The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-06-10

. TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 1902.
as there was a chance of saving ship
and cargo the captain must stay at his
post and the crew to their duties.
Hatches were hattened down with
double tarpaulins on top i'm an attempt
to smother the fire and from then on the
watch was an anxious one.
GASES EXPLODE.
At five bells the next morning. on the
tWenty-ninth, i'm the first mates watch
with the third mate and the men of the
watch just after the half after two bells
had sounded, the imprisoned gases be-
loW.burst with a roar through the after,
o. No. hatch and a sheet of flame
leaped as high as the jigger topmast
The giant tongue of flame blazed ana
then subsidized leaving only few
strands of OminOuS smoke curling up
from below. Fire broke out i'm the miz-
zen top but the demonstration sub
sided as suddenly as fl had come a
warning not to be derided. The hatch
torn from its lashings disappeared rent
INTO fragments, destroyed i'm the breath
of the fire
After the outbreak young Gibbons
was ordered down below and came up
sick with the poisonous gases and with
out being able to locate the fire The
captain, who had just turned i'm after
watching all the previous day and more
than half the night, ordered the boats
provisioned i'm case of immediate de-
sertton being necessary. Everything
was got i'm readiness. All indications
pointed to the fire being towards the
bottom of the cargo as with the ship
Roanoke, that recently put into this
port with fire aboard. 1t was impos-
sible to get at the fire and the moment
when abandonment would be imminent
stared the captain and crew in the
face.
IAN day long" says third mate Glib
bons, the smoke got denser while
choking fumes Crept out of the hold
growing hotter every minute. In the
afternoon smoke was coming from the
after hatch and ii was almost impoSSi-
bic to go aft The boats were provi-
stoned for four weeks and at four
o'clock we got ready to take to them.
The men brought up what shifts of
clothes they could take with them in
the boat and they We're apportiOned off
to their various boats. The first mate
wanted me to go with him but [ had
had a taste of his quality when he tried
to throw me overheard during the voy-
age and l went with my father.
The BEST BOAT.
The Captain gave the mate the best
lifeboat, one that he had had fitted up
yacht style at Sausalito, where he won
from all the other ships gigs in races,
and he took extra sails. a seXtant, chrO-
nOmeter and charts besides father Civ
ing him the course. The second mate
took the dingy, and the ,boatswain was
in charge of the gig. 1t was arranged
that we should all keep together the
first mate particularly to look after the
gig and the captain after the dinghey.
The captains boat was lowered from
the falls and was found To be leaking
badly. | and a hand tried To bale her
out but the water came in faster than
We could handle it and we had To- haul
her up to the davits again, caulk her
and put makeshift canvas patch over
the worst place. All the time the gas
and smoke was getting worse and the
men who worked on repairing her were
sick for quite a while from the effects
of it," Young Gibbons. a LuudOner
born and bred tells his tale i'm clean
parlance, speaking with educated ease
ana never contradicting himself.
The description supplied by second
mate Miles, shows the ship close TO dusk
"bowsing' the seas. Rain squalls made
the Pacific gray and cherries. the
W lltFl W bS lbGlltu anu NilF ''ul ~ SCI
N.N.E. The bark was barely making q
knot an hour. just holding her own un.
der three lower topsails and the jiggel
topmast staysail. Lazy torpid smoke
came slowly but steadily from the after
matches and foated reluctantly to lee
ward. The scene was a dismal setting
to the departure. There was no wild
panic, no leaping flames but dreary
voyage ahead and their floating home
to be left behind. The sea chests OF
the men were still aboard with mos
of their possessions The officers We're
forced to leave all their bulky belong
ings while Captain Gibbons. last tC
leave the ship, saw the bark that ter
years ago in Liverpool he had watched
building in the yards, helping to super
intend its construction, left with tbs
barest chance of salvage after he haC
walked her deck proudly as master
since her launching.
1T was soon dusk" to continue tn,
story of the mates, and in couple o
hours after leaving the ship had los
sight of her and were making our wa!
towards Honolulu. In the captains
boat were besides myself, (Archie Glib
bOns) Thomas Miles, second mate
Jones the bo-sun, Munday the steward
Barrows, Farley, Pearson, Morris JOne
Ed Sullivan, Peter Green and tWt
| others. Miles and three of the men w
were forced to rescue from the dinghe.
which swamped two hours after W.
started"
I'VE had a big water tank on board,
explained second mate Miles, and tn
boat was unmanageable. She had som
provisions on board and worse still
some hundred or so good cigars whicl
would have come in very handy"
THE FIRST MATE.