The record-union., 1899-11-29
Manauense, With Three Companies
Of Soldiers on Board,
Has a Close Call From Disaster While on
Her Voyage to Manila.


Being Compelled to Work Night
and Day for Twelve Days Bail
ing Water Out Of the Hold, Part
Of the Crew Having Deserted
When She Reached Honolulu.
MANILA, Nov. 2S.-The transport
Manauense. with Lieutenant Colonel
Webb Hayes and three companies OF
the Thirty-first Infantry on board, has
arrived here. She narrowly escaped
disaster. The officers and soldiers were
for twelve days bailing with buckets.
The steamer was unseaworthy, under
manned and short of provisions. Her
engines broke down and she rolled three
days in a typhoon.
When the Manauense 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, exhausted
soldiers and sailors had been passing
buckets of water since November 18th,
night and day. First Assistant Engin-
SGI DuLIedNy was uildCl dllCSSs dlio
according to Colonel Webb Hayes Off
cial report, the Chief Engineer would
have been under arrest also if there
had been anyone to replace him.
The Colonel's report also declared that
the Captain of the vessel told him that
the only thing which brought them
through was the fact that the men were
greenhorns, and failed to realize their
danger, while experienced seamen
would have deserted the ship and TAX
en- to the boats in mid-ocean.
The Manauense is a chartered ship
flying the British flag. She belongs
to a firm Of which Senator Perkins of
San Francisco is alleged to be a jun
bought her for $4,000, and they claim
efforts were made to sell her to the Gov
ernment for $150,000.
She started from San Francisco ac-
companied by the transport Peking,
which carried the remainder of the reg
iment, and encountered heavy seas to
Honolulu without accident.
After starting it developed that she
was under-manned, and soldiers had to
be detailed to act as firemen, coal pass
erS and walters, and to do other work.
Before reaching Honolulu the crew con-
cluded 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 Manauense left Honolulu with less
than half her crew.
The Captain of the transport on No
the vessel had sprung a leak, and an
investigation resulted in finding sew
eral 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 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
MINDLESS. The longest time a 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.
QlScOV-
cred the machinery collapsed, and the
electric lighting plant and distilling.
evaporating and refrigerating plants
failed to work. There were no lamps,
and the few candles found were ex-
hausted after few days. During the
last week of the passage the Manauense
was in utter darkness at night. She
had been rolling in heavy seas all the
way. but November 22d she encoun-
tered a typhoon, and pitched and tossed
alarmingly.
The Peking became separated from
the Manauense in the storm The water
rose rapidly, and the bailing force was
doubled. But the buckets were grad
ually 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 firemen could onlv
feed the fires by being lifted up by the
men through water waist deep.
The typhoon lasted two days and a
half, and in the midst of it the engines
stopped. The officers then held con-
sultation, and found that there were
420 persons on board, with lifeboat ac-
commodations for 213.
In the meantime the men below ip-
norant of their extreme p=ri1, We're pass
ing buckets and singing What the h
do we care?" while the ship rolled help
lessly on the ocean with matches closed.
The heat was intense until the
typhoon passed, and then the Peking.
which had retraced her 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 Peking through the
matches overhead.
Colonel James s. Petit, commander
of the Thirty-first Volunteer Regiment.
ordered the Manauense to proceed to
Guam and await relief, but the CAPTAIN
of the Manuense demurred, the officer
says, because the Government was rent
ing the ship for $500 day.
Throughout the voyage the engines Of
the ,Manauense failed frequently. and
the ship would roll for a few ho1,rs
while the engines We're repairing. Then
he steamer would proceed again for a
few hours The meat and vegetables
rotted because Of the failure of the re-
frigerators, and were thrown overheard.
After the storm the water supplied TO
the ship at Honolulu had to be used
for the boilers, and there was little or
none for drinking. In fact, It is as