The San Francisco call., 1899-12-25
OIL SAVED THE
VALENCIA FROM
VIOLENT STORMS
Dangerous Passage of
the Transport.
TURNED BACK MANY TIMES
PURSUED BY TYPHooNS FOR
SEVERAL DAYS.
But for the Shelter Offered by the Is
land of Formosa the Vessel
Might Never Have Reached
Her Home Port.
TURNED BACK MANY TIMES
PURSUED BY TYPHOONS FOR
SEVERAL DAYS.

Only by the frequent and liberal use Of
Oil was the transport Valencia which ar
rived yesterday afternoon, enabled to
make her voyage from Manila in safety
On four separate occasions the violent
storms in the eastern seas obtained the
mastery over the transport, and only BY
running for shelter was the vessel kept
from laundering.
The Valencia left Manila on November
10. and between that port and Nagaseh
she met with a succession Of young ty-
phoons. accompanied by seas more than
usually violent. Captain Lanes logbook
shows that the voyage was one OF the
stormiest and luckiest ever made on that
route.
Chief Officer Frank Turner's official ac-
count of the series of adventures and mis-
adventures of the Valencia leaves no
doubt OF the genuine pleasure OF the crew
at being able 10 spend Christmas ashore.
we started with trouble and we have
mad trouble all the way over" said the
chief officer. I'VE were thirteen DAYS
making the first 1900 miles, and between
Manila and Nagasaki on several occa-
sions We began to select our berths in
DaVy Jones locker. l never saw such
weather in all my sea experience, and If
the Valencia had not been a good sea boat
/ guess We would have been eternally
overdue, and there is no joke in that.
out OF Manila we struck the beginning of
a typhoon, and three times we were
forced 10 run for shelter and anchor off
some island. on one occasion we were
forced 10 run for shelter under the lee
OF the south end Of Formosa. and so vio-
lent was the weather that we lay there
three days before We dared 10 venture
out. We could not head the wind and the
sea, and in order 10 make the sea smooth
enough TO run before IL we poured oil
down the discharge pipes. In this dilem-
ma we could not understand why the oil,
being poured down one pipe, was not
spreading IS IL should, but an inquiry
showed that the boatswain was gradually
emptying a large can of disinfectant. in
the belief that he was doing his part TO
still the storm. But for the success Of the
experiments with oil / am afraid we
should all have lost the number Of our
mess.
81 am not superstitious, but II there be
anything in the story about sailing on a
Friday We certainly got the full benefit
Of II. We left Manila on Friday, and
sailed out of our anchorage at Nansha
light on a Friday, and left Nagasah on
Friday, and / do not believe any more
hard times than we experienced could be
After leaving Nagasah we again met
with hard weather, and had nothing but
north and northeast gales and head seas
days in Nagasaki, and left there twenty
four days ago"
The Valencia at once docked at Harri-
son street.
The transport Westminster sailed yes
terday morning with a cargo OF horses
and fodder for Manila She will go by
way Of Honolulu.
The steamer Cleveland is TO be put into
the island trade. She is now preparing to
leave port for Kahului, where she will
load sugar.
The barkentine Tropic Bird arrived early
yesterday morning from Tahiti, occupying
thrty-nine days on the trip. She did not
lose sight of her port until three days out,
and ten days more were occupied in reach
ing the equator. When the Tropic Bird
left Tahiti the L. S. S. Albatross and the
French transport AUX were in the harbor.