The Scranton chronicle. (Scranton, Miss.) 1897-19??, 1900-11-17
TERRoRs OF FIRES AT SEA.
One OF the Greatest Dangers 60 which
ocean Travellers Are
Exposed.

ago from one Of the south Atlantic
ports, the writer one stormy night
sat in the skipper's cabin swapping
yarns with that worthy and one of
the artist fraternity with whose sig
nature TO many well-drawn sketch
in the Illustrated papers and maya.
zines the public is quite familiar. says
the New York Tribune.
The knights of the pen and pencil
| had. as is their modest way, been
doing most of the yarniug, but the
chip after a bit sighted nattcras.
that chronic disturber Of old Ncp-
tunes repose. and. the weather he
coming more boisterous, they began
TO lose their enthusiasm for their own
tales of land adventure and to experi-
enee a sudden and powerful interest
in those that bear upon the perils of
the deep.
This gave the skipper his inning.
and in response 10 the artists query;
Captain, what was the tightest
scrape you were ever in?" he spun
this yarn. It's bound TO lose in the
telling, as the writer cannot hope to
reproduce the sailors simple yet di-
rect and forceful style of narrative.
Early one morning. when on his
way north and when his ship was
still some "a hours distant from New
York. toward which she was fight
ing her way In the teeth OF north
easter. he wns awakened with the
alarming intelligence that the cot
ton was afire in the hold. Now. there
are two things about cotton-no man
can tell how IL takes fire under such
circumstances nor how to put IL out.
So the captain. after cautioning his
officers and crew not to alarm the
passengers, battened down hatches
closed every crack that might let air
into the hold, turned steam into IL
and then started his engines ut "full
headway"- ship hnd been slowed
down to nine knots on account OF
the heavy seas-hoping TO keep the
fire under control until he could make
New York and could get aid from the
harbor fire service.
All that weary day and night he
suffered he said. the agonies of the
damned, not knowing when the flame
might burst forth and destroy his
ship and being all the time com
PEELED 10 sustain a cheerful mien be-
fore the passengers, with whom It was
his custom to mix much, and among
whom he was a prime fayorite.
After awhile, he said. the passen-
| r.aru h.oan 10 natf9a lint Tho 1arts 4
were exceedingly hot under foot and
their berths extremely uncomfort-
able, while social hall" and the smok.
ing room, in spite OF open doors, were
very little better.
~ put IL off on the gulf stream
he grimly told his auditors. II said
/ reckoned they must be having an
unusually hot spell down in the gulf
and that the mighty stream was
fetching it along and New York would
soon get her turn"
Well, through storm and stress the
good ship fought her way up the
coast, and, after many hours Of (to
the captain) indescribable torture, the
lights on the Jersey coast, telling that
the ship was drawing near New York
and safety, eventually relieved his
fears. But, alas, his hopes were soon
dashed, for when he arrived little
before sunrise he found the whole
barbor envcloped in dense fog
which made navigation aext TO impos-
siblc. For moment he was daunt.
ed, fearing he could not find his way
through the tortuous channels OF this
port at sufficient speed TO bring him
In reach OF succor before the long-re-
strained flames should break forth
in devastating fury, and that he
would, after all OF his heroic exhibit
| tion of courage and fortitude, be com.
PEELED to lose ship and passengers.
In a moment, though, he rallied
and, as he expressed IL in his simple
way, II wasn't a-going TO let my pas
sengers be burned up without last
try" So standing by the compass
watch in hand, he, first-class pilot
and knowing thoroughly his ship aEs
her gait, dashed ahead at full speed
and actually "picked up" buoy aftel
buoy until he reached quarantine.
When the quarantine officer cam,
aboard the captain quietly explained
to him the state of affairs, got hin
to hasten his examination and thei
go ashore and telegraph his owner
and the fire department. Racinl
thence to his piev, he hustled hi
passengers ashore-to their surprise
most abruptly and unceremonionsl
and then pulled his ship out int
the stream, where the fire tugs i'm
mediately lay alongside and took he
in charge.
lie ended the graphically told stor
OF his terrible adventure and his viyi
! description OF the fearful menta
! strain he had borne for twenty-od
hours thus: "Boys, have been afioa
without food or water for days, wit
nothing between me and David Jole
I but fiimsy raft and with sharks al
: around me, and ] have tackled mos
' of the many kinds of hard luck tia
] fall to the share of the sailormnn
e but this scrape took more out OF th'
old man than all the rest put TO
gether."
All the comfopfs of Home.