The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-29

Irons Had There Been Any One
to Take His PIace-Ship Might
Have Been Lost in TyphoOn but
for the Daring of the Troops.
MANILA,Nov. 2S-When the Nanuense
anchored in Manila bay this morning.
thirty-three days from San Francisco.
there were several feet of water in her
hold and 400 grimy, greasy, hungry, ex-
hausted soldiers and sailors had been
passing buckets of water since Nov. II,
night and day. First Assistant Engineer
Dunleavy was under arrest and accord
ing to Col. Webb Hayes official report,
the chief engineer would also have been
under arrest if there had been any one
to replace him. The colonel's report also
declares that the captain of the vessel
told him that the only thing that brought
them through was the fact that the men
were greenhorns and failed to realize their
danger, while experienced seamen would
have deserted their ship and taken to
the boats in midocean
The Manuense is a chartered ship, fly
ing the British flag. She belongs to a
firm of Which Senator Perkins, of San
Francisco, is alleged to be junior mem
Der. The officers say the firm bought her
for $4,000, and they claim efforts were
made to sell her to the government for
$3.50, 900. She started from San Francisco
accompanied by the transport Pekin,
which carried the remainder of the regi-
ment, and encountered heavy seas to
Honolulu without accident After start
ing it developed that she was under
manned, and soldiers had to be detailed
to act as firemen, coal passers and wait
ers, and to do other work Before reach
Ing Honolulu the crew concluded that the
ship was not safe and the majority agreed
TO desert. Though they were closely
watched, many Of the crew succeeded in
getting away and the Manuense proceed
ed with less than half crew
The captain, on Nov. II, told Col Hayes
that the vessel had sprung leak, and an
investigation resulted in finding several
feet of water in her hold. The steam
pumps were tried, but failed to work,
and there were no hand pumps on board.
However, forty-six buckets were found.
others We're improvised, and the soldiers
not employed in working the ship We're or
gan1zed into five shifts and, stripped and
forming lines, they began bailing, the Off
GERS working with the men, passing the
buckets which were sent up to the deck
by windlass. The longest time shift
could stand it was two hours. and often
the period was not longer than half an
hour The bailing continued until the
ship anchored here.
The same day the leak was discovered
the machinery collapsed and the electric
lighting plant and evaporating, distilIing
and refrigerating apparatus failed to
work. There were no lamps, and the few
candles found were exhausted after a few
days. During the last week the passage
OF the Manuense was in utter darkness
at night. She had been rolling in heavy
seas all the way, but Nov. q she encoun-
tered typhoon and pitched and tossed
alarmingly.
LOST IN A STORM.
The Pekin became separated from the
Manuense in the storm, the water rose
rapidly, and the baling force was doubled
But the buckets were gradually smashed
and barrels and boxes were substituted
for them, the men working In darkness.
planks and pieces of iron shafting being
violently washed among them. The fire
men could only feed the fires bv being
lifted on the shoulders of the other men
through water waist deep. The typhoon
lasted two days and a half and in the
midst of ii the engines stopped The Off
GERS then held a council and found that
there were 420 persons on board, with life
boat accommodations for 213
In the meantime the men below ie
norant of their extreme peril. were pass
ing buckets and singing What the he'll
do We care" while the ship rolled help
lessly on the ocean with matches closed
Tie heat was intense until the typhoon
passed, and then the Pezin, which had re-
traced her course about seventy miles.
came alongside the Manuense which
was rolling so heavily that the soldiers in
the hold could at each roll see the Pekin
through the matches overhead
Col. James j. Petit, commander of tho
Ihlrty-hrst volunteer regiment ordered
the Manuense to proceed to Guam and
await orders, but the captain of the
Manuense demurred because. If is said
the government was renting the ship for
$500 per day.
throughout the remainder of the vow
age the engines of the Manuense failed
repeatedly, and the ship would roll for
a few hours while the engines were
repairing Then the steamer would pro
ceed again for a few hours
The meat and vegetables rotted becaI1sa
'ot the failure of the refrigerators and
were thrown overheard
WATER SUPPLY EXHAUSTED
After the storm the water sunplied to
the ship al Honolulu had to he I1sed
for the boilers and there was little or
none for drinking. In fact it is asserted
that during the last week of the vow
age the men lived almost entirely ON
whisky, beer and hard tack.
The officers and soldiers were uttarIv
exhausted when they reached Manila.
They declare the engineers We're grossly
incompetent. The officers also saw the
behavior of the troops was bevond
praise. For days they worked in the
dark, suffocating hold, with water some
times up to their shoulders and plank
moving about, dangerous to life and
limb. The officers took the lead at bal
ing, and encouraged the men, The cap
tain of the ship promised the men 25c
a day for baling, but he now proposes
to pay them $3.50. The soldiers talk of at
taching the ship. The regiment will pro-
ceed to Zamboanaga on the island of
Mindanao.
TRANSPORT OFFICIALS PUZZLED
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 2S.-Transport
officials at this port are at a loss to
explain the alleged unseaworthy condi-
ton of the transport Manuense, whose
arrival at Manila was reported TODAY. A
representative of the Associated Press
interviewed g. number of officials TODAY.
and in every instance the alleged mn