the goth Of September, after o
series of battling winds and Gains, and
heavy rain with squalls of wind, we got
into seven degrees 27 minutes south
latitude; and the trade wind appeared
to have fairly caught hold of our sails.
We began now to anticipate our arrival
at the Cape On the morning Of the
9th 1 rose early (about half past flve)
and went on deck I found one of my
fellow passengers there, and we per
ceived a steam apparently arising from
the fore hatchways. mentioned at the
time to Il that I thought It might
be caused by fire damp, and, if not I'M
mediatcly checked, might become fire.
The captain came on deck, and ! asked
him what it was; he answered steam,
and that it was common enough in cot
ton-loaded ships when the matches were
opened. I said nothing, but the smoke
becoming more dense and beginning to
assume different color, I began to
think that all was not right, and also
that he had some idea Of the kind, as
saw the carpenter cutting holes in tho
deck Just above the place whence the
smoke appeared to come.
went down to dress, and about half
East six the captain knocked at my door
and told me that part of the cotton was
On fire. and he wished to see all the gen
tlemen passengers on deck. We accord-
inoly assembled, and he then stated the
case to be this: That some part Of the
cargo appeared to have spontaneously
irnited, and that he purposed removing
the bales until they should discover the
icnited ones and lave them thrown
overheard. as well as those which ap-
peared to be in the same damaged con-
dition; and that it being necessary, in
his opinion, to do this, he deemed it his
duty to lay the case before us. We Of
course submitted everything to his
Underwent, and he ordered the hands TO-
breakfast as quickly as possible, and TO
work TO discover the source of the lire.
After breakfast he said there did not
appear to be any immediate danger.
However, about eight o'clock the
smoke became much thicker and began
TO roll through the after hatchway'
the draurht having been admitted for
ward in order 10 enable the men TO
work. Several bales were removed, but
the heat began to be intolerable below,
and the smoke rolled out in suffocating
! volumes: and before nine o'clock we dis
covered that part Of the deck had caught
fire which obliged the men 10 discon-
tinue their labors. The captain then
ordered the matches to be battencd
down. with view to keep the fire from
bursting out, and to hoist out all the
boats and stock them In case Of ne
cessitv. This was done, and about half
past one the three ladies, two sick pas
sercers. an infant and female servant
were put in the longboat, with PIG gal
Ions of water, 20 gallons of brandy and
biscuit for q months consumption, to-
cether with such pots of jam and pre-
served meats as we could get at, and the
DAVIS provision of fresh and sailed meat.
Ii was now about two o'clock; the
matches were then opened ard all hands
set TO work TO endeavor 10 eXtinguish
the fire. The main hatchway being
lifted and a tarpaulin removed, there
was a sail underneath which was so
hot that the men could hardly remove
1t. When they did the heat and smoke
came up worse than ever, and it being
now known from inspection that the
fire was underneath that part, orders
were given to hoist out the uppermost
bales in order to get at those that were
burning underneath. But when the
men laid hold Of the lashings 10 intro
duce a crane-hool they were found to
have been burned through beneath and
came away in their hands. The case
now appeared bad indeed. However, we
cut bale open aud tried to remove it
by handfuls, but the smoke and heat
became so overpowering that no man
could stand over it, and water in the
quantities we dared to use it only
seemed to increase it, for had the cap
tain ventured to pump water into the
ship sufficient to eXtinguish the fire
the bales would have swelled so much
as to burst open the deck.
Under these circumstances, perceiv-
Ing the case to be utterly hopeless, the
captain called us together on the poop
and asked if anyone could propose any
expedient likely to avail in extinguish-
Ing the fire and saving the ship. As in
that case, said he, we will stick by her
while a hope remains. It was unani-
mously agreed that all had been done
that could be done; the men had been
most arduous in their eXertons, but
one and all seemed positively decided
that the case was hopeless, The heat
was increasing so much that it became
dangerous to leave the poop; the cap
tain therefore requested the gentlemen
to get into the boats; next he embarked
his men, and at three o'clock he himself
left the ship, the last man who did so,
Just as the flames were bursting
through the quarter deck. We then put
off the two boats, towing the longboat
The progress of the ship had been pre-
viously stopped by backing her wards,
and when we were about q mile from
her she was in one blaze and her masts
began to fall in. Between eight and
nine o'clock all her masts had fallen
in and she had burned to the waters
edge; suddenly there was bright flash