The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-02-22
Cruised Without Side
Lights Off
Es Oahu.
Men Say Schooner is COfIin-A
Board of Survey Has Been
Appointed.

At the pumps for twenty minutes ev-
cry hour for twenty-six days, without
side lights for more than three weeks,
almost run down by a steamer when
about eighty miles off the Golden Gate
and treated with harshness at all times
is the gist of the tale narrated by the
four sailors of the British sealing
.schooner Geneva. who stole away from
the ship while she was cruising on
Waikiki and are now in the Police Sta
+ion awaiting the action of the proper
authorities. These four men. Frank
Hutchinson and Joseph Gillis. Ameri-
cans. and J. Bryant and James DAVE
British. do not mince matters in telling
Of the voyage from Victoria to Ho-
nolulu and all declare they would rath-
er remain in the prison for six months
than return to the vessel. which they
{Aclare positively is unseaworthy.
7 These four. men make grave charges
of irregular navigation methods on the
part of the master and mates of the |
Geneva, in that they have not, since the
vessel was battered in a gale off Cape
Flattery, used side lights at night, even
while cruising off the coast of Oahu and
while the captain was ashore arranging
for a new boom to be taken out to the
schooner
From the statements made by the
four seamen yesterday at the Police
Station, the vessel put to sea from Vic
toria in bad condition and subsequent
events convinced them that the sehoon-
er should never have been permitted
to go out without more careful in
spection of her hull. which, to use their
words. is rotten" They say she is
nineteen years old, and that the wood
work Is bad was shown when an anchor
was lost on leaving port, the chain l
tearing through the railing and rip
ping off portion. The vessel had not 1
been at sea a day when the men were {
ordered to the pumps and each watch t
did duty for twenty minutes an hour,
day and night, until the arrival at '
Honolulu. Then the side lights were e
smashed and the vessel was driven t
down to the southwark until she was
see MY or eighty miles off the Golden r
Soc 30 the men state. and they are of F
he opinion that the captain should a
lave put into port for new lights c
There was also a sailor aboard so sick IL
hat he could not work, and in desper- Il
tie need of medical treatment, whom el
he men declare. could have been put te
shore at San Francisco.
While under sail at night at this
ime and without side lights, a steamer
lmost ran the vessel down, the Geneva NJ
scaping when within thirty yards of o,
he big boat. One of the men states OF
hat the captain struck a man at the fo
heel, and also says that when man tn
-ent aloft to arrange a signal flag off II
ahu, the captain said he hoped the HI
ailor would fall into the sea and the w
marks get him. dI
ant 10 go back on that boat again, VIZ
lid one. None of us would want 10 ca
2 with him again and the boat will tr'
nix if she is allowed to continue her
oyage. The captain and the harber
aster were here this morning and the
lptain told us we could come aboard ~
gain if we wanted to, otherwise we bo
ouId have to go to prison. Wen, of HI,
le two evils, think 1 would rather Ki
, to prison. It's safe over there, any
tsv, and that boat isn't. She's a cof- 70
Ks
They say we wrecked the schooner's
lore boat when we landed at WAIKIKI. ku
nat couldn't be true. We knew that 9
ie wrecking of a boat would be a ste
ave charge against US, and we were ha