A GALLANT DEED.

Dunstan Times, Issue 540, 23 August 1872, Page 3

A GALLANT DEED.

S' 1 * ' (FromtKe New -York- jhi'ald.)' „• London; May 24.—Fu1l ■ and' complete despatches have been- deceived at last in reference to the gallant conduct of the officers anil sailorsof the-American squadron at Marseilles in the latter part of last month, *’• *’ •" ,n • ■ They achieved one of those splendid-vic-tories of peace which bring greener laurels than any that are won in war. By their disciplihe, skill, and intrepidity the shipping in the harbor of that port was saved from certain destruction, and it is more than probable that but for their gallantry the flames would have all spread to the city, when the horrors of Chicago might have been repeated, since French cities are deplorably defective in agencies for the control and extinguishment of fires. The American squadroil, consisting of the Wabash, Congress, Brooklyn,' Plymouth, Shenandoah, Juniata, and Wacliussot, under the command of Admiral Alder, were at the time lying in the Napoleon Basin, surrounded by almost innumerable merchantmen, embracing every description of craft and nationality. The night was fine, the sea was calm, and there was a little moonlight! Suddenly, just after midnight, an explosion startled the fleet and the city, and the awakened people behind, with alarm and dismay, dense clouds of heavy smoke rising from the burning hull of an Italian ship which had just arrived from Philadelphia ■ with a cargo of petroleum, and had in Some way got ablaze. With the memory of the great fire at Bordeaux (which originated precisely the same way) still fresh in their minds, the 1 citizens fully realised the nature r of the danger that now threatened them. So closely were the merchantmen huddled together that it seemed -impossible to prevent the flames from spreading,, as at Bordeaux, ; through the rest of the fleet and thence to . the wharves and city, especially as the houses came right dowa'to the front of the harbor. Crowds of anxious men gathered along.the shores^;'and-gazed at the peril : that menaced them in.-pdflic-stricken, fascinated horror. ' v • But while the Frenchmen were thus pa- * ralysed with fright, the Americans, also i sensibleof the danger, took instant measures to avert the coming disaster. The flames on board the'ill-fated ship were spreading ' with fearful rapidity,.and illuminated with sinister glare the shipping, the quays and ■ the faces of the terror-stricken thousands, who had rushed dawn.to the .water’s edge. , | When the consternation was at its height ; the bugles on board;- the American fleet f | -were heard calling away, the boats, with the - familiar tunes that seemed "so strangely out I s *- of place at «uch >a; Moment./.Presently a | twelve oared cutter w-as seen to push away j from the squadron ; and speed with lusty : Stnokeß. vtoward the burning ship; then . another and another - then a cluster of ten ] or more,- uftil twenty boats, almost all that Admiral Alder Had under his command, . had been despatched on tbo pressing, dan- , gerous errand of saving few-wrapped Mar- [ seilles. . - j In a few minutes the fust boat which put [ off gained the windward side of the burning , vessel, and her crewVerle quickly seen to , scramble on board like.cats, and moved, as i it seemed, amid the very flames. The other t boats were soon alongside, and the a-bnira- . ' ble plan of the officers was soon put into . j execution. Crew after crow of the boats . ' were seen to board the' vessel. Others of . the boats sceme i hovering along the ship’s . : side. On shore there was a dead silence, , but through the smothered roar and crackling of the fire could be heard the clear, firm orders from the American officers in , command, succeeded by the blows of I axes. But the panic stricken spectators on I shore still had no idea of the plan by which | the danger was to be turned aside. The impossibility of escape was anxiously cani vassed, and men saw in imagination the i flaming oil floating away from the doomed ship and igniting the neighboring craft, until the whole surface of the basin should be covered with blazing oil and burning wrecks. The plan of tho Americans was first to scuttle the ship, next to cast loos- the m wirings, and thirdly to tow her as far out into th. bay as possible before she sank. This could not be appreciated at tho time by those on shore ; hut how admirably American, brains and discipline told that night is in the sequel. When it was well assured that the timbers had been sufficiently pierced to insure her sinking, the boats were seen to form in single file, lashed securely together stem to stern. A hawser was parsed out over tho ship and made fast to the sternmost boat. The excitement rose still higher as the “ Italian ”, settled slowly down in the water till her deck was almost level with the surface of the water. All the arrangements having been completed, the single file of American boats, lashed stem and stern,' were seen pulling bravely away, and as the line straightened the burning ship moved slowly out toward the bay, towed irresistibly by two hundred Sturdy American oars. ' It was clear now that the peril was over, and nil immense cheer of delight and gratitude broke from the assembled citizens. The Americans kept on rowing until tho burning vessel sunk, and though there was here and there a little pool of flaming oil upon the waves, no further disaster occurred, owing to the distance between the fire and the vessels. The next day the Americans were the recipients of tho warmest praise from all sides. The people exnresscd at once admiration at the ingenuity and daring of tho ! plan of action adopted, and gratitude for the relief it ha 1 brought them