The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-02
FLEEING FROM SPANISH FURY.
BRITISH STEAMSHIP LUCILENR
LOADED WITH MILLIONAIREs.

Provisions and CoaI-wns Fired
Upon by the Cruiser New York just
Out of Matanzas-Sixty of the Pas
sengers Want to Leave Her Here,
and n Meeting of the Sanitary
Board VIII be Held This Morning.
The British steamship Lucilene, Capt.
| Tucker. from Havana and Matanzas.
Cuba, arrived in Tybee roads yesterday
morning, and telephone message was
at once sent from Tybee TO the city, say
ing that the vessel was short of provis-
ions and coal, and needed assistance.
Capt. f. G. Strachan, of Strachan & Co,
who represent the Munson line of steamers
receiving this information made arrange
ments as quickly as possible to take down
the needed supplies, and to see that the
steamship with her cargo of refugees
was in want for nothing.
He secured the tug Cambria in command
of Capt. Van B. Avery, and shortly after
II o'clock with $50 pounds of fresh meat,
bread and other provisions on board,
went down 10 Tybee roads where he found
the Lucilene anchored at the sea buoy
The quarantine tug Theckla also went
out to the steamer, and as she was with
bow to the sea and out of the channel
the tugs brought her TO, and permission
having been previously secured She came
up to Venus Point. where she will take
coal to-day, before proceeding on her
| journey 10 Philadelphia
The Lucilene has had a most interesting
and exciting trip. With her liz Cuban re-
fugees on board, besides thirty-eight of
the crew, there was no little consterna-
ton when she was fired upon by the
cruiser New York, just out of Matanzas.
Three shots were fired at her, when she
hove to, and after an inspection, was al
lowed to proceed without further molesta-
ton. The captain said nothing of the
matter yesterday when Capt. Strachan
went down, but the engineer had a re-
mark to make. He spoke of the three
shots fired upon him by the Yankee
| ship" as he called her, but said 1--WE got
away all right" After stopping a few
days at Nassau, the Lucilene came direct
| to Savannah.
Yesterday being May the quarantine
regulations of this port went into effect,
and no one from any ship from Havana
| or any other port in Cuba, was allowed
| TO land here nor was any one permitted
! TO 80 aboard the ship. The only commu-
nicauon that was had with her was from
distance as she was coming up from
Tybee roads to Venus Point.
Capt. Strachan learned that there were
1l2 Cuban refugees on board, most of
| whom are women and children. They be-
| long to some of the wealthIest families on
| the island, a dozen of the men in the
party being millionaires, or multi-million-
| aires, and yet with all their fortunes they
were obliged to be content with hard
decks to sleep upon and canvass sails for
covering.
| Capt Tucker turned his small cabin over
to the women and children Of the party
and besides that covered with awnings of
sails the bridge over his tanks, making
additional apartments for them on deck,
shetering them from the weather The
men, however, were obliged to sleep on
deck and made themselves as comfort
able as they could under the circum-
stances. Some few, who were more for
tunate, succeeded in getting common hunks
in the forecastle belonging to members of
the crew for the sum Of SIS to 500 for the
trip, but those who could not purchase had
TO sleep it out on deck.
Who the members of the party are could
not be learned. There was no oppor-
tunity of communication sufficient to learn
the details. One of the ladies In the party
Capt. Strachan said. was 50 years old.
There were many children, but they were
not as numerous nor as small as were
| those on the Orange, which was here
few days ago. Some forty or fifty of them
| wanted to send cablegrams to their friends
in Cuba or to friends elsewhere. They had
them all written out, but as Capt
STachan said he did not care about TAX
| ing trip to Sapelo at the present time he
| could not take them From the deck of
the ship however they were dictated to
him on the tug Cambria, and he took
copies of them ALL and sent them off last
night.
On account of the case being one of
| emergency, the Lucilene was allowed to
| pass the quarantine station and come up
/ to Venus Point, where she will get coal
to-day The tug Regis viii carry down a
! lighter with 100 tons this morning, which
viii be put aboard the vessel. According
to DIR. LeHardy, the health officer, the
| regulations requiring it, the lighter will be
I fumigated after the coal has been put
| aboard
| Some sixty of the passengers on the ship
| are anxious to come ashore here and go
north by rail- They do not want TO remain
| IN savannah, Out tiey wait 10 get the
ship which is crowded to an extent to be
! extremely uncomfortable. This was about
| the only chance they had to get away
from Cuba before the final conflict comes
on, and they took it, Munson's agent was
on board with his wife and child, and the
! heads of the families who are the pas
| sengers went 10 him Just before she sailed
and told him they had to go. Most of
them are wealthy planters or merchants,
who were prominent patrons or friends of
patrons of the line, and he told them they
could go aboard if they could put up with
the conditions. They readily assented, and
| thus it was that the ship became crowded.
There has been a request for a meeting
| of the sanitary board this morning, which
| will probably he held. The passengers on
the vessels are among the best people from
| Cuba, and none of them are of the lower
| class. Capt Avery says between fifty and
| sixty of them want to get off here and go
| North by-rail if by any relaxation of the
rules they can be allowed to do so. This
being the beginning of the season, it was
| thought the sanitary board might give this
permission with certain conditions. All of
them are ready and willing 10 be fumigat-