Evening star., 1897-02-20

not permitted to visit Honolulu, but their
countrymen from Honolulu were allowed
during the first two days after the de-
barkation Of the coolies to visit them at
Quarantine On the third day after they
iai ded from the Belgic. half a dozen of
the coolies were stricken with Asiatic chol-
era. and died out OF hand in short order.
On the next day, and for several days af
ter, many more of them became infected.
The most OF them died. By this time Hon
oirlu was worried. A week after the
rival OF the Belgic with its cargo OF coolies.
paric seized Honolulu. when the announce
ment was made by the board of health that
cholera had broken out in the city. not
alone among the Chinese. but among the
haraEas and the resident whites as we'll.
1t required three months of frenzied ef-
iort or the part Of the Hawaiian board OF
nealth TO prevent cholera from develop
ing from an epidemic into devastation.
1hey nnaliy conquered the plague after
many deaths, but 1t was long before one
could travel the streets of Honolulu with
ou! waking ankle-deep in chloride Of Imc
ana other dis!nfectants and without the
necessary countersign to effect a passage
tnrough the chains OF health guards, who
pa1roiled all the public thoroughfares.
Ihe cnoiera got aboard the Bennington
over the starboard bow boom. The ship
was anchored not above two hundred
yards from the Honolulu docks, at a point
not 1ar removed from the mouth of a creek
tnat drains an evil, insaaitary quarter of
the city, chiefly occupied by the Chinese.
Death Lurked in the Water.
II has always been the custom of COM
n1anders Of American mer-of-war anchor
ed In Honolulu harbor to permit the crews
70 take an evening swim, In January as
Well as IN July, for the temperature of the
water Fever changes, and 1t is SO beau
tifuly clear that the harbor's coral bed
can be easily made out twenty fathoms
ceiew For the convenience of the SWIM
Hihg parties one of the forward booms is
swung round. and from this boom, clad
n n. taunks. the men dive or jump into the
water, and, when they have had enough,
scramble up the boom ladder to the top
gailsnt forecas.le. Even while the chol-
era was raging in Honolulu. there was
men to have their evening swim. The
1act was overlooked that the little creek
WElch emptied into the harbor near tire
sa'ps anchorage was carrying the refuse
or the worst-infected district of Homo
iulu into the sea. Practically all hands
had been quarantiped-that is, Kept aboard
the ship-on the bennington since the day
OF the announcement that cholera had ap-
peared IN Honolulu, and, for additional
security, officers and men were living on
SHIPS provisions. There was no communf-
cation whatever between the shore and
the man-of-War.
Swimming call went as usual after s,,n
per on the evening of August 20. and
about three-fourths Of the men forward
stripped and donned their trunks for a
plunge In the sapphire waters. Among
tnese was lad named William Goebel of
this city, a first-class apprentice whose
term OF naval service was nearly at an end
Tor ne was verging upon his majority. and
ne was hguring with great deal of boyish
happiness on his return to his family here
after long absence. He was putting in
his last few months as a dynamo oiler
The Only Victim.
The Bennington's two dynamos are sit
uated in very small, hot room below
the berth deck. nearly I'D in the eyes of
the ship. To this room young Goebel went
to stand his watch Immediately after he
came out of the water. After he had been
there an hour he became nauseated, but
he stuck to his post, probably fancying
that his nausea was the result of the
strong smell of hot oil in the dynamo
room. and that it would soon wear off,
He had been thus alone in the dynamo
room for couple of hours, attending 10
mis- work with difficulty, when the chief
gunners mate, who was acting as dynamo
machinist. entered the dynamo room to
make an inspection of the gear under his
charge. He found young Goebe sitting in
a chair. his frank, boyish countenance
drawn and distorted and the color of SAT-
fron. The chief gunner's mate was an old
timer. with an eye in his head, and so he
lost no time in getting the lad aft to the
sick bay. The apothecary, a courageous
man. who had borne a charmed existence
in the midst of all manner of deadly epi-
ueIHlCS all over the world, needed only
glance at young Goebel to discover what
was the matter with him. He shot I'D the
ward room ladder and brought down the
ships surgeon. DR.. G. T. Hibbett now at
tached to the receiving ship Independence
at Mare Island, who has pulled many thou
sands OF officers and men in the navy
through dangerous sicknesses, and who is
affectionately known as DIR. Won't-Let-
En- Die on account of the earnest ef-
forts he has on several occasions made to
save the lives Of men in the service who
attempted to commit suicide. Surgeon Hib-
bett took look at young Goebel, who was
lapsing into writhfng Inconsistencies and
then the sick bay doors were closed and
the surgeon and apothecary began a hope
less fight to save the lads life.
An OminOus Scene.
The officers had meantime nearly all gone
to their hunks. and only one or two of them
knew of the fight that was going on in the
sick bay through the long hours of the
night. None of the men forward, except