BURNING OF THE SHIP PAUL JONES.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1258, 9 April 1886, Page 3

BURNING OF THE SHIP PAUL JONES.

TOTAL LOSS OF THE VESSEL. . • . ;• s destruction of a noble' ship hy fire (aajri the Melbourne ‘ Argus’) is a spectacle t|iSlrfortunately is rarely witnessed in the Australian seas. Shipping casualties in our watjttfc.are mostly unimportant and ..devoid of any tragic feature. Che - : total-doss .by pro of< the fine American clipper Paul Jones On the Wthinsk has, therefore,-created a deep iojpresßion npoa the public mind. The vessMhad -so recently left her berth at Wilßamitowh that her fine lines and smart appearance still lingered in the memory of the seafaring jnen at Port Phillips I The crew returned, to Melbourne in ship, Antiopa on fhi following, Sunday." The-: Paul Jones was a' fine wondeli clipper- of l? 00 toils, hiving been built about nine years ago. The following is the captain’s account of the disaster:— Captain Winn, m ster of the ill-fated ship (who was so deeply effected at the less he has suffered that he could with difficulty be induced to'.flpeak of his misfortune), stated : I had watched !he ship being built jn the qui.et town of P n-tsmontli, in Mass*-, chuset s, and had seen her framework laid down, andinspected ore.y bolt r.n l beam. And had seen her mists fitted and rigged. I have been mi king in tl>« Paul Jones-in different capacities ever sinee she was built nine years ago. After a long spell in the China trade, 1 waa fortun-itb nnongh to be placed in command of her. In every respeetthe vessel was so—dit to her builders at Portsmouth, Now Hampshire, j' she was worth every p-nny of !ho S’i.fiOJlnl 'hatwere then spent upon her. W - had been in good trade in the China sons, but the markets of the new world presented a field forspeoula'ion for her owners, OnKep'era her 17,1884, wo hoisted our sails and cleared out from Boston for Austral'.*. The trip cut waa a fairly gent on”. Everythin? went well, and we made the p-' -’nt-e in some three months, and n ached Wiiliamst.owu last Boxing Ttay. ■ Th-. mm>,hiving 'em cleared, w« hmlcd, jn'n the lmv wiring • final instructions to si : ! for (Vchfti. Tl.n-n j at length came, and pn Msfch T7 we drop 1 ! down the hay with a favorable wind behind i ns. The heads were e'eaied n-xt day. i Then we heat, up against I’ght baffl ng winds which .had set in. Everything so far ban gone well. ' The crew bad readily answered

