The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1902-08-26
WAS 0vERB0ARD
FOR TWO HOURS
lively Expe fence of Mate Ios.
on Trip Around GOOD
Hope.

Mate Ross of the American ship D..
a. Phelps now discharginp coal at the
Navy wharf has r. reputation as be-
Ing one ~ the finest athletes ~ the
American merchant fleet lie is Of only
medium height hut is OF iron build
The "hobos' who came TO Honolulu as
sailors OF the big white ship declare
that Ross is the strongest man they
have. ever seen and that he could ham
die "a half dozen men in fight IL oc-
casion required H.
Although only twenty-nine years OF
age Ross has had an adventurous
areer-adVenturous even for a man on
/ the sea, who Is expected to meet with
exciting and dangerous experiences. At
the age of twenty-five he was captain
Of the famous clipper ship Southern
Cross which sailed out of New York
for many years and engaged In the
far eastern trade. on the Western
Islands In 1898 the then Captain Ross
had a fearful time of it with this ship.
The vessel encountered hurricane
which broke her mainmast off two feet
above her deck. When the mainmast
went over the side II carried away the
lbltll4ush anu Mllal a liblll'llA b'lbl a.
had been a fine ship was shOrn 50 bad
ly that she was but "A hulk with only
her mizzen mast standing. Ross used
his wits and his muscle on this oc-
casion He sailed his ship backwards
so as to use the mizzen mast and rig
ged "A rudder to her bow. While sail
ing in this manner a few days later he
encountered another hurricane which
1. ~ he ahAPa tho
Straits of Gibraltar.
After this accident and the loss Of
his ship Ross went to sea as mate i'm
the Great Admiral and while on a voy-
age around the Cape of Good Hope
had one of the worst experiences that
can befal a sailor. When in sight Of
Table Mountain and with a strong wind
blowing Ross had two sailors set up
some gear on the bowsprit so that he
could harpoon some porpOises which
were playing under the vessels how.
The sailors had a Erudge against
Ross and fixed the gear in such man
ncr that as soon as ne had occasion
to support his weight on It, it gave
way and he fell into the water. \
dozen sailors saw him fan but not one
raised a shout. rhey were willing TO
see him drown without making any
effort 10 save him. An old bos'n on
the vessel who had at one time been a
ships officer heard Ross shout and
threw a life buoy over the side. The
| bosn then called the captain, and in
a few minutes the crew were put nard
! at work to bout ship, get out a boat.
and save the mate. The unruly sailors
mashed up the first boat in lowering
II into the water and a long wait re-
suited in getting another boat out of
the davits. The mate was by this time
out of sight and the captain could only
tell where Ross was by the birds that
We're circling about him over the water.
He sent the boat In that direction and
managed to rescue the mate after two
hours lime had elapsed.
During the time the hardy officer
was I'm the water he made a brave bat
tie for life. After being in the sea for
twenty minutes he rose on the crest OF
wave and saw the life buoy. lie
swan for this ana managed to get into
it but for the next hour and half
I had to fight large numbers Of albatross
and Cape pigeons which tried to bite
out pieces OF his flesh.
Ross thinks that the cowardly sail
ors did all in their power to keep the
rescue work delayed so that they might
not be able to find him.
Later Ross commanded the bark Sa-
mar. After her owners had sold her
Ross had to look for something else and
became mate of the l.. NJ. Phelps.
During his stay in different ports
Ross has exhibited remarkable ability
in athletic work. He is a strong swim
mer and great wrestler and it is said
that he can put up very strong
fight. He has engaged in several spar
ring matches in the East and many
people along the waterfront here be-
lieve that he could show Jack" Weday
few points. An effort may be made
to get the mate to put up a sparring
Z exhibition here.