Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-02-29
SACRIFICE OF LIVES.
Fourteen Lost Through Com
bination of Fire and Storm.
Steamer Queen Meets With Trouble
on Pacific Coast.
Passengers and Crew Suffer Most
Narrowing Experiences.

POr. Townsend. Wash. Feb. CS.-Af-
ter suffering the most narrowing eXpe-
riences from fire and storm that has
evcr befalien Il craft on the north Pa
:ifc coast, the steamer Queen put in
1ere to report the loss of Ii lives.
The list OF dead follows: First class
passengers: Miss Steiner. Elollum,
Wash. drowned: Mrs Adams, died
from exposure: second class pusScn-
GERS: ID. NeWbury, Texas: II. Buck
cy. botn drowned; members of the
rev: y. Nelson, j. Nelson and H.
prietas, stewards: W. II. Encman, :.
Il. SoTers, II. Douglas, \. Donnelly;
--- Raymond, engineering depart
nent; p ter Mullen and NJ. Flynn.
-ibout ,;.4J o'clock, Saturday morning.
While OFF til" mouth Of the Columbia
ivcr the Queen caught fire in her at
er saloon i'll some unexplained way.
The fire rapidly gained hcadway and
threatened soon 10 cnvelop the who.e
hip. The heavy seas running meant
leath to any who Went i'll the ifr boats.
rhc flames became more and more
threatening until, when it seemed IL
.hoiCc of deaths. Captain Cousins or
tered the lifeEoats launched. They were
manned by th2 crew and ordered to re-
nain close to the shio. Into these two
nen and children We're palced. Hardly,
loWcVeI. bad the beats been cast loose
hen. unable TO weather the 1ierce
waves. tNO of them We're CansiZed.
Tho passengers and those OF the crew
Who remained Cn bIurd continued their
.Eht against the flames with increas-
nc successes When at 1.G1 A. NJ, the
re was brought under control. when
he danger from the fire was passed
'aptain Cousins recalled the lifebOats
md the occupants were taken aboard.
The Queen WIS headed for the mouth
f the Columbia river aud about
''clocls ttc steamer Santa Montica was
lighted. The Queen siGnailed and asked
Ter to stand by until temporary repairs
'ould he made. When everything had
1een made safe the Queen continued on
o tho mouth Of tho Columbia, only t.
ind the bar WAS too rough to cross in
The distressed craft was pointed to-
ward Puget sound. but bad fortune
still pursued and when she rounded
ape %lattery she encountered Il ter
'ifc electrical storm.
With difficulty she wcathcrcd the
gale. reached mere without further
nishap ard proceeded TO Seattle whore
he arrived about IiiEhtfall.
T"! % those who lost their lives were
2l,e+i out Of tho small boats: three
1el. "aiters on the vessel, were suf-
'ocated before they COULD reach the
,Itcr air from their bunrs in the aft
ant IF the ship ard one woman died
ht"r TrDn exposure.
According to The stories told By pas
;cn-rrS ANA the crew the vessel was
IF Iiiiamool5 ;iul about 30 miles from
ana when tie fire was discovered.
Nhen Captain Cousins discovered the
'Xto:t of tho fire which cmbrac accd prac-
i":tly all the rear portion OF the vcs-
-. he Immediately ordered the life
|oats iaupchcd. -Four filed with wo-
ner and children AMI sufficient men
Q man them, ec"h containing about
;iX;c"n people, were lowered. The first
9oat caTsized almost as soon as it
ourhcd the water. All the passengers
n this were rcGcGcd ny thn other small
boats with tie exception Of Miss Stein
7. TIE second boat capsizcd while be-
'nG lowered. The crew of four men
were lost. y third boat filed about n
12if :" mile from the Queen and all but
Iour of its passengers and crew were
rescued.
'ETeTy&avaiiabie stream of "ater was
thrown into the burning cabin by the
frctT ard OF the male passengers re-
raining on heard, but it was after /
n'olock before the fire was under con-
trol.
The passengers when interviewed
later stated that everything possible
vas done by Captain Cousins Had II
not hcen necessary to send OFF the boats
not life would have been lost.
fne vessel carried over 200 passen-
gers.
Hon. Waldo Pettengill of Rumford