The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-01-02

sible for fear of our hawsers breaking.
Were they to snapnow nothing could
prevent the Strathnevis from going
on the rocks before she could he pick
ell up again. nthis gale continues it
is hard to say how long we may have
to beat Off this coast before we can
"ttempt to enter the Straits of Fuea.
The passengers are taking the affair
as philosophically rs possible. For
my part am now going TO bed IL
the ship founders in the gale may as
well be drowned comfortably ia my
bunk as anywhere else.
MONDAY AM, Dec. %, 1895.
Thirty miles from ii lea shore. q
rock bound coast, and parted from our
tow. The Strathnevis and her pass
enk ers and crew are doomed. When L
closed my letter last night, L went on
deck TO have look at the weather 1t
was like peering into q dark cellar.
The sky was ink black, the rain pour
ing in torrents, and the wind aud sea
rising. The lights of the Strathnevis
showed dimly a cable length astern,
sometimes towering away above us,
aud sometimes away Below, and L
turned in feeling that there was disas-
ter ahead. Between midnight and I
Am. the wind was blowing n gale,
and the 10 inch MANILA hawser snap
ped like thread. We still held our
tow with the siX-inch wire cable, but
inside of half an hour a great sea hit
the Strathnevis, the cable parted, and
in almost as short time as it takes
me TO describe it she was carried away
out of slght on the wings of the gale
A shudder went through the officers
and crew. They felt it was hopeless
case. In the meantime we lay to all
night, the seas rolling clean over our
decks. One monster wave cleaned off
the porch that sheltered the captains
cabin door, broke in the skylights aad
deluged the alley way between the
staterooms. Our trunks were chasing
each other round our stateroom, but /
jumped from my berth and Secured
them from possible damage by piling
Item in behind a coal chute. AT day
light we passed three-masted
schooner scudding before the wind
under bare poles--a small topsail TO
give her steerage way being the only
canvas she carried. She is In u very
dangerous position If the wind does
not drop. This is the worst weather
the Miowera has ever experienced in
these waters. We have had breakfast,
the day is clearing, and hear that we.
are going to make another search for
the missing steamer. L have just got.
back to my seat, having been shot
under NV berth by a terrific lurch of
the vessel. By the noise in the cooks
galley | fancy that there has been a
grand smash of the crockery. The
all absorbing topic of conversation
amongst the passengers is the pOssi-
bi!ity of catching up with the Strath-
nevis and taking off the passengers
and crew before she goes OH the Rocks
which Is, to say the least, avery
forlorn hope unless the wind and sea
go down, for no small boat could pos
slbiy approach one of these steamers
without being smashed TO splinters
against the hull.
THE FATES ARE AGAINST US.
All forenoon there has been one
continuous succession of heavy squalls
accompanied by rain and sometimes
snow. We are DOW steaming out to
sea again, and will after an hour work
our way up the coast towards Cape
Flattery. The captain and officers
have abandoned all hope that the
missing vessel is still af1oat, or if
afoat that she can be saved. Even
should we come across her now, we
could not take her crew off, the sea is
so wild.
A DESPERATE CONDITION.
Tuesday Morning. = 1t was some,
time after we had altered our course
yesterday before / knew the reason.
why we are now on our course for
Honolulu instead of Victoria. When
the captain set the vessels course for
Cape Flattery he was met with such,
tremendous seas that there was dam
ger of the Miowera going under. Tons.
of water washed over the decks, going
through the broken skylights down
into the engine room, where the fires
were in danger of being extinguished.
In addition to that the vessel was
making such leeway that, even
though she weathered the gale, there
was every danger of running her on
the rocks at Cape Flattery. There.
was no alternative left but TO head the,
Miowera out to sea again under slow
steam, which was done accordingly
when the fret opportunity to change
our course safely occurred. It was an
relief to the vessel The
horrible racing of the propeller was
eased, though we were driving in the
teeth of wind that whipped the tops
off the waves and drove them against
the upper deck with a noise like
thunder. I remained in the smoking
room until about 8 80 pm, fearing to
risk trip TO the saloon door. Finally
L ventured, and as L turned the corner
of the saloon blast of wind caught {
me that
LIFTED ME CLEAN OFF MY FEET,
and was hurliDg me bodily out against
the hulwarks when, throwing out my
hand, I gripped the rail of the bridge
stairs and was saved from broken
ribs, or being possibly carried. over