A fire broke out on Tuesday morning on board of the British steamer Ella, whilst off Otter Point, below Kiukiang, en route from Hankow. It appears that one of the native firemen was searching for something in the engine room bilges with a nuked light when a quantity of oil that was stowed there iznitei, andthe outhresk was such as to drive those in the engine room on deck. The engines could be handled, and not knowing to extent the conflagration would reach, the vessel was_bexched about four mil below the Point. The flames prevent the use of tke fire pumps below and there was, strange to say, no portable force pump in the ship, water could only be thrown in an inefficient manner by the deck buckets, A punic natural amon.st the Chinese passengers and wnany sought terva sirma immediately the vessel was beached, which took place oont half-past ten, Fortunately the bulkheads were iron_or the vessel would have been added to the list of those burnt on the Yangtze, The oil quickl" burnt itself out spart from the destruction of the wood: work below, little damage was done, At 1 p.m. the Chins Navigation Co.'s steamer Poyang appeared on the scene and by Fequest towed the vessel off, the Chinese passengers, realising the dunger was quickly bearding, and the vessel arrived here' on Thursday apparently none the worse for the mishap,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.