The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-02-29
Steamer Queen Has Terrible Experience Off the South
 Pacific Coast FOURTEEN LIVES LOST
 DURING THE STRUGGLE Vessel Takes Fire During Heavy Storm at Sea and Fight Against Both
 Dangers Proves Too
 Much.

I
 Port Townsend, Wash, February B. After suffering the most narrowing ex- perience from fire and storm that has ever befallen a craft on the North Pa- cific coast, the steamer Queen today put l In here to report the loss of fourteen l lives.
 1 The dead follow:
 1 First-class passengers:
 Miss Steiner Clallum. Washington, drowned.
 Mrs. Adams, died of exposure. l Second-class passengers: | D. Newbury of Texas. 1 H. Buckley drowned. | Members of the crew: A. Nicolson. J. Nicholson and P. Frei-
 tas, stewards.
 1 w H. Eneman, M. Somers. H. Douglas. A. Donnelly. =. Raymond.
 Engineering department: l Peter Mullin, M. Flinn 1 About 3:45 a. m. Saturday while off the | mouth of the Columbia river the Queen l caught fire in her aft saloon in some un- explained way With indescribable swift ness the fire gained headway, and threat
 ened soon to envelope the whole ship.
 To add to the horror the heavy seas run
 ming meant death to any sent away in 1 life boats.
 More and More Threatening.
 The flames became more and more
 threatening until when It seemed choice 1 of deaths Captain Cousins ordered the l life boats launched They were manned by the crew and ordered to remain close to the ship. Into these the women and 1 children were placed. Hardly, however, had the boats been cast loose than, una ble to weather the fierce waves, two of them were capsized.
 The passengers and those of the crew who remained on board continued their fight against the flames with increasing success until at TAO a m. the fire was brought under control.
 When it was thought the danger from fire was past, Captain Cousins recalled the lifeboats and the occupants were taken aboard.
 Santa Monica Sighted. The Queen was headed for the mouth Of the Columbia river and about o'clock the Santa Monica was sighted. The l Queen signalled and asked her to stand by until temporary repairs could be made. When everything had been made safe, the Queen continued on the mouth of the Columbia, only to find the bar was too rough to cross in.
 The distressed craft was pointed to- ward Puget Sound, but bad fortune still pursued her and when she rounded Cape i Flattery she encountered a terrific elec- trical storm. With difficulty she wealth. cred the gale and arrived here without further mishap, and proceeded to Seat tie. where she arrived about night fall.
 Several Are Suffocated. Ten of those who lost their lives were 1 spilled out of the small boats three men | walters the vessel were suffocated be- I fore they could reach the outer air from their hunks in the after part of the ship and one woman died later from exposure. 1 According to the stories told by pas sengers and the crew the vessel was off Tilamook and about thirty miles from | land and when the fire was discovered l There was heavy sea on and the snip | was pitching badly. When smoke was dis covered coming out of the social hall on the after main deck of the vessel, the crew was immediately hurried out and l the small boats manned, while the stew ards went from cabin to cabin waking up | passengers.
 l There was no disorder either among the crew or passengers When Captain Cousins discovered the extent of the fire which embraced practically all the rear portion of the vessel he immediately or- i dered the life boats launched Four filled with women and children and sufficient men to man them were dropped over the winward side of the vessel, each contain ing about thirty people. First Boat capsized. The first boat capsized as soon as it l reached the water by going under the stern of the ship. All the passengers in this were rescued by the other small boats with the exception of Miss Steiner. first-class passenger. who was drawn under the ship when the boat capsized The second boat capsized when being lowered. There were no passengers in it at the time, but the crew of four men were spilled out and lost. A third boat filled about half mile from the Queen and all but four of its passengers and crew were rescued by the other small craft The life boats that were f1oated safely and two rafts that were thrown over to pick up any who might be thrown in the water remained in the vicinity of the vessel. and within view of 1t while the fire was being fought by the crew and those among the passengers that remained on board. Water Thrown Into Cabin. Every available stream of water was thrown into the burning cabin. Every man kept his head and works6 hard to subdue the flames. Despite their efforts, however, 1t was after o'clock before the fire was under control and the signal given to the small boats to return to the vessel Were 1t not for the fact that the captain, crew and passengers behaved with the utmost coolness, the vessel would have been destroyed and the loss 1 of life enormous The vessel carried more than two