Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-03
STEIGER WRITES
OF WRECK SCENES
MANCHURlA'S PASSENGERS
HAD RUDE AWAKENING
On Landing at Plantation Wrecked
Persons Enjoyed Twenty-Mile
Drive Across Pail Pass
to Honolulu

An interesting echo of the stranding
of the Manchuria on a coral reef near
Honolulu is the letter from Prof. Geo,
N. Steiger, Los Angeles young man
and recent graduate Of Occidental
college who was on the illfated stea inner
on his way to assume the chair of Eng
lish in st. Johns college, Shanghai,
China.
| Prof. Steiger wrote the letter dated
after arriving at Honolulu, and gives
his impression of the trip across the
Pacific. He wrote:
1--WE had a beautiful trip out, indeed
| there was hardly enough motion to the
ship to make it interesting barring the
| first afternoon and night. The big ship
| plowed steadily through the water,
| making fifteen and one-half or six
teen knots an hour and rolling lazily
| onward.
LAS you know, we had quite a num-
ber of Los Angeles people on board, but
except for the Rev. w. H. Day and
| three or four others l was not very
well acquainted with them, but was
looking forward to better acquain-
tance after we had left Honolulu.
DR.. Day a Walker
| REV. Mr.. Day is one of the most
energetis walkers 1 ever saw on ship
board. Indeed, he became quite a fea-
| ture of the daily life as he strode
steadily around the promenade, making
his mile or more before each meal and
often as much afterward or between
times.
ION the first and second days out
we sighted vessels, all too far away to
| talk with, and on the afternoon of
the second day a few of us saw a
couple of flying fish.
| ":All went quietly, the seasick people
gradually began coming down to meals,
| everybody 'jollied up and got acquaint-
ed and it seemed that we were to have
a plain uneventful voyage, full of good
| fellowship and fun.
ION Sunday we had service in the
music room from the morning service
of the Episcopal prayer book and after
the service almost half of the people
stayed and sang familiar hymns for
about an hour.
''In the evening there was more sing
ing and finally the passengers drifted
off to write, to say good by to those
who were to leave at Honolulu, and to
get ready for the shore the next day.
'The Next Morning"
Honolulu at five in the morning,
that was the schedule and l for one
was firmly resolved that the morrow
should see me on deck at four, so as
to get view of the harbor as we en-
tered.
"At about 3:45 next morning I awoke
and was just aobut to start dressing
when the vessel was shaken by three
shocks at intervals of possibly ten Sec
onds. This was followed Immediately
by the stopping of the engines. Not
knowing what had happened, finished
dressing and went out on deck.
"The morning was damp and dark.
Off the port I could see, somewhat in
distinctly. a small island. Going for
ward to the upper deck I saw the
mountains rising upon the other side,
less than a mile away. Then it was
that / realized our predicament
"As stood talking with fellow pas
senger we could hear the officers Civ
ing orders, one Of the mates coming
forward was told to clear away the life
boats and lower them to the prominade
deck
Confusion Breaks Out
almost simultaneously confusion
broke out among the storage passengers
and the officers were compelled to be
somewhat stern to restore order.
THE cabin passengers seemed to have
no anxiety whatever and soon the Chi
nese In the steerage became calm, and
took only the precaution Of sitting on
their life belts in case of emergencies
"By breakfast time the only thing
which caused worry was how we should
get off. The long forenoon was broken
by the advent of the tug Fearless,
which getting a line to us astearn tried
to pull us backward off the reef After
half an hour of effort 1t was given up
and there was nothing to do but wait.
1.-THE captain was pretty we'll broken
up about the accident, and was unable
to explain how he happened to make
the mistake. The only thing he knew
was that in the darkness of the inky
morning he had taken one island for
another good deal farther on and had
tried to run inside of it.
Passengers Disembarked
"At II o'clock part of the passengers
were loaded pom a small steamer, the
j. A Cummings, and taken to the
Waimonala plantation, where there
were vehicles to take them eighteen or
twenty miles ccross the Pail pass into
Honolulu. These arrived about o'clock
in the evening, having seen one of the
most beautiful roads in the world
"The rest of us were not so fortunate
for the second load did not reach the
shore until about 5 o'clock and it was
9 o'clock when we left the plantation
house by autos over that wild noun
tain road.
: Although the dark moonless night
; made 1t almost impossible to see any
thing of the country except the out
! line of the rugged hills, / am firmly con-
: vinced that it is the equal of anything
, in the world for scenery.
"At 12 o'clock that night we got to
{ bed and having only slept from 1880
to the previous night. or morning,
which made two and half hours In
! forty-two, felt as though l had been
drugged.
To-day we have done little except
hunt our luggage and rest. But dur
ing the next few days we hope to put
our enforced lay-over to such good