A FIRE IN AN AMERICAN COTTON SHIP.

Thames Star, Volume IIII, Issue 1749, 11 August 1874, Page 3

A FIRE IN AN AMERICAN COTTON SHIP.

.... The following extract from a private letter written to a person in Ballarat, gives one a vivid idea of a fearful danger on tho. high seas, successfully fought and gloriously won.\ The victory was not gained,however,witboutpr©stratingnfiarly the whol« crew, many of them being unable to leave their beds for several 4ays,—amongst whom were the first and second mates, the doctor, the chief steward, two boatswains, the second engineer, second steward, the lamp trimmer, joiner, arid four seamen. The ship was the gteamer Minnesota, bound from New

York to Liverpool. We are sorry to add that the captain, who wr te this account of bis great danger in 1872, now writes to bid a final farewell to his correspondent, as he suffers from a hopeless illoess contracted by over exertion during the scenes he relates as follows :—

", Whenypii went to New Tort with trie in 1853 you remember the alarm of , fire being raised. It was only an alarm, hut this passage we have had a terrible reality. I have been tbrice shipwrecked, : and have had other hairbreadth escapes in tny lifetime,, but never anything that looted so appalling as our situation on Christmas eye in latitude 46. N., longitude _43 W., blowing a roaring gale from N.W., f and a very high sea running. 1 left the deck at 8 p.m., sat down in the saloon to read; 8.20 my chief officer came and reported that the second engineer had just told him the cotton must be on fire as they could smell it in the coal bu Jeers very strong. J. went up and in , minutes from the time I was called I h.. a!hole cut in the deck and the hose play-, ing down. Then cut holes in the deck in officers' rooms, and every placo we could see .the red flames, and as the fire was making its way towards main hatch from aft, I knew I must take the main hatches off and hoist up cargo, and try and prevent it running so far as main hatch, else it would be impossible to save the ship, and consequently bur lives. Well, when I got some of main hatches off I could see the red flame running right across the ship a few feet abaft the main hatch, .and such cloud* of thick smoke issued forth if was dreadful. Two hose from the donkey-engine flaying on the fire. Hoisted up cotton bales, &c., and rolled them away forward, and" managed to got », spape or a few feet all clear, and then began to pull down and hook on to burning bales. About midnight fourteen of my officers and most able resolute men

were prostrated, blind from the smoke and heat, throats and chest so inflamed that it was, as they declared, as if their throats were scalded. Now I began to feel all hope was gone, as it was with difficulty I could get others to go down into the hole to hook on and tear out bales and hold the pipes of the hoses. Finally my chief engineeir got some of his firemen to go down, and after thirteen hours' hard fight for life, at 9.30 Christmas morning I helped to roll the last burning bale over tho rail to old Neptune's lap. I don't know how many bales we hove over; one doesn't feel to be very curious as to how many packages, or what the cost or market value of them are, at such times. I shall never forget those thirteen hours. I never felt such deep gi atitude to the good Lord oui'Heav^jjly Father, never in my life as when we had overcome that terrible peril and danger. Boats would not have been able to live in the sea that was running. I had mad* up my mind if I could not pet it put out 1 should not go in any boat, but write arid enclose a letter to my wife in a bottle, and put it i fast to something, to let our fate be known."—Ballarat Miner. ;