Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-11-29
Twelve AWFUL DAYS.
Troops on tho Manauenz Only Saved
by Their Own Heroic
Actions.
Battled Twelve Days in Dark Hold
To Save the Sinking
Ship
Arrive at Manila in Starved and
Exhausted Condition. Officials
Doubt Story.

Manila, Nov. 29.-when the Manau-
enz anchored in Manila bay Tuesday
morning, thirty three days from San
Francisco. as reported in yesterdays
dispatches, 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 Nov. II, night and day.
First Assistant Engineer Dunleavy
was under arrest, and, according to
Col. Webb Hayes, of the transport, the
chief engineer would also have been
under arrest If there had been any one
| to replace him. The colonels 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 were greenhorns and
| failed to realize their danger, while ex
lperienced seamen would have deserted
the ship and taken to the boats in mid
ocean.
| The Manauenz is chartered ship fly
! ing the British flag. She belongs to
| firm of which Senator Perkins, of San
| Francisco, is alleged to be Junior
member. The officers say the firm
| bought her for $4,000 and they claim
that efforts We're made to sell her to the
government for sl50,O0O. She started
| from San Francisco accompanied by the
| transport Pekin, which carried the re-
mainder of the regiment and encoun-
| tered heavy seas to Honolulu without
accident. After starting 1t developed
THAT she was undermined. and sol
diers had to be detailed to act as fire
men. coal passers and walters and to do
other work
CHEW DESERTED.
Before reaching Honolulu the crew
concluded that the ship was not safe.
and the majority agreed to desert.
Though they We're closely watched.
many of the crew succeeded in getting
away, and the Manauenz left Honolu-
| lu with less than half her crew. The
captain of the transport on Nov. II told
| Col Hayes that the vessel had sprung
| a 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 We're found. others were mpro
vised, and the soldiers not employed in
| working the ship We're organized into
five shifts and stripped and forming
| lines, they began bailing, the officers
working with the men, passing the
buckets which We're sent up to the deck
by windlass. The longest time shift
could stand was two hours. and often
the period was not longer than half an
4 hour
The bailing continued until the ship
/ reached port. The same day the leak
| was discovered the machinery collapsed
and the electric lighting plant and
/ evaporating. distiliing and refrigerat-
4 ing apparatus failed TO work. There
| were no lamps. and the few candles
| found We're exhausted after few days
\ During the last week of the passage the
4 ManauenZ was in utter darkness at
night. She had been rolling in heavy
! seas all the way, but on Nov. % she
encountered a typhoon and pitched and
| tossed aiarmingly. The Pekin became
separated from the Manauenz in the
| storm.
IGNORANCE is BLISS.
The water rose rapidly, and the bail
i ing force was doubled. But the DUCK
cts were gradually sIlashea' ana par
rels and boxes were substituted Tor
them, the men working IN the darkness,
planks and pieces OF IRON shaltlhg pc
ing Violently washed among theih. me
firemen could only iced the hres by pc
ing lifted on the shoulders OF other men
through water waist deep
The typhoon lasted two DAYS ana a
half. and in the midst OF II the engines
stopped. The officers tnen heid councA
and found that there We're 40 persons
on board, with life boat aceommoda-
tons for 2l'-
In the meantime the men peloW, lg-
norant OF their extreme peril, We're
passing buckets and singing what the
Hell DO We Care! While the snlI
rolled helpiessly on the ocean, with
matches closed.
The heat was intense until me w.
phoon passed and lhen the Pekin
which had retraced/her course about
seventy miles, came along the Manau-
enz, which was rolling so heavliy tha'
the soldiers IN the hoia could at each
roll see the Pekin through the hatches
overhead
Col James $ Petit, commander OF