New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-06-20
TELLS OF START OF FIRE.
Porter Gi0es Story for First Time
Hose BurSt-DefcndS Crezo.

When James Corcoran. second mate OF the
General Sloeum telling his story 10 Cor
oner Berry Friday he mentioned seeing
colored porte-. looking scared come running
from the hold just before the fire alarm was
sounded This porter. Walter Payne. of No. 75S
Greenwich-st. who is under subpoena to appear
before the fire marshal in his investigation and
the steamer inspectors in theirs. told his story
TO a Tribune reporter yesterday.
Before the general alarm was given. he said
he and Flanagan. the first mate, heard a deck
hand call that something wrong down In
the hold. for smoke was creeping forth. The
Slocum then had just entered Hell Gate Elan
agan looked down into the hold. and then ran
back to give alarm and get out the hose
Payne went down and opened the door into the
hold. Such burst of fame belched forth. he
said. that he almost caught in il. The in
side of the mold a roaring furnace. The
hair singed from his arms and he barely
protected his face Turning, he ran on deck
where he helped with the hose until It burst
Nobody viii ever know how the fire started
until the Judgment Day. he says. The hold
kind of general storeroom. far up under the
bows. In IL kept three barrels of oil-one
of cylinder oil and one of machine oil for the
engineer. and one of sperm oil for the lamps
Everybody had access 10 the hold Payne says
He went there every day to fill the lampP This
On w euLeSaay ne nad nhlSneC before the SlO-
cum rounded the Battery. The engineer and
the oiler went there and walters went there for
bottles. There fresh lot OF walters on
board last Wednesday. 1t was dark Ia the hold
making IT necessary TO carry a lamp,
Il UP deck by the forward stairway"
said Payne. an intelligent mulatto when a
deck hand came running up TO the mate and said
that something wrong in the hold-snoke
coming out. The mate looked down and
came back the jump 10 give the alarm and
get out the hose. l ran down and opened the
door Into the hold. A big pun Of fire came out
at me, and had 10 duck under II 10 get back on
deck ran back and helped get out the hose
II was new. There were four lengths OF it
two hundred feet long-bought some time about
the middle OF May. I think
we got a line attached TO the big pump. but
II was too long. and got kind Of kinked UP and
rolled around on the deck. Then the great big
pump got TO working. and just forced the water
through fast it tore the hose apart at the
joint where IL fastened on the puu1p
Jumped up there to see If l could fasten II back
but ii was torn. Then I tried TO shut off the
water, but the mate came and did that.
i didn't see the chief engineer. The assist
ant was down az the engine. We stayed fight
Ing the fire till the deck fell I'm. The life pre-
servers were all right. / pulled down ii lot Of
them The boats were all right. too, guess. They
launched one don't know what happened to
it They're saying lots of things about Il coward
crew and want 10 know why II was nobody I'm
the crew got drowned the porter said fndig-
nantly, but every man there worked as hard
as ne could. That boat went up in five min
utes. Poof! Just like a powder keg. ] don't
believe there was any explosion at first. There
was when the oil GOT afire all right. ! can't saw
Tow IL started; don't believe any one else can.