The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-07-07
THE P0TEMK|N
MU(INY
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men mutiuied and ran amuck. The
sailors and marines rushed to the quar-
terdeck, where they shot and sabered
the captain and all the commissioned
officers.
1t is reported that out of all the Of
ficers, only one midshipman escaped
with his life. He was spared in order
that he might navigate the ship.
The bodies of the officers were tossed
overheard, then the imperial standard
and national flag were hauled down and
the red flag of revolution ran up. The
fact that the crew possessed red flag
suggests that the mutlny was not
wholly spontaneous, but the product of
a conspiracy. Following the example OF
the crew of the Potemkine, the crew
of the torpedo boat also mutinied, kill
ed their officers and threw the bodies
into the sea. The midshipman who was
spared navigated the Potemkine to
Odessa, finishing the sanguinary voy-
age from Sebastopol.
Early this morning the torpedo boat
came alongside the Government dock,
bearing the body of the sailor killed by
the captain. A messenger from the
Potemkine bore a proclamation signed
by the captain elected by the mutin-
GERS. 1t rehearSed the causes of the
mutiny, declaring the men had been
compelled to rise by the brutal murder
of their comrade by the captain. who
! had starved them. The proclamation
was delivered to the captain of the
port by an armed blue-jacket from the
Potemkine. A signaler on the Potem-
kline then wig-wagged a warning to the
captain of the port that If the authori-
| ties of Odessa, military or civil, at
tempted to prevent the burial of the
body or interfered with the burial
party, the Potemkine's guns would
lombard the city.
| In an open coffin lay the murdered
body of the seaman. Pinned to the
casket of the corpse was a slip of
paper stating that his name was Omil-
chek; that he was murdered by the cap
tain for telling the truth about the
food, and that the crew had mutinied
and avenged his death by Staying all
the officers. A collection box was placed
beside the coffin, with a rude plea for
contributions toward the expense of a
fitting funeral. Crowds fOcked to the
pier, saluted the dead and cried Down
ernment!'
Despite the Potemkine's warning,
General Khakanoff, the military Gov
ernor of Odessa, sent detail of Cos
sacks to the pier to remove and bury
! the body. The guard in the torpedo
boat, aided by the crowd, resisted the
Cossacks and drove them away.
At that moment the mutineers on the
Potemkine signaled to the shore to
fetch back the body, which, they sig
nailed. would be buried at sea at sun
down, with full naval honors. The
Potemkine'S mutineer commander add
ed that in the event of interference by
the authorities the Potemkine's guns
would shell the city. The Cossacks
returned to their barracks, leaving the
coffin on the pier.
While this strange spectacle was
proceeding on the pier, the torpedo boat
returned to the Potemkine, which soon
steamed off, with it's guns trained on
the shipping. The torpedo boat came
alongside the Russian collier Esperan-
"a, anchored off the Government coal
dock, and commanded the Golfers car
go of 1000 tons of coal. The Esperanza
was towed alongside the Potemkine,
whose commander notified the skipper
of the Esperanza that he had abundant
money and would pay for the coal The
crew of the Potemkine then began
coaling the battleship from the Es-
peranza.
Meanwhile, on shore. the leaders of
the stevedores, who have been on strike
long time, called for volunteers to go
to the Potemkine and assist in coaling
the battleship. Dockyard employees
and crews of the Russian merchantmen
volunteered to help, but only stevedores
We're permitted to so to the Potemkine.
Many small boats were allowed to ap-
proach the battieship, and correspond
ents We're warned away. Through
glasses it was seen that the Potemkine
was cleared for action, all her guns
being trained citywards. The Potem-
kine's singnaler had been busy wag-
ging messages to the captain of the
port. which We're transmitted to the
military Governor and to the civil
Governor, PewScheff. One signal or
dered the port authorities to send an
ample supply of provisions aboard the
Potemkine before shutdown; that in the
event of a refusal the Potemkine would
shell the city.
Governor Pewscheff and General
Khakanoff were apparently panic
stricken.
/ After a conference they telegraphed
to st. Petersburg for orders. They
hesitated to call out the garrison for
fear the troops would join the strikers.
The Potemkine's armory is capable of
supplying the strikers with $500 rifles,
and ammunition.
This afternoon General Khakanoff
/ telegraphed to SebastopoI. requesting
the Admiral to send them a squadron
stationed there. They are expected TO
arrive here tomorrow unless the Potem-
kline sails tonight for a landing place
in foreign waters.
Odessa is convinced that the crews
of the ships from Sebastopol, when they
learn the facts, will mutiny and join
their comrades of the Potemkine It is