Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-11-30
full OF PERIL
Details of the Fearful Voyage
Of the Manauense.
BRAVERY OF TROOPERS.
Captain of ship Says Their Ignorance
of Their Danger Saved the Vessel
Drinking Water Scarce
story of the Trip.

SAVNy VI Suo AFlps
Manila, Nov. 29.-Details of the
voyage of the transport Manauense are
now obtainable. The story of her trip
is startling. When she anchored in
the bay yesterday morning, thirty
three days from San Francisco, there
was several feet of water in the hold,
and 400 grimy, greasy, hungry, ex-
hausted soldiers and sailors had been
bailing water since Nov. II, night and
day. First Assistant Engineer Dun
leayy was under arrest, and, according
to Colonel Webb Hayes official report
the chief engineer would also have
been under arrest if there had been
any one to replace him.
Did Not Realize the Danger.
The colonePs report also declares
that the captain of the vessel told him
that the only thing which brought
them through was the fact that the
men We're greenhorns and failed to re-
alize their danger, while experienced
seamen. would. have deserted the ship
and taken to the boats in midocaan.
The Manauense is chartered ship
flying the British flag. 1t belongs to a
firm of which Senator Perkins, of San
Francisco, is alleged to- be u junior
member. The officers say the firm
bought the boat for $45,00O, and they
claim efforts We're made. to sell it to
the government for $150,O0O. 1t start
ed from. San Francisco accompanied
by the transport Pekin, which carried
the remainder of the regiment. and en-
;countered heavy seas to Honolulu,
without accident.
Transport Was Undermined.
After starting it developed that the
.Manauense was undetermined, and sol
disrs had to be detailed to act as fire.
men, coal-passers and walters and do
other work. Before reaching Homo
lulu the crew concluded that the
ship was not safe and the majority
agreed to desert. Though they were
closely watched, many of the crew sue
ceeded in getting away, and the Man
auense left Honolulu with less than
half the crew. The captain of the
transports Nov. II told Colonel HAYES
that the vessel had sprung leak and
AN investigation resulted in finding
several feet of water, in the hold. The
steam pumps We're tried, but failed to
work, and there were no hand pumps
on board. However, forsy-six buckets
were found, others We're improyised,
and the soldiers not employed in work
ing the ship were organized into five
shifts. and, stripped and forming lines,
they began bailing, the officers work
ing with the men, passing the buckets.
which We're sent up to the deck by a
windlass. The longest time shift
could stand was two hours, and often
the period was not. longer than half an
hour. The bailing continued until the
ship anchored here.
Trials Grow More Severe.
The same day the leak was discover
ed the machinery collapsed and the
electric-lighting plant and evaporating
distilling and Tefrigerating apparatus
failed to work. There We're no lamps
and the few candles found were eN-
hausted after few days During the
last week of the passage the Manau-
ense was in utter darkness at night. 1t
had been rolling in heavy seas all the
way, but Nov. % it encountered a ,y-
phoon and pitched and tossed alarm
ingly.
The Pekin became separated from
the Manauense in the storm. The
water rose rapidly and the bailing
force was doubled. The buckets were
gradually smashed and burned and
boxes were substituted for them, the
men working in darkness, planks and
pieces of iron shafting being violently
washed among them. The firemen
could feed the fires only by being lift
ed on the shoulders of the other men,
through water waist deep.
Sing I'm Midst OF Danger.
The typhoon lasted two days and a
half, and in the midst of it the en-
gines stopped. The officers then held
u council and found that there were
420 persons on board, with lifeboat ac-
commodations for 213. In the mean
time the men below, ignorant of their
extreme peril, We're passing buckets
and singing, "What the HI Do We
Care while the ship rolled helpless ON
the ocean, with matches closed.
The heat was intense until the ty-
phoon passed, and then the Pekin,
which had retraced its course about
seventy miles.came alongside the Man.
auense, which was rolling so heavily
that the soldiers in the hold could at
each roll see the Pekin through the
matches overhead.
Col. James S. Petit, commander of
the Thirty-first volunteer regiment, or
dered the Mauauense to proceed to
Guam and await relief, but the captain
of the Manauense demurred, the off
GERS say, because the government was
renting the ship for $500 a day.
Russian Warship Wrecked.
n O,N ~ ~ ~ 4