St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-02
BURNING OF TIE JAPAN.
The Horrible Maritime Disaster of
October, 1879,
VtvfGE Described by a Hotel Man
Who Survived 1t.

Pacific Mail steamship Japan, Captain War
saw, was burned in the Formosa channel a
few days previously. and all hands, eXcent
a few, were drowned. The Japan was
one of the fleet of magnificent ships which
then traded between San Francisco, Yoko-
hama Japan and Hong Kong At thu
time hearing was had in the United States
consular office, but no one could tell just
how the fire originated, and after suspend
| ing Capt. Warsaw the matter was allowed
to drop out of sight. The survivors told
many conflicting stories at the time, and
| the press OF San Francisco published many
| OF them.
| Yesterday, in conversation with Mr.. Will
| liam McMahon, superintendent of the Home
hotel, Dispatch reporter alluded to the
case and was agreeably surprised to learn
that Mr. Mcmahon knew all about it.
| Stripped of nautical language flor the gem
tleman still rolls and dips sand in his
weather pOcketS) his story is as follows:
| We left San Francisco, Cal, with a full
| freight and fully 1000 passengers, most of
whom were Cinnamon returning to their
| homes after Sojourn in America and earn
ing sufficient money to keep them for the
remainder of their lives. She was, if you
remember, sidewheel ship of some 3,SO6
tons, and built up all around the guards,
thus affOrding shelter to the live cattle taken
/
exclusively by Cinnamon, having them in
the fre-rOom, the saloon, the galley and Cd
deck. A Chinaman having money is mis-
| cradle if he cannot gamble, and the rules OF
the ship forbade gambling. The Cinnamon
would crawl into space timbered Off in the
forward end of the guards and there play
tau" until they were driven out by the
heat. To Obviate this difficulty they cut
through plank over their head, which let
4! ~, OH. h. -ko Al. ~.
who fed the cattle was bribed to keep
silence on the subject.
1t was a grand moOnlit night on the Pa
cific ocean, and the air was given motion
by the cooling bTeeZeS, allowing the most
| timid to walk the decks, as the ship was
steady as ballroom floor. Capt. Warsaw
was explaining to the crowd of lady pas
sengerS in his room how it was that day
was lost or gained as you crossed the me-
ridian east or west bound, and much fun
and laughter was OccaSioned by the COM
zeal reasoning of many who could not IN
derstand this. The wind lreshened as
THE SHIP ENTERED THE aoNsooNs
in the Straits of FOrmOSa, and all heI
square sail was set to help her along She
was bowling OFF about thirteen miles an
hour and ali hands had retired to theiI
rooms, expecting to be called when the shin
should make the light on the north point of
the Island of FOrmosa. L was on the main
deck, directing the flashing of some gear,
and seeing all things clear for fire. as was
my usual won't before yielding up the deck
20 my relief, and missing some of the Chi
namen of the watch. l went to the guards
to see if they were slowed in among the cat
tie, a favOrite place for them, and as opened
the door a dense black smoke rolled
out into the gangway, followed by an eX-
ploSiOn. Sheets of flame darted out and
took hold of the woodwork before | could
regain my feet. l instinctively crawled
into the cattle pen and there, under the
plankS, were five Chinaman wedged in the
grip of death, each trying to force his way
out of the trap, and each determined to sell
his life dearly. The flames were then roast
ing them, their bursting eyebails wer6
cracked by the heat and their heartrending
shrieks for freedom ring inmy ears yet No
help could come to them, and they miSer-
ably persisted, slowly burning to death in
the trap they had made for themselves to
gamble in.
But what a sight was on deck The
whole crowd of Cinnamon had broken out
of the Tween decks and were rushing
around in the glare of the great tongues of
, flame like so many demons, yelling and
; geSticulating and uncomfortable Capt.
: Warsaw had jumped from his bed and cut
the tOp-sail halyardS and ordered the wheel
down, thus bringing the ships head to the
wind and, unfortunately, driving all the
flame and smoke into the fire and engine
rooms and forcing the engineers and firemeD
to flee for their lives. The cabin passengers;
men. women and children, rushed about
the decks of the now doomed ship, and
would run from side to side in terror, trying
to escape. Some of us got three boats in
the water, but they were SWamped and
some of the life RATS We're launchedS on
: which some jumped and from which many
were washed away, never to return. At
; this juncture the forward half of the ship
blew up, and that was the most awful mo-
} ment of all. Fully 400 human beings were
precipitated into the death pit, and the cries
, and shrieks as the flames-now reinforced
, by the cargo-encircled them were terrible
! to hear. One man, whom did not know,
saw his wife in
THE BURNING, SETTLING MASS
| of humanity. and, grasping rope jumped
!, deliberately into the burning vortex to her
rescue and both persisted.
The cattle that had gotten loose now came
, forward to the edge of the sea of flame and
were let into it, and plunged and cried al
: most with human plaintiveneSS for help.
The flames were fast spreading aft and
all were forced back step by step,
! | knowing they had''nO hope, as all the
/
I a special Providence seemed to bless them
with dethrOnement of reason, and
they jumped by the score into the
waves with demoniacal yells and laugh
ter that chill my blood to this day. A
| sudden heavy lurch to port told the fear
full story that ali must go, and grasping
/ hold of a part of the wrecked pilot house,
4 four of us worked it clear from the wreck,
and slid overheard on top of it. We. pad
died away from the mountain of flames,
as the heat was unbearable, and as we
padded we were troubled to keep the
: boards used for paddles clear of the bodies
: of dead men and women, who l0ated face
;, up for the most part, their CHASTITY features
against the dark background of water form
ing thrilling picture Shortly after We
l left a great explosion was heard-the boiler
had husband the cone of fire and flame
. fell over sideways, and with a great dive
disappeared from human view. The dark
ness was intense. and we were compelled
. to hold hard to maintain our position on
l the pilot house. Now and again we could
hear the heartrending cry of some poor
q soul as he or she was engulfed In the
e waves.
I ''All that night we drifted about in the
i heavy sea, constantly coming in contact
with dead bodies, and constantly lodging
$ the great ferOcious sharks that swarmed
u around us and Toasted on the bodies Of our
n poor comrades. In the morning we werg
/, gladdened by sail to windward, and
e shortly after passed over her rail only te
n two months.
4 Vlxrf hot H. IF Ia o6