e upoij them, and there seemed tii lie a project of a pleasant passage. No sigo of fire was visible upto mum, on Friday, and uo one appears to have dreamt of such a casualty. The mite and myself wore quietly sitting down . at dinner at 12 o'clock on that day, when we first perceived a slight smell of smoke. Instantly ■we began to search for the cause. We examined our clothes, rummaged the cabins, rushed between decks, but could not dis* cover any signs of fire. . Then we, made our way back to the laz irette, and took the hatch off. A volume of smoke and flames at once burst forth, and told Us that at last we had reached the spot where the dames were raging. The hatch was instantly battened down to prevent the draught fanning the flames, and to enable ns to make an ats tempt to get them under. Any little excitement that was at first visible among the crow disappeared immediately. The men answered to my word ot command with the utmost promptitude. 1 pissed the word for the pumps to be got ready, and set the men to work them and to man the buckets. In a very few minutes we attacked the fi-e. (t was evident from the manner in .which the sailors worked that they were prepared to tight it to the bitter end. In tbe meantime, as a measure of precaution, I sent the mate forward with a few of the crew to launch •the boats and.-tpgarrange for their being reatly should that emergency a ise. The fight against the fire bad all this time been carried on in real earnest. Holes were cut in the deck, and in every way we tried to subdue the fire, but it was of no avail. It was h r artreriding to see the men driveivbaok by the flames and Smoke. Bit by tut we had to retreat, even though we had been recruited by the mate and men who had 'orraerly been engaged in preparing the boats. At length the fire forced its way through the deck, and like a flash it set the rigging alight. Two minnts later the whole of the sails on the mizzm-maat and the spar itself wers a burning mass. The oil and paints below fed tbe flames, and the fire was too much for us. We had to give the word for the men to go forward. Odr difE cnlty all through-had bean to reach the seat of the fire. Though we tried in every way to discover whence the flames were arising, ■Qur efforts were futile. When we left tbe after part of the snip the whole of th i poop was burning. The tar was bubbling an 1 boiling' from the scams below our feet. The men made a gallant fight, and it wns only wh-n they ran personal risk from the flames and the falling spars that I gave the word for them to retire. The sailors were then thoroughly exhausted, 1 saw that it , was no use to place them in a danger they would gladly have run. At half past 2 o’clock wo left the side of the' Paul Jones, the fire then having spread over the whole of the aft .and fore parts of the deck, I saw the sailors safely into the boat, and then I had to bid farewell to the Fanl Jones in a manner that I bad never expected. As we drew away, the flames were crackling,and hissing along the deck and running along the rigging aloft. The sea, fortunately, was not rough. We made our way towards the Antiope, which wo had signalled shortly after we first discovered the fire. We were met midway by that ship's boat. Wo accompanied it to the Antiope, and a hearty welcome was given us hy captain Black, the passengers, and crew. The crew appeared to be well satisfied and pleased with her condition. Tbe officers were loyal and earnest in their duty ; therefore there is no one whom I can suspect in the matter. It is true that a little difficulty arose in connection with the cook and steward of thedaja.crew, but as they had left the vessel tong ag > they cannot in any way be connected with the conflagration. The cro-v-also, with the exception of the chief nffi ;er (Vlr Birclay) and the carpenter and boy, were men who had been sh-pped in Melbourne, who therefore could not have nnv grudge against myself on the boat. :The loZ'rette was opened that morning, ,hut only the mate and myself h?d been in it. Barclay was there at 8 o’clock looking t«r some necessaries, and at 10 o’clock the second mate had to go down for riggl ig, I also went below for some tools. "Certainly not the ; slightest tr'eejif. fire was visible at that time. No smoking was allowed there. Everything seemed to he safe and snug. . The men could make their way to the Isxivette from the forepart of the ship ; hut 1 have such faith in their loyalty and in the honesty of the officers that I cannot conceive that they are in any way guilty of the crime of setting the ship on fire. The vessel belongs Ito an American proprietary. My losses were great. My cnarta my books, my papers, the result of my life’s labours, are gone. I saved nothing except what I stand upright in. When I left the vessel the upper spars were falling on to the deck beneath, but it was not until we had got on board the Antiope that the main and fore masts went hy the board. At-8 o'clock, when t took a last glance at her, she was a fco ly of flame from stem to stern. . The reflection could be seen for miles. This is ray first experience of thi« kind that I have had, and I sincerely hope th’t it will be the last. I am an American by birth, and I hope to bo able to leave here by the next Sin Francisco steamer and make my way across the States to my-wife and family in Massachusetts. • -

AS SEBX BY OTHERS. ' Accounts are given of the scene, as witnessed from the Orient Company’s Liguria, and also from Lorne. Mr Anderson, of th'fl (fraud Pacific Hotel, was looking seawarn through bis glass from the balcony of the hotel when he noticed a body of smoko rising skyward and stationary. As it was evi-f' iit that a passing steamer would leave a line of. smoke behind her, Mr Anderson Asked Mr Hayter, Government statist, who is »ne of liis guests at present, to tell him if "he wns hot - righti-in-thinking that the v stihijifi')’is* appearance at-which he pointed was a ship on fire.' It was eith r that or a whaltjr boiling down hluhber. Mr Ilaytei said’that it was a ship on fire, and it soon became evident beyond a doubt that this disaster had occurred. The vessel was made out through the telescope under sail, and as it grew darker these were lit up by the ruddy glow of the flames as they mounted the ri .Ring It was what Mr Hayter calls “ a beautiful eight.” The flames were in front of the sails looking from Lorne, and the fire apreared to he -greatest- in iha forward part of the vessel. 'I be fire burst out in lurid tongues as it got farther aft and was fed afresh. Por a time,- while the people of I.omo Iroked on, they were •unions a* to the safety .of the orew, and volunteers offered themselves to go to their asafct-.n.Kvhatd'cforo the boat.could be got j-ea-iy‘the Antiopo was seen hearing down upon the wreck in answer to the rockets which had been fired, as distress signals. The derelict burned brightly until the spectators left off looking at her about midnight and went to bed, when the sky was illuminated by a ruddy glow, which brought out the had in pretty clear relief. At daylight the vessel was seen to be farther seaward, and the flamceJiad given place to smnke, which gradually grew ■fainter, and finally disappeared in a cloud of steam at. about 11 o’clock.

The Victor! m Government steamer DospaTh scuttled IheJPiinl,.Tones. Only tho copper sheathing wee holding the bull together, which was cut away. Part of the wreckage appears above the surface of the water.