The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-08-02
SHIP RACES WITH FIRE.
Hod q Banked Furnace-Passengers
ON Old Dominion Linz Ignorant of
Peril.

Peril.
With a fire, which afterward deyel-
oped into an obstinate blaze, shoulder
ing in her hold, the steamship Ham
ilton, OF the Old Dominion Line, a C
ed up the bay yesterday afternoon, ire
fireboats, Van Wycks and Mcclellan
keeping abreast of her, ready for &C
ton.
Although the two hundred n hf-
vty passengers crowded the rails to look
at the fire boats, they had no d that
their presence was occasioned by n
fire aboard their own vessel. Not IN
til the vessel reached her pier at Beach
street, and the matches were nov
from the hold . did the smoke n
flames appear to cause alarm.
1t was mostly smoke even then, but
of the dense acrid quality that smoth-
ers all who come near it. AS a result
several Of the firemen were overcome
and had to be dragged from their pc
rilous positions by their comrades.
Captain James Leyland, superinten-
dent and commodore of the Old Do
minion Line was among those over
come by the vapor. He a been Work
ing among the firemen, and was drag
ged out. After the fresh air a re-
Vived him somewhat he went Oh with
the work of directing the men.
He had been at work only a moment
when he again fell and was dragged
out of the way in a precar1ous condl-
ton. DIR. Beeuwkes. of the HUDSON
street hospital cared for him.
Captain Mccarthy, in command OF
4L c.~I--4 AT1I111Inn uFnC OVaTHDTnP
and had to be carried to the pilot
house of the firebOat New Yorker,
which had come to the scene.
Captain Murray in charge OF the ire
division to which the New Yorker ana
Mcclellan were attached, had succum-
bed to the effects Of the poisonous We
por a few seconds before.
1t was just as the Hamilton rouad-
ed the Sandy Hook Lightship that the
explosion of a thermOstat in hold No.
q. and the violent ringing Of the alarm
in the engine room proclaimed the
presence of fire in that hold.
Without excitement the matches
were battened down and heavy tarpau-
Inns were added to them.
Then steam from the boilers were
turned into the compartment and a
wireless message sent to the offices
of the company. When an opening
was made in the battened hatcnes
smoke began pouring u
In the hold there were quantities OF
rosin, cotton, tobacco and peanuts.
When Captain ROXbury in command OF
Engine Company No. 80, found that
the matches could not be moved away
from the hatch combing round the Cp-
ening leading to the hold, he ordered
his men to lower him by a rope into
the smoke filled compartment be-
low.
He was dragged out by the anxious
men before his work was finished, and
he ordered them to lower him down
once more.
The second time ne succeeded in re-
leasing the catch which held the plat
form and was dragged out more dea::
than alive. When io was revived he
returned 70 work.
One of the mos seriously affected
among the fremen were John Heenan.
If fire company q, the fireboat Nc
CIellan. who was overcome while at
tempting to perform the same acton
hhat Captain Roxbury later succeeded
in accomplishing.
1t was not until the fremen succeed
ed in lowering to the hold what is
known as a "sub-cellar pipe which
throws large volumes of water in the
fashion of a large garden sprinkler,
that the fire was at last e~Xtinquished
Chief Binns and the officers of the com
pany that the total damage
will not exceed SIS, 00O.-New York
Tribune 10Th.