The Minneapolis journal., 1906-07-08
THE BURNING OF THE
VEGA IN MID-OCEAN
Minneapolis Traveller Writes of the Destruction of
Ship at Seattle Doomed Vessel Was Left
to Its Fate by One Naughty Liner. '-

~ E-CHUNG! ke-chung! ke-chung!
~ IN berth. When one has once &C
quired the art of sleeping on an ocean
liner, nothing short of the persistency
Of the bath steward can awaken HIM.
was the meaning Of this reversing of
the engines7 We're we agrounds
"Wake up, man, look out the port,
hole. See, there's a ship on fire.! y
My halfdressed roommate shook me
into my senses. With a spring was
at the little window and what a sight,
when one is accustomed to nothing but
the vast expanse of sea. just few
yards off,, a bark was. tossing. On the
waves, blazing, smoking, filing th'
early morning light with glare and
pail of mysticism. What a theme TO
a Turner! l pulled on my trousers
My roommate had already gone OF
deck Two lifeboats were pulling tc
wards us. filed with the burning ship
crew.
1t was a funny-looking crowd that
I found on deck. The Bohemian was
the name of our ship. For the first
time I realized the appropriateness Of
the appellation. Such variegated as
sembly of bathrobes and dressing
gowns [ never have seen before. A
robe of blue roses, with pink paiamas,
oSAASS%oAAS
bath slippers, and a crown OF auburn
whiskers and hair-voila! Everybody
was chattering, questioning, answering,
bobbing about in excitement. All of
the types were present that we had
grown fond of in our voyage COM
panionship. The lean Britisher was
there, his te-canvased feet turned
out at an angle of $50 degrees, and his
auburn burnsides working oilily as he
poured forth a volume of explanation
to an admiring coterie.
"Just fancy, now.' he was saying,
"we have all been awakened so beastly
early and for a bit of a fire. 1t is
a trife awkward, really.'
A few people were dressed properly.
His grace, the earl Of Dunmore, wore
the same baggy suit Of gray tweed,
greenland d-white topcoat, brown-and-
green cap and ,red-and-blue necktie
which he had worn every day on board.
The earl is genial fellow, gray
haired, white bearded, with one eye al
twinkle in the other. He is a big
democratic specimen. Of the mold of
King Edward, and himself descended
from a line of kings of the Isle OF
Man. He and his wife, the duchess OF
= Dunmore, are just returning from the
recent Christian Science convention OF
Boston. Her grace is refined and
4AaSIl SlOC1ly 1uNy, paul
at the dinner table, but she made a
very inconspicuous figure as she sat
huddled in a steamer chair, into which
she had been hastily bundled by hel
maid
The bride and bridegroom were on
deck, too. No steamer is complete with.
out them. Then there were the usual
number of tourists who travel in par.
ties, and they all looked very much
alike--clergyluon. schnolma ms ct al
in the disguise Of coats and steamer
rugs. Noisier, and I think keener thar
the rest, was a jolly group from Min
neapolis. We were agog over the scene
before US.
e.. ."Y Youth, YOUTH says Robert Louis
i Stevenson, "that will run miles TO {
fire. On shipboard, everybody i.
young, and therefore imagine the zes1
with which we watched this fire on tht
water. Everyone was adjusting field
glasses or clamoring for cameras. :" How
&- did: it happen7' who is she?' anG
50 on-these questions were on every
ip. lsfs
Had Sprung a Leak.
Possibly there were one or two thrills
less when we learned that she had beer
set afre ny the captain, just befor,
leaving the ship, according to martini,
laws, Her seams had sprung leak
shortly after her departure from Tunis
ffty-fve days before. She was an olt