A PASSENGER INTERVIEWED.

Otago Witness, Issue 2295, 24 February 1898, Page 23

A PASSENGER INTERVIEWED.

On arrival of the passengers at Dunedin on Thursday one of our reporters interviewed Mr H. Sobersky, of Melbjurne, who kindly con-sent-ed to tell his experiences. "On the evening of Thursday, the 10th," saya Mr Sobsrsky, " at 9 o'clock most of the passengers were in the social hall when a very offensive smell was noticed. Immediately afterwards I saw Captain Chatfield and the first officer (Mr C. M'Donald) pass through the saloon, and the knowledge soon became general that there wa3 a fire on the ship. Alarming though the intelligence was everybody remained calm, and no unwonted excitement was noticeable. Of course the passengers made their way on deck, and what they saw when they reached there was an immense volume of smoke emerging from the No, 4 hold. Some of the passengers felt great alarm on seeing the st%te of aff \irs, but the most cool-headed of the party kept up th-i assurance that there was no d&Dger. The smoke had a strong smell of indiarubber, which w»s tha cause of its offensiveness, and one afterwards learned that among the cargo destroyed were a number of crates of bicycle tyres. The first officer pluckily made his way into the hold to locate the seat of the danger, but he could stay below only a short time, as the smoke was very dense. A connection with the boiler was then made to enable steam to be introduced into the hold, and at the same time four hoses were brought into play and water turned on. About 10 o'clock the passengers werß politely requested to remove their belongings out of the 'cabios, which were close to the supposed location of the fire, and when we had done this and taken them into the saloon the scene in that quarter v.ms a' very lively one. There were about 100 pa&boiujcrs, and, on the average, each passenger bi'i ioai parcels of luggage under his or her care. Then hoses were taken through the bfilofu to reach, the place wh.«re the fire was

supposed to be strongest, and this necessfr tated the removal of 'our belongings tf the deck. Luckily it was a fine night. After we had been on deck for a short time the first indication of danger was shown in the provisioning of all the boats. The steamer meantime had been heading for Spring Bay, which is seven hours' sail from Hobarfc,* and shortly after 1 o'clock on Friday morning that haven was reached, and the steamer anchored half a mile from shore. The passengers could plainly see that the men who were fighting the fire were experiencing great difficulty in their work, and as a matter of fact it took them from 9 o'clock on Thursday night till 3 o'clock on Friday morning fco master it. At 2 o'clock the chief slfcward very thoughtfully ordered hot coffee to be handed round, and loc this the passengers were thankful ; it was very wtlceme and acceptable. At 3 o'clock we were notified that the fire was practically out, and that we could return to our cabins with our trappings. This course we did not take, however, as the o-ibitiß were full of smoke, and there was not a place below that was not impregnated with the smell caused by the burning of the indiarubber. One fact that should be noted is that the officers, as well as the crew, worked hard tj avert a calamity, and the passengers, especially the ladies, deserve commendation for the marvellous coolness they displayed in the time of danger. In fact, so methodically were the orders carried out that I am sura, if it had been found necessary to take to the boats, everything would have passed off without panic. Of course the sight of land not very far off had a soothing, effect on the passengers " Oq Friday the passengers, grateful that they had escaped the peril, felt it to ba their duty to express their feelings of gratitude for the splendid manner in which the officers and erew — especially the chief officer — had behaved during the ordeal, aud in recognition of their conduct th«y presented Captain Chat field witb an address, the effect of which was as follows :—: — "We, the undersigned passengers per s.«. Mon»wai, wish to convey to you, your officers, and men our sincerett thanks and heartfelt gratitude for the admirable, courageoug, and effectual manner in which you subdued the j fire in the alter hold of this ship on Friday morning, 11th inefc. Your coolness in the hour of danger prevented panic, and gave us all a feeling of cotifidesce. Again thanking you, and wishing you every success in the future. — We are, &o." (Here follow 100 signatures.) Tbe presentation was made in the saloon by Sir Thomas Fi'zgerald, who requested Captain Chatfield to especially mention Mr M'Donald, the chief officer, to the directors of the Union Company for the noble work he did in fighting the fire for five hours and a-half in gteam, smoke, and water. A collection, taken up for the men by Mrs Blyth, a passenger, resulted in £10 or £12 being obtained. In the course of an interview with the representative of the Hobsrr Mercury Captaia Chatfield raid there was one significant fact — bhe Monpwai hsd a splendid crew, who worked like Trojans in the hour of danger ; if fchey had not, matters would have been serious indeed. He' desired to specially mention the chief officer (Mr C. M 'Donald), whose conduct was most ccmmerdable. We understand that Boatswain I Pond wi>s al»o very prominent m the work of. j extinguishing the fire. THE DAMAGED GAW3Q. Some of the Dunvjdin cargo was damaged by the fire. Th« following list shows the principal goods destroyed or damaged, and the names of the consignees : — Lyttelton : 38 cases, Wardell Bco*. ; 120 bags b»rk, fco order ; 204- oases, J. Shand and Co. ; 24 boxes dried fruits, to order ; j 11 crates bottles, to order; 15 cretes, Dun lop Tjre Company ; 42 caaes, Flehoker, Humphries, and Co. Bluff : 90 bales cornsacks, National Mortgage Company; 47 cases brandy, Whittington Bros, and Insione. Hokitika : 17 csset, Pollock and Bevan. Greymouth : 237 bags rice, D. M'Lean ; 5 cases brandy, D. M'Lean. Wellington : 20 cases glucote, to I order ; 4 packages mantels, G. Winder ; 191 cases schnapps, Baunantyue and Co. ; 38 ca*ee, T. and W. Young. Napier : 2 cases, Neil! and Close ; 5 cases tea, W. Kettle. Wanganui : 5 cases whisky, Hogan and Co. Aucklaud : 4 packages maritlee, Wingate and Co. ; 19 chests, Elliogham aud Co. ; 1 cute tobacco, American Tobacco Company ; 1 case tobacoo, Mcrbon and Co. For ports not known there are 35 cases, and in addition several cases oi' desiccated coeomnut, tea, wine, spirita, &c, h&ve been, partly burnt and the marks obliterated. The Union Company t»«« in receipt of a cable from Hobart on the 16th advising that the cargo for New Zealand damaged by fire on board the Monowai was sold at Hobarband realised £950, the approximate sound value of the cargo being £4000.