mattresses in the steerage, and spread along the deck with incredible rapidity. In an instant it ran through the gangways to the hatchways at the entrance of the first and second cabins toward the poop, blazing up through them like a blast furnace, and thus cutting off all retreat for those who were below. The cause of the The cause of the fire communicating to all parts of the vessel so readily, was, that the day was very pleasant, the wind light, with a smooth sea,—and, in order to fumigate the vessel more thoroughly, all the port-holes, state-rooms, and doors in the bulkheads, were opened, to allow of a free circulation of air and a complete ventilation. Thus, in less than five minutes, the upper deck amidships was on fire.

And now, an instantaneous panic arose, paralyzing alike the ship's company and the passengers.

Every one on board appeared perfectly wild, the women crying out, "The ship is on fire! What will become of us?" Some gave themselves up to despair at once, and engaged in loud and distressing appeals of prayer; others shrieked and screamed; others, again, swooned and became helpless, and almost unconscious of the awful fate that awaited them, of being burned alive; while but a small number, comparatively, of the human beings on board, had presence of mind and firmness enough to go properly to work to save themselves, and even those met with impediments which too frequently exist in such contingencies to the saving of life.

Although there were ten boats, capable of doing effective service, they were found transfixed, as it were, to the chocks on which they were kept, as though they had been riveted to them with the expectation. that they would never be required. The hose, designed for the extinguishing of fire, was out of order, and the panic-stricken captain, instead of organizing his officers and crew for energetic action in attempting to subdue the flames, or, if deemed impracticable, in manning the boats for the transfer of the women and children, lost all command of himself. On hearing

of the fire, he rushed up bareheaded to the deck, and when he saw the flames exclaimed, "We are all lost!" In running aft to the quarter-deck, he had to travel through the fire, which already separated the fore part from the aft part of the ship. Captain Heydtmann, therefore, in breaking the flames, was much injured; he was seen later, by the first officer, standing on the quarter-deck, apparently stunned by the injury he had received. He was seen again, trying to get out a boat, but which, when let down, was swamped, and he, falling into the sea-though some of the passengers state that they saw him jump overboard-was soon left far behind.

Such was the terrible confusion now prevailing, that children were trodden under foot by the elder, distracted passengers; some persons ran up aloft into the rigging, as though they would be saved in that way; others, again, began to doff their heavy clothing, and others to prepare themselves for the final resort of jumping overboard, and running the risk of being picked up. There existed a regular boatroll on the vessel, so that each man knew to which boat to attend, in case of need, under the command of an officer, or subofficer. the men were hindered in getting to the boats by the frantic passengers, who already had rushed to them. The boats on the starboard soon caught fire, this side being most exposed to the flames. On the larboard, four boats were lowered, but three of them were smashed before reaching the water, by the people overcrowding them, and one boat alone got safely afloat.

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The single boat which thus reached the water without being smashed, was one of the large metallic life-boats; it was at first, when lowered down, filled with people, but the weight was so great that many of them fell out when the boat reached the water. Thirty succeeded in keeping on, but the boat capsized several times, being full of water, and seven men were drowned thereby. There then remained in the boat the first officer and six of the crew, besides one steward and fifteen passengers.

band had jumped over, and as the flames grew hotter and burned more fiercely, she took her little girl, kissed her, and threw her into the water. She then took the boy, a fair, healthy little fellow, embraced him, gave him her last kiss, and threw him in; he struck on his back and struggled very hard, rising to the surface three separate times, calling out "Mamma," each time, in the most piteous tones, then sunk to rise no more. The poor woman then clasped her baby to her breast and jumped in with it, kissing it repeatedly as they sank to the bottom.

A young man who was in the second cabin, and who was going to California to join his brother, had his sister with him, a girl sixteen or seventeen years of age. In order to save her from the fire, he fastened a rope around her body, and, making one end fast to the deck, let her down over the side of the vessel. He then put another rope around his own body, and let himself down; but the rope was not well fastened, and, as he jumped down, it slipped from under his arms and caught him around the throat. As he struck the water, the waves dashed him against the vessel's side, and, falling back again, he was quickly choked to death-his sister meanwhile shrieking, "Help! help! will nobody help my brother?” When last seen, the poor girl was hanging there, screaming and crying, with the waves. dashing the dead body of her brother against her, every moment.

Similar in sadness was the case of an Englishman about fifty years of age, who, with his wife, crawled out on the bowsprit as far as they could, and, as the flames approached, they clasped their arms around each other, gave one last kiss, jumped into the water, and sank immediately. And so, brothers and sisters, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, lovingly embraced each other, and plunged into the waves.

Indescribably heart-rending was the scene on the quarter-deck. Passengers were rushing frantically to and fro-husbands seeking their wives, wives in search.

of their husbands, relatives looking after relatives, parents lamenting the loss of their children, some wholly paralyzed by fear, others madly crying to be saved, but a few perfectly calm and collected. The flames pressed so closely upon them, that here, as at the bowsprit, multitudes leaped over, and met a watery grave, the same scenes being exhibited, of relatives clasped in mutual embrace, plunging together into the abyss of death. Two beautiful girls, supposed to be sisters, jumped over, and sank kissing each other. A missionary and wife leaped into the sea together, and the stewardess and assistant steward, arm in arm, followed. So, too, lovers in tender embrace, met the awful fate before them.

One Hungarian gentleman, with seven fine children, four of them girls, made his wife jump in, then blessed his six eldest children, made them jump in one after another, and followed them with an infant in his arms.

Thus, in twos and threes, or singly, the whole company met their fate. Several hesitated to leap from the burning ship until the last moment, as the height was twenty-two feet, and were only, at length, compelled to throw themselves off to avoid a more frightful death. In half an hour, not a soul was to be seen on the poop.

Such was the fearful progress of the fire, that, almost from the very first, the flames leaped up the shrouds, and licked along the yards, until the sails were in a furious blaze, so that burning fragments of them were continually falling on the persons of those below, and setting the dresses of the ladies on fire. One garment after another was in this way destroyed, and the loss of each article of clothing only exposed the person more and more to the intense heat. When they could no longer bear up under this torture, they sought relief in the yawning ocean. Some, however, endured every possible suffering, before taking this great and final step, a few of the ladies, indeed, being almost disrobed before leaping, as at last they were compelled to, into the jaws of death. The men, too, withstood the scorching of their