The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-07-17

ship by detaching vessel from Ro-
| jestvensky's fleet, then at Kamranh
! Bay.
The Manchuria hadn't been a day out
before it was known that special or
ders were to be cabled to her at Homo
lulu about going further. A Russian
victory over Togo would probably have
meant an indefinite stay at Honolulu.
If there was no news about the great
naval fight that was expected, it was
known that the Manchuria had orders
to stop at that most inaccessible and
! seldom visited place, the Midway ISL
ondS, where there is a cable station. A
probable stay at that deSolate coral
| reef was not pleasing prospect to the
passengers.
1t was the passengers who were first
seized with apprehension. Long before
Honolulu was reached they had talked
| over all sides of the question. The
officers poohpoohed the idea that they
were paying any attention whatever to
the Russians. They said it was laugh
able to see lot of passengers get so
worked up.
The news at Honolulu was that there
had been no sea fight, and the Man
churia was told to go ahead. 1t be-
came known at once that she was to
stop at the Midways for orders
Then some of the minor officers of
the ship admitted that the situation
was serious. The captain and chief Of
ficer, however, tilted their noses high
and said it was all nonsense,
l,o
of her course and stopped at the Mid
ways, loafing along slowly all of one
day so as not to get near the place in
the dark, because it is dangerous, with
its coral reef ten miles in diameter
AT length the Manchuria hauled up
in front of the Midways about o'clock
one morning and sent off a small boat
for orders. The Manchuria lay there
until after II o'clock. and then the cap
tain practically admitted that some
thing was on"
Capt. Saunders of the Manchuria is
jolly seadog, and he not only under
stands navigation well enough to hit
a certain spot with the accuracy of a
civil engineer building a tunnel but he
knows something about jollying pas
sengers. He was as close mouthed as a
japanese war official about official
matters. He encouraged the passen-
gers to get up all sorts of games. One
day the japanese steerage passengers,
of whom there We're several hundred
on board going home from Hawaii,
entertained the ship with wrestling
contests, baby show, tugs of war and
the like, and on another day the men.
women and children of the first cabin
had games. On another evening there
was a so-called concert free to all the
cabin passengers. All this took place
after they left the Midways steamer.
Meantime Capt. Saunders was do
ing some fine figuring up in his cabin
on the instructions he had received
from his home office at the Midways
The passengers, by watching the North
Star at night, thought they could see
that he was running a considerable dis
| lance out of his usual course.
! Some of the mathematician among
them began to do some figuring, also
| 1t soon became known that the fear
of capture had been working in the
captains noddle, and all hands again
got worked up. Some of the officers
figured out just when the ship would
/ probably be caught.
| On Thursday, May A, gale sprang
up. 1t was from a little south of west.
The ship was canted over to the star
board. While the passengers were at
! luncheon the ship suddenly canted over
| to port.
| When the passengers came on deck
again they thought that the wind had
changed suddenly. A few of the wise
ones soon made it out that the captain
had changed his course. He had gone
far enough to the north. and now he
was ready to make his run for Yoke
hama
That was the night when, if at all
he was likely to be caught. When tn,
stars came out it was seen that tht
ship was running south of west, wher
ordinarily she should be running nortI
of west. It was evident that if tn,
Russians We're lying in wait for thu
ship in her usual course they would
be fooled.
When night came the passenger
were astonished to find that the Man
churia was displaying no lights what
ever j he canvas Stf1DS t1at mad Deel
! used earlier in the day to keep tn
spray from the decks served excellent
ly to screen many of the saloon lights
BY orders of the officers the woodel
shutters over the port holes were sill,
into place to shut off other lights TIL
: result was that the Manchuria. Wit
nearly six hundred passengers on boar
} and possibly a crew of 200. was run
? ming at sea in violation of the Unite
l States statutes regarding navisatio,
: and also in violation of the interna
[ tional maritime code.
small panic spread around the shir
e Many nervous ones feared to go to bee
2 Some spoke to the captain when h
came around to see if as many light
We're screened as possibly could be-
Then it was known that the captai
was no longer in a jovial mood ]
i was mighty serious business with hin
S A ship and cargo worth s.. 0OO, 600 wa
q at stake.
y Some of the passengers limited to hir
i that they thought that the lives of tn
= people on board We're worth more tina
|, a contraband cargo. even if it wa
q | Valuad millions