Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-15
TERRORS OF FIRES AT SEA.
Greatest Danger to Which Ocean
Travellers Are Exposed.

| Travellers Are Exposed.
| From the New York Tribune
| Coming UP the coast some years ago in
the good shp-on second thought it's
we'll not to give her name. which would
| enable the Tribune's readers to determine
the fleet she belongs to. and, though this
story is entirely creditabe to her captain.
known one of the ablest seamen in the
coastwise service, that might not be relish
ed by her owners, who might have business
| reasons for not advertising the dangers of
ocean navigation, to which, however. their
ships are nowise more subject than those
OF other lines-from one of the south At
lantic ports, the writer one stormy night sat
in the shippers cabin swapping yarns with
that worthy and one of the artist fraternity
with whose signature to many a well-drawn
sketch in the illustrated papers and maya
zines the public is quite familiar
The knights of the pen and pencil had,
as is their modest way. been doing most Of
the EARNING, but the ship after bit sighted
Hatteras, that chronic dsturber of old Nep-
tunes repose, and, the weather becoming
enthusiasm for their own tales of land add
venture and 10 experience a sudden and
powerful interest in those that bear upon
the perils of the deep.
This gave the skipper his inning and in
response to the artists query, Captain,
what was the tightest scrape you We're ever
;
in the telling, as the writer cannot hope to
reproduce the sailors simple yet direct and
forceful style of narrative.
Fire In the Hold.
Early one morning, when on his way north
and when his ship was still some twenty
| four hours distant from New York toward
which she was fighting her way in the teeth
Of northeaster, he was awakened with the
! alarming intelligence that the cotton was
al I'm he hnlI Nov
about cotton-no man can tell how il takes
| fire under such circumstances nor how to
put it out So the captain. after cautioning
his officers and crew not to alarm the
passengers, battened down matches closed
every crack that might let air into the hold,
turned steam into 1t and then started his
engines at full headway''-the ship had
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
compelled to sustain a cheerful mien before
| the passengers. with whom it was his Gus
tom TO mix much, and among whom he was
a prime favorite
After a while. he said, the passengers be-
gan to notice that the decks were exceed
ingy hot under foot and their berths ex-
tremely uncomfortable, while social hall
and the smoking room, in spite of open
doors, were very little better.
Il put it off on the gulf stream" he grim
ly told his auditors. Il said L 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.
Succor Delayed by Fog.
"Well. through storm and stress the good
ship fought her way up the coast, and, after
many hours of Ito the captain) indescriba-
hIa torfurp the lights ON tho JerSay coaSt
| telling that the ship drawing near
New York and safety. eventually relieved
his fears But, alas, his hopes were soon
dashed, for when he arrived a little before
sunrise he found the whole harbor envelop-
ed in a dense fog, which made navigation
next to impossible For a moment he
was daunted, 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-restrained
flames should break forth in devastating
fury, and that he would. after all Of his
heroic exhibition of courage and fortitude
be compelled to lose ship and passengers
In a moment, though. he rallied, and. as
he expressed 1t in his simple way, Il wasn't
a-going to let my passengers be burned up
without last try So, standing by the
compass, watch in hand, he, a frst-class
pilot. and knowing thoroughly his ship and
her gait. dashed ahead at full speed and
actually picked up buoy after buoy I'M
til he reached quarantine.
When the quarantine officer came aboard
the captain quietly explained to him the
state of affairs. got him to hasten his ex-
animation and then go ashore and telegraph
his owners and the fire department Racing
thence to his pier. he hustled his passen-
gers ashore-to their surprise most alb
ruptly and Observation-Disclosures then pull
ed his ship out into the stream, where the
fire tugs Immediately lay alongside and
took her in charge
He ended the graphically told story of
his terrible adventure and his vivid descrip-
ton of the fearful mental strain he had
borne for twenty hours thus: Boys 1
have been afloat without food or water for
days with nothing between me and David
Jones but f1imsy raft and with sharks all
around me. and l have tackled most of the
many kinds of hard luck that fall to the
share of the sailorman. but this scrape
took more out of the old man than all the
rest put together"