Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-12-02

" middle of that vast ocean, the
escape Of the passengers to an
island near by and the good
times they had there until res
cued by their own ship, which was finally
saved by wrecking crew from destruc-
ton on the reef
The big steamship Mongolia bound from
Yokohama to Honolulu and San Fran
cisco. had about FIVE hundred Asiaticl
Storage passengers and fifty cabin pas
sengers aboard Those little Islands out
in the Pacific are so small that it takes
a good navigator and a sharp lookout to
sight one Of them. In this case the big
Pacific liner had no difficulty In hnd ng
the reef bound island, for It was In the
night and nobody was areH.Ous to run
ashore on an island, yet the big Mon
golia performed the feat with such good
seamanship that the vessel was MT dam
aged to any great extent.
The passengers, however, considered
themselves shpwrecL ed all the same.
When daylight came they we're surprised
to find themselves in sight of the o.hces
OF the Sand Island cable station OF the
Commercial Cable Company. All kinds Of
life saving craft were at hand, and al
though the water is four or FIVE miles
deep in the back yard of the island 1t was
only about hundred or so feet deep in
the lagoons of the reefs where the ship
was stranded.
In a few hours the entire crowd Of steer
age and cabin passengers we're transferred
ashore Then the chief steward landed
a gang Of cooks and assistant stewards,
together with provisions, to feed them all
during the seven days they were marooned
on the island.
AS il was anywhere from thousand to
eighteen hundred miles to Honolulu and
a quarter way around the world to the
great continents the passengers consid-
cred themselves lucky that they were on
dry land. It was feared that rough
weather might set in, with the sea send
ing great rollers over the reefs, pounding
the ship to pieces and working havoc with
the smaller boats, so the cargo was like
wise removed, in hopes of tightening ship
and getting her of the rocks.
OF course the Commercial Cable officials
did not have sufficient supplies in store
to feed so many guests, hence the con-
gratulatiOns when the transfer OF supplies
from the steamer was completed. Few
shlpwrecks are so fortunate as to happen
within a stores throw OF an ocean cable
office and have communication with the
world. government transport the Bed
ford was cabled for to look after the
passengers, while the Iroquois and the
cable steamship Restorer were ordered to
the island with a supply of stores.
But the passengers did not know then
what was being done for them at first
and many wondered IL they were to be-
island for a prolonged stay. Fortunately
there were enough buildings and tents
there to house them all and when they
had Toasted as they never Toasted before
ana taken a look at the country which
was less than two miles in extent, they
enjoying themselves.
To appreciate their situation a few fact,
In regard to the place where they wer,
wrecked may be interesting. The Midway
Islands are among a dozen ocean knobs OF
rock extending in a straight line nearlS
eighteen hundred miles northwest OF Hon
oIulu' They break q, the long distance o.
nearly four thousand miles between Hon
olulu and Guam. The Midway Islands ge
their name because they are half way be
tween Asia and America