Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-02-29
SHIP ON FIRE AT SEA
Steamer Queens Most Har-
rowing Experience.
FOURTEEN LIVES WERE SACRIFICED
on Mouth of Columbia River, In a
Heavy storm, Fire Started In sa-
lOOn-LifebOats Capsize and
Passengers Drown.

PORT TOWNSEND, Wash, Feb. 20.
After suffering the most narrowing
experiences from fire and storm that
has ever befallen a craft on the north
Pacific coast the steamer Queen has
put in here to report the loss Of four
teen lives.
The list of dead follows: First class
Wash, drowned; Mrs. Adams, died
from exposure. Second class passengers
ID. Newsbury of Texas; H. Buckley,
both drowned. Members of the crew
A. Nielsen, j. Nielsen and H. Preitas,
stewards; T. II. Eneman, NJ. Somers,
H. Douglass, A. Donnelly and -
Raymond, engineering department; Pc.
ter Mullin and M. Flynn.
While off the mouth of the Columbia
river the Queen caught fire in her after
saloon in some unexplained way. The
fire rapidly gained Roadway and threat
ened soon to envelop the whole ship.
Ten of those who lost their lives were
spilled out of the small boats. Three
men, walters on the vessel, were suffo-
Gated before they could reach the outer
air from their hunks in the after part
of the ship, and one woman died from
exposure.
According to the stories told by pas
sengers and the crew, the vessel was
off Tillamook and about thirty miles
from land at 3:45 a. M, when the fire
was discovered. There was q heavy
sea on, and the ship was pitching
badly.
When smoke was discovered coming
out of the saloon on the after main
deck Of the vessel, the crew was imme-
diately hurried out, and the small boats
were manned, while the stewards went
from cabin to cabin waking up the pas.
sengers.
When Captain Cousins discovered the
extent Of the fire, which embraced prac.
tically all the rear portion of the yes
sci, he Immediately ordered the life
boats launched.
-Four, filled with women and children
and sufficient men to man them, were
dropped over from the windward side
of the vessel, each containing about
sixteen people.
The first boat capsized almost as soon /
as it touched the water by getting I'M /
the stern of the ship. All the pas.
sengers In this were rescued by the 9th 4
err small boats, with the exception OF \
Miss Steiner, a first class passenger, |
who was drawn under the sAi, when |
the boat capsized.
The second boat capsized while being
lowered. There were no passengers in
it at the time, but the crew of four
were spilled out and lost.
A third boat filed about half a mile |
from the Queen, and all but four of its |
passengers and crew were rescued by |
the other small craft in the vicinity.
The passengers and those of the crew
who remained on board continued their |
fight against the flames with increasing
success until at TAO in the morning
the fire was brought under control. |
When 1t was thought the danger from
was past Captain Cousins recalled
hfeboats, and the occupants were
taken aboard.
The Queen was headed for the mouth
Of the Columbia river, and about 8
the steamer Santa Monica was
The Queen signaled and asked
her to stand by until temporary repairs
could be made. When everything had
been made safe the Queen continued
IN to the mouth of the Columbia only
to find the bar was too rough to cross
1t. The distressed craft was pointed
Puget sound, but bad fortune
still pursued her, and when she round
ed Cape Flattery she encountered a
electrical storm. With difficult
ty she w~eathered the gale, reached here
without further mishap and proceeded
Seattle, where she arrived about