Evening star., 1900-07-07
FIRE ON BOARD SHIP.

'That dreadful fire on the Hoboken docks
that destroyed the steamers Of the Bremen
line and cost so many lives the other day
recalled vividly to my mind an experience
which my husband and / had on an ocean
steamer with a burning cargo about a
dozen years ago." said well-known Wash
ington woman who makes frequent trips
across the Atlantic. Neither my husband
nor myself was ever particularly fond Of
the flying ocean greyhounds,' that race
across the Atlantic. and we always take
vessels that are not in such hurry to get
there deeming that sort of ocean travel
more safe. We left New York one spring
afternoon in 1888 on a steamer that was
known as a 'twelve-day boat bound for
Liverpool. Even at that time there were
numerous liners that made the passage to
Liverpool in a trihe over six days but
there was a lot of comment in the news
papers at that period over the racing
methods pursued by these swift ships of
rival lines, and We didn't elect to take
chances on that sort Of ocean voyaging.
This steamer on which we embarked was
a huge vessel, that logged along at the
average rate OF about thirteen knots an
hour. Her cargo consisted almost entirely
of cotton.
I'VE left the dock about an hour after
noon. with beautiful weather, and every
prospect of a fine voyage. Along toward
q " SioSh ulSHt, W ueu we were lar OUT at
sea, 1 noticed a queer smell as of some
thing being overlooked that penetrated the
ladies' saloon, where l was sitting read
Ing. l wondered a good deal over this.
couldn't see any smoke, and 1 knew that
the steamers galley was far removed from
the ladies' saloon, yet the smell that 1 no.
ticed was decidedly like that old familiar
household odor of something overlooked
ana forgotten in the oven. l spoke OF the
smell to two or three ladies' sitting close to
me, and they told me that they had no.
ticed 1t for some time.
1T seems quite natural and .lomelke
to me, seeing that I have one Of the most
careless cooks in the world said one of the
ladies, smiling complacently, but L wasn't
comp!acent about it at all, especially as,
upon going to the door leading into the
ladies' saloon, 1 saw a lot of scurrying
about on deck the part of the deck
hands The men were uncoiling the hose
and Numbering the fire apparatus of the
steamer as quietly as possible, so as not
TO attract the attention of the passengers,
and / believe I was the only woman on
Doard VINO became aware from the time
the queer smell first spread over the
steamer that something was wrong-for
mad made many previous cruises, and
stories OF burning cargoes in midsea had
become familiar to me, but none the less
frlShtful because familiar. I saw that all
of the other ladies who had not retired
were perfectly at their ease and unsus-
picious, although many of them were WON
dering over the origin of the queer smell,
although 1 certainly was anxious for my
husband to make his appearance from the
mems lounging room. While l was wait
ing for him 1 heard the bell signals for
the engines to slacken up. The steamer
didn't come to a full stop, but she was
turned completely about and headed back
TO- New York. number of the ladies
noticed this, and asked me, as the old
Sallorman' present, what it indicated.
told them that the vessel was simply
changing her course as to take the
northern passage. or something else of that
sort and then sent one of the stewards
whose face / noticed was white and drawn
for my husband. telling the steward that
l would be found in our cabin. My hus-
band came In. smoking cigar and try
ing to look jaunty, few moments later
but l knew as soon as 1 looked at him
that my suspicious were we'll grounded
and that the steamers cargo on fire
When WIS the fire discovered 1 asked
him. and is there any danger that we won't
be able to make New York;
He tried to tell me that l was dream
ing. but when he saw that l knew he told
me that the fire was among the bales Of
cotton: that it had been discovered about
an hour before: that an investigation had
convinced the officers of the imperative
necessity of getting back to port, and that
forced drau2ht had becn Put on and the
ship would be back in the North river in
few hours.
IL am not naturally nervous, but I don't
believe l ever put in such queer SIX hours
as those which followed. My husband and
L remained In our cabin, into which that
queer smell had penetrated strongly long
before midnight and We could hear the In-
usual humping of the engines as the steam
er plOughed through the water under forced
draEGht. AT O'Clock in the morning we
went out on deck. to find everything quiet
The ladies had all retired. Most of the men
passengers knew about the fire in the hold
ard many of them were scattered in little
groups on the deck. talking about the fire
In low tones, but there was no excitement
whatever. AT 3 o'clock tho lights Of the
Brooklyn bridge came into view, and by
tEat time the smoke was pouring out Of
the battened down hatciles. Then the
stewards were sent arouad to all the pas
sengcrs' cabins to summon them on deck,
and the captain of the ship. a big bearded,
low-voiced Englishman quietly announced
that an unforeseen occurrence had made 1t
necessary for the steamer to return to her
pier. and notified us that it would be ncces-
sary for US to debark. BY o'clock we
We're standing on the pier, watching four
tugboats pulling the great steamer we had
Just deserted out to midStream. Then all
of the fire tugs in New York got around
the lcviathan, the matches were ripped open
and the vessel was gutted. The baggage
compartment was not damaged, but many
thousands of bales of cotton We're destroyed
by the flames and the water, and it was six
months before that vessel made another
voyage. / never see an item about the
cotton crop in newspaper nowadays that
| don't think OF those thousands of bales
OF Smoidering cotton thai threatened us for
many hours on that weird night"
QUIET DETECTIVE WORK.