The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1922-10-13

Z were overcome by smoke anu
flames in investigating the fire
which destroyed their vessel, but
quickly recovered, it was reveal
ed on board the Thomas today.
Officers of the City of Honolulu
attributed the cause of the fire
3 to defective wiring in the second
cabin.
San Francisco, Oct. 13.-The radio,
mans bride on space, and that
hardly less potent thing, the fellow
ship of those who go down to sea
in ships, stand responsible today
for the safety of 2l7 persons-the
ships company Of the steamer City
of Honolulu, which burned yester-
day.
The readiness with which sailors
of half dozen craft from pleasure
vatcht to dreadnaught Of the Pacl-
Nc fleet offered them selves for the
rescue of their distressed fellow
travellers afloat was but an echo OF
a story told so long ago that men
have forgotten the time of the tell
ing, but the tale of the radios part
belongs to more modern genera
ticn. They mingled, this old thing
and this new one, to save life.
Fire in Cabins
Early yesterday while she was
67O miles off San Pedro, CAL, fire
broke out in the second class cabins
of the steamer, formerly Of the
North German Lloyd Line and more
recently leader of the Los Angeles
Steamship company's new Honolulu
&. service. The flames gained such
Roadway on the fighting crew that
two hours later it was necessary to
abandon ship, but before that time
came the radio had cried far and
wide the "dot dot, dash dash dash,
dot dot dot" IS. O. 81 that means
disaster, distress, and human ex-
tremity on the high seas. #
1wo ships, the Enterprise OF the
I Matson line, and ssthe Thomas;;,4'a 'an
army transport, east bound from
/ Hawaii, caught the. signal and turn
!; ed toward the position the operator
had g.yell. A millionaire's yacht,
the Casiana, pleasure cruising to
Honolulu, owned by E. L. Doheny,
caught, the appeal and turned her
+ bows that way. Los Angeles caught
| the signals and navy vessels stood
by to race with death to the scene
of the fire. San Francisco heard
r. them, waited while until the radio
operator on distant ship had turn
ed that vessel too, toward the scene.
/ West Faralon First
i 1t was this ship, the West Fara-
t lon, M. NJ. Walk, master, that hurri-
\ ed to the City of Honolulu and ef-
:; fected the rescue.
4 But she did not get there until
I more than four hours after the
7 flames had forced the captain, his
/ first officer, the chief engineer and
! the radio operator, who had stayed
I behind to serve to the utterm ost
!, the passengers confided to, their
/ care, to leave the blazing hulk. The
i officers stayed to advise, suggest
i and confer, the radio operator to
/ keep thes West Faralon advised, lest
\ she miss the boatloads Of passeng-
\ ers floating nearby and the rescue
4 be delayed.
4 Effect Quick Rescue
\ The fire broke out between 5 and
IG o'clock in the morning. The
I passengers were put oversize at g.;
the captain left the steamer little
\ after 10; the West Faralon arrived
|, about 2:3O in the afternoon. BY a
I quarter to four the last, boatload of
castaways had been hauled aboard
the West Faralon and that ship, her
!, every corner crowded with cargo
and human salvage, lay to a mile
from the fire swept vessel and all
hands watched her burn.
| The Thomas officers planned to
transfer the City Of Honoulu's pass
engers early today rather than risk
accident in the darkness of the
early morning. The Thomas will
bring them to San Francisco. They
had been bound for Los Angeles.
= Just before the Thomas reached
the West Faralon the story was
| broken this morning, for shore
radio stations ceased communicat-
| ing with the vessels so that the
/! West Faralon's radio might be used
to guide the transport to her. The
! cessation left much untold-the
cause of the fire, the reason it
| spread with such fierce rapidity,
the details of the flight against i,
and those more gripping details that
made up the story of the flight in
the lifeboats and the rescue.
The passengers of the City Of
Honolulu, which burned at sea. were
! transferred to the United States
army transport Thomas from the
/ rescue ship West Faralon at dawn
! today, according to an official mes
sage received by the Federal Tele.
graph company The Thomas is due
in San Francisco tomorrow but it
is expected she will be at least a
day late.
"The passengers of the burned
steamer City of Honolulu were en-
barking on the TRANSPORT Thomas
from the rescue ship West Faralon
at a. m. The weather is fine. More
details LATER.
The above was sent to The Asso.
ciated Press by Captain Hall of the
TRANSPORT Thomas.
Betty May Jones, % months old