The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-12-09
STRANGE VOYAGE OF
THE I. +. CAKES.
Remarkable Experience of Amer.
iea's First Iron Square
Risger.
TERRIBLE TIMES AT SEA.
Old Sky.SaiI Clipper Consumes Min.
Months in Run From Hong.
kong to New York
TERRIBLE TIMES AT SEA.

ing and then turning IN
was that of the skysail
cnrper Y. +. Cakes, the first
American iron square-rgger ever
launched says s A Wood in Ainslee's
She left the port of Hongkong on July g.
1876, for New York. Her usual time from
emma to Sandy Hook was about 100 days
After she had been out about $50 days and
was not reinsurable, she was posted. Her
agents had given her up as lost and the
relatives. of her skipper Capt Edward w
heed and his wife. who accompanied him
on the voyage, had gone into mourning.
The ruutical world was startled when on
Monday. March %, 1897 the old iron ship
appeared in the port OF New York 2e0
days out from Hongkong. She brought as
grewsome yarn of storm and calm and
sickness as was ever spun In forecastle or
cabin. The missing ship came In tow of
the oil-carrying steamship Kasbek. which
sailed from Philadelphia March 10. deep
laden for Fiume. When she was about 800
miles southeast OF Sandy Hook one of her
officers, who was on the bridge. saw
blue light cleaning through the frosty
air. thick with spoondrift. The tank bore
down toward the signal, and when she
was within hailing distance OF the Cakes
Capt. Muir. who had been summoned
from his cabin, shouted across the trou.
bled sea; 'Heaye to; you are moving .os,
fast for u.s. A feeble voice returned mi.
strange answer:
" We can't do 1t: send a boat to ae
THE Cakes was on the starbo AVID ;ocx
pitching into the swels with or n, her fore
main and mizzen lower topsai As act cant
Muir lowered a boat with three men, in
charge of Chief Officer HeIsham The
sean' saii OF the cippeA forced her BAR
nacled huh through tie seas M less than
two knots, and the muscular oarsmen of
the tank, by hard. rowing, were able to
overhaul her VIII AIN half an hour Before
lawn 1eisham was alongside. A voice
from the ship aid: we want tow
What 90 you want to payT Helsram
asked. Ihfn the voice, which was that of
oecohu waite Abrams, responded: Wen
settle Tat by arbitration six OF our crew
are sed. twelve are sick in the fok's'le
ahn only two of us can move about ship
iieSham returned to the Kasbek reported
nc clippers condition to Capt. Muir, who
shouted to the Oakes Wen stand by
YOU
THE British sailors got out a nine-inch
| manila hawser and bent 1t on a two and
| half inch line. The line was passed
through hawser pipe astern and got
| afoul of the propeller. About $50 fathoms
| of 1t spun and slashed around the pro-
| peller blades, and the cupboard part of
/ the tail shaft. The propeller was jam
med and the engines came to stop be-
/ fore Chief Engineer Stevens could shut
| of steam. The tank was to windward of
| the square rigger, and drifted directly
into her course. The chief engineer tried
to start the ship again by USING the
! auxiliary turning engine, which broke
down. The iron prov of the Cakes
would have pierced the hull of the Kas-
| bek II her sailors men had not hoisted
| on her three pole mast fore-and-aft
| sails. which she used In emergency. AS
| 1t was, there was only boats length
| between the two ships when the Kasbek
| ha <a1 of no he
| tank was helpless about eight hours. A
| westerly gale sprang up and the Cakes
/ vanished below the horizon The chief
| engineer uncoupled the propeller shaft
| and forced II aft until the propeller boss
was clear of the stern post. He and his
| men had been unable TO free from the
] tail shaft the two and one-haif inch line.
| which had been damned about H. After
| uDcoupling the propeller shaft there was
| space OF about an inch between the
separated fanges of the couplings. and
into this space the chief engineer fitted
| pieces OF tough oak. the shaft was thus
made an inch longer and that inch was
| enough TO loosen the line ON the tail
! shaft IL was practically adding wood
| en- section TO the shaft. The engines were
started. and the Kasbek's captain deeid-
| ed to save the old clipper II he could
| He came in sight OF her late In the aft
| ernoon- A gale permeated with snow
was bowling out OF the north. II was
| too rough 10 launch n boat. and the kas-
| bck stood By the crippled ship for nearly
| two days. The sea had subsidized some
what. and the port light boat was loaded
| with Hour tapioca. potatoes. lime juice,
| whisky and medicine. The Kasbeks stew
and gave up all his provisions. Capt
| MUir had surrnised that there was scurvy
on the ship. and this prompted him To
send the antidotcs. As Chief officer
Helsham said later The only able sea-
man | found aboard the Cakes wss Mrs.
| Reed. the wife OF the captain
Capt Reed said that every soul except
his wife was sick with scurvy. Of which
| five seamen had died
"He himself was only slightly m The
second mates legs and feet were swollen
nearly twice their normal size. and he and
the third mate were unable 70 20 alofi.
The Chinese steward was too weak 70
work ship. and a good deal of the labor
had fallen on the sklppers vigorous wife.
who Is q lineai descendant or The Rev0-
lptionary heroine. Mobile Stark. She did
almost everything except so aioft Her
chief duty was NJ the wheel The kas-
bek's mcn were made sick by the specta-
cle IN the Cakes forecastie. Twelve ut
terly helpless men lay IN their hunks In
various stages Of delirfum. Some had lost
all their teeth. They were nursed BY the
sailors % the kasbek untN the Whip gDt
! INTO sandy Hook The Kasbeks able
1tAflrA lAEltA AAf 0t4 AtfifIt1a = HaAt0s anu
she was taken IN tow. After she sDt into
quarantine Capt. Reed. his wife and those
81 HIS men who were able 10 talk spun
the yarn % the hapiess ships protracted
voyage. when she sailed from Hongkong
her crew were IN good health The skip
per was recovering from paraiytlc
stroke. This affected his tongue. and he
was unahle 20 talk so hts men could read
SIS understand him. He gave his orders
90 his wife. who has a good. deep sea
voice. and she IN turn gave them 70 the
men. In the China sea the ship was
struck by two typhooHs, which blew her
out of her course. Capt Reed had In
tended TO sail by ~ay Of the Cape OF Good
Hope, but he far on HIS course
that he decided TO make for the Horn