The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-02-20
SEA AND SHORE
A Gloomy Day on the
Water Front.
A Sailor Story--Sugar on Kauai
Ready to Sail Harbor
Notes.

The recurrence of the plague cases
yesterday was the cause of much gloom
among the men engaged in the hand
ling of ships along the front. After
the twelve clean days, prospects SEEM
ing so bright, there was an element
Of joy manifested at the probable carly
raising of the quarantine. Now the
outlook is not so bright, and if any
one class of people have been nut
about and embarrassed by the health
regulations more than the freight
handlers they would like to know it.
In anticipation of this being declared
a clean port, arrangements had been
almost completed to send several ships
away from here very soon with car
goes and some passengers, but the de-
velopments have knocked out all cal
culations. If no more cases are report
ed, today will be the first clean day of
the twenty-one days necessary to
elapse before the quarantine can be
raised.
How Did It Gomez
Those familiar with affairs along the
waterfront are putting one and one to-
gether in an effort to discover how and
when the plague arrived here. 1t is
the firm belief among the men whose
business keeps them most of the time
along the front, that the sickness came
in the Oriental freight. What steamer
brought it was the question. After
careful nnCidnrof = ..
ion of many that the tramp steamer
Bankoku Maru was the plague-bearer.
1t was foregone conclusion from the
first that neither the immigrants nor
their effects Were responsible for the
pilikia, on account of the care taken
in the fumigation at Quarantine ISL
and and the length of time the labor
ers are kept there.
The disappearance of the rats on the
front was noted before the first plague
case was reported. A cudgeling of
memory was resorted to to discover
about the time when the absence of
the rats was first noted. It was re-
called that about the disappearing
time defunct rodent was found in
one of the offices on the Mail wharf
at which the Bankoku Maru was at
the time discharging freight. The ami
NAL had died suddenly as it was in the
room which was being used regularly
during the day, and would have been
seen had it been there long. From the
time of the discharging of the vessel.
which had some 5000 packages of
freight for this port, the rats on the
front have been very few and far be-
tween, where formerly they were very
plentiful.
A peculiar coincidence in connection
with the belief that this steamer
brought the plague is the statement of
Captain Cutler of the Klikitat, recent
| ly here. 1t is to the effect that when
the news of the plague reached him in
San Francisco some of his men told
him that on the last trip here they
had seen an oblong box of a size ca
pable OF holding a dead body brought
from the after-part of Japanese
tramp steamer and taken forward and
below. What made them think it was
a dead body in the box was the shape
of the box and the fact that the seams
had been sealed with white lead, in {
presumable effort to make it air oil
Water-tight.
No death was reported on the steam
!. er during her voyage, and she returned
to Japan after discharging here, in
stead of going to the Coast, as a grea
many of the tramp steamers havt
done. That the sailors aboard tn,
Klikitat might have seen what they re
ported is borne out by the fact tina
the steamer and sailing vessel wer
lying near each other in the stream
four days, waiting to discharge.
The Bankoku Maru arrived her,
September %, 1899, and anchored il
the stream until October 4, then dock
ed and discharged at the Mail wharf
She had 694 steerage passengers ant
300 tons of general merchandise 70
this port. She was consigned to tn,
Japan immigration Co., of which
Boardman & Masuda are agents.
The Klikitat arrived here October /
1899, and anchored in the stream unit
the 10th of October
Sugar on Kauai.
There was an immense amount O
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