The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-06-17
STEAMER MAkEE
IN TIDAL WAVE.
Touches the Ocean Bed in Ka-
paa Harbor.
SMALL BOATS ON THE BEACH.
The Captains Hair Did Not Turn
whIte-But His Knees TrembIed.
Noticed Fall In Tide Same Hour as
fn HonoIuIu-Other Events Noticed.

From reports received by the James
Makee yesterday morning the tidal
wave as noticed here Monday was very
much more pronounced along the coast
of the island of Kauai. Through the
kindness of Captain Peterson of the
James Makee, which arrived early yes
terday morning, an accurate story OF
all the details of the wave as noticed
at Kappa was given a reporter of this
paper.
ITO begin with, I want to tell you
that since o'clock Monday morning
have shortened my prescribed exist
ence by at least five years, lost more
hair than 1 care to talk about, and be-
came almost knock-kneed from the
strain of the trip. 1 was never so glad
to be in Honolulu in all my life, and
let me assure you that whenever 1 go
into Kappa again it will be with the
feeling of a heather bowling in terror
before a god.
I'VE were at Kappa on Saturday
night, but pulled out from there while
the wind was blowing a gale. AT Ha-
namaulu we lay over Sunday and got
back to Kappa to discharge the re-
mainder of our freight early Monday
morning.
1--WE first noticed the peculiar action
of the water at about Z 80 o'clock and 1
became convinced at once that we were
in for tidal wave. Two boats. with
sixteen bags of coal apiece had gone
ashore, and when 1 looked in toward
the wharf 1 saw that they were stuck
fast in the sand near the landing.
couple of minutes later and they
were left high and dry and the sailors
were forced to hold up the boats to
keep the coal from splitting out. Sim
ultaneously with the occurrence to the
boats l felt the Makee settle on the
for it. 1 made up my mind then and
there to get out of that hole as fast
as 1 could. 1 blew the whistle for the
boats, and after making several at
tempts they succeeded in getting along
side
"In the meantime the waves were
playing havoc with the, Makee. We
had seven lines attached to buoys, and
anchors set in various places, as you
are aware that the nature of the bot
tom inside the reef at Kappa is such
as to allow no anchors to be dropped.
1.-The swinging motion produced by
to part, one at the bow and another at
the stern. If we had remained there
much longer all our hawsers should
have parted and we should have been
smashed to pieces on the reef. 1 can
tell you that such prospect was by
no means pleasant
1--WE succeeded in getting out into
deeper water between two waves at
about o'clock This could have been
done by no other steamer than the
Makee, for a guardian angel watches
over her continually. This is the cause
of her proverbial good luck.
I'VE made for Hanamaulu to take
sugar and left for Honolulu in the
evening. Our trip down was one of the
worst 1 ever experienced"
The purser, in speaking of the ex-
perience of the Makee, added a few
facts to the captains story.
The water is twelve feet deep where
the Makee was moored. Our good
steamer draws eleven feet and when
the water receded she was solid in the
sand.
From observations taken by looking
at the reef and other places I judge
that the water dropped at least three
feet.
Telephone messages received from
Kilauea told of big wave at that place.
The water had receded, leaving a dry
space of about forty feet around the
landing. At Nawiliwili the water rush.
ed over the Government road and the
bridges
"Old people in Kauai say they have
never before witnessed such a thing,
and many of the natives believe it to
be premonitiOn of a coming evil"