The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-08-16
WAS ALMOST A MUT|NY
Hardships of Montana Men on the
Way to Manila.
WERE NEARLY STARVED
Transports Overcrowded - Permitted
Water Only Once a Day-Blunders
Which Were Nearly Criminal.
Kessler Disliked.

Special correspondence OF the Examiner
tSan Francisco).
Honolulu, July 3.-More Of the troop
ships have come and gone. The Penn
s~ylvania and Rio passed out early this
morning and the Peru and Puebla are
scheduled TO sail o-morrow One hun
dred of the recruits from the LIST Cali
fornia regiment were transferred here
from the Pennsylvania to the Rio. Had
this not been done some OF the Cal forn'a
recruits. say the men IN the crowded
troop ships. would have mutinied before
Manila was reached.
AS IL was. there was almost n mutiny
on the Pennsylvania when that vessel
was only two days out OF a Francisco.
The boys brought some of the hardest
stories Of ill-treatment that / have
heard since Camp Merritt was estab-
lished, and the crowded ships have been
sent across the ocean to the relief OF
Dewey. A troop ship at best Is far from
being pleasant, but some one in autho'-
ity certainly Numbered when me Penn
%sylvania put to sea with l,430 men on
" 80
lions for only 900. The sleeping places
between decks. when the ship arrived
here. were simply foul. although they
were hosed out each day. There was not
room enough on deck for the men TO
move about, and the food supplied was
insufficient and far below the standard
allowed by the government. There was
not sufficient galley room TO do the cook
ing. even though the cooks were kept at
work night and day.
The second day out from San Fran
cisco the men threatened to throw Lieu
tenant Alfred Seadorf of the lst Mon
tana overheard. and the officers We're
compelled TO gather around him and pro-
tect him. From that time until the ship
reached Honolulu the officers wore their
sidearms. The men complained Of the
incompetency OF Colonel kessler and
say tina he kept to his stateroorn
throughout the entire voyage, coming
on deck on but two or three occasions.
For Lieutenant Colonel Wallace the
C~alifornians had only words of praise.
They say he did everything I'm his power
to make the lot Of the troops as pleas
ant as possible. and II was through his
efforts alone that much better food wac
served. The only vegetables given out
during the long run to this port We're
onions, yet the lifeboats were stored full
OF cabbage that rotted on route and was
tossed overheard here.
The Red Cross society Of Honolulu
sent down COO pounds Of chicken. None
Of the fowl were cooked, but all were
thrown overheard. The same quantity
of rations per were issued To
the California companies Of l04 men, as
were the Montana companies of 80
This was regulated through the efforts
Of Lieutenant Colonel Wallace. Those
of the men who had any ~money-and
there were not many among the Cali
fornia recruits-were able to obtain n
loaf OF bread by paying 20 and as high
as 80 cents for IL. This they obtained
from the cook. One man told me he
had exchanged two suits OF underCloth-
ing for one meal and thought he was
in luck TO make the exchange. Others
without money went down into the
stoke hole and shoveled coal for what
they called a "hand-out'-a piece Of
meat and a biscuit.
Tom NJ. Sullivan. whose father con-
Quoted the cloak house on Kearney
street. lost 10 pounds on the trip over.
T. II. T%urnbull weighed 10 pounds less
when he arrived here than when he left
San Francisco. Lea Wilkis was minus
eight pounds OF flesh. Sergeant Arm
strong. who gave up n position at
Shreve's, was also a sufferer. and so II
runs through nearly the entire lot Of 300
California recruits.
The Montana men suffered the same.
and their dislike for Colonel Kessler is
d~eep-seated. Every evening after re-
treat the men used TO give three cheers
for Lieutenant Colonel Wallace and not
a murmur for the colonel or quarter
master. Guards were put over the
water tanks the second day out and
they lined up for one drinE Of water
every day. They were not allowed 70
carry any away In a cup or bottle, hut
had to drink what they wanted a. the
time ~ the lineup. Only four times in
nine days was bread or biscuit fur
nished.
II was such treatment that made
many OF the boys ak of leaving the
ship and taking to the hills II some,
thing was not done to relieve them
Major General Otis. after an inspection
Of the ship. ordered 100 ~ the Califor.
mans transferred to the Rio. and thus
to a slight extent was the congestion
relieved.
The Rio. with Brigadier General otis
and the South Dakota troops. came IL
carly Sunday morning. The genera.
wore seven decorations, and Monday
morning had his picture. with all tn,
decorations and also his military pedi
gree, published I'm one Of the papers
His military family consisted Of n nun
Der or political captains, who, like 9th
ers who have gone before. have bios
somed forth in all the gay and Eaudl
trappinss Of war that the fun exten
Of the regulations will allow.