Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-03-19
CHAPTER ".

4 " few stout hearted men give
strength and courage to Il null
titude. Although the rumor soon went
the rounds that Il giant wave which
popped the ship had carried away two
of her six boats, there were no visible
signs of furry in the measures taken
TO equip the remaining boats for use.
The men had confidence in their Off
GERS. Every one worked smoothly and
well.
All told, there We're eighty persons
on board when the Kansas left Val
paradise. OF these. seventeen. includ-
ing the officers were of European birth
or lineage. The remaining siXty-three
were men of mixed nationalities. rang
ing from Spanish speaking Chileans tc
negroes. There We're eight under
stewards. a cook and his assistants
and nearly fifty sailors and firemen.
Unfortunately the explosion of the
stokehOld had killed the chief engineer
and one of his juniors, while six stok-
ers were dead and several injured.
1t was discovered that before he died
the chief had shut off steam and thus
prevented the accident from assuming
far more serious proportions. The sec
ond engineer, Il Newcastle man named
Walker, who rushed to the engine
room at the first indication of mis-
hap, found his chief lying in collapse
on the lever platform. Walker prompt
~ opened certain levers, which allowed
the steam to escape freely; then he
carried his comrade out of the spume
to the deck. 1t was too late. Partial
suffocatiOn had placed too great a
strain on a diseased heart. By the
time DIR. Christobal was summoned a
brave man was dead
Courtenay, who had left instructions
that he was to be called when the
Evangelistas light was sighted, was
sound asleep. In the elevated quar-
tiers assigned to the captain the noise
of the explosion differed little from the
thunderous blows of tho sea, but the
stopping of the engines awoke him in
stantly. He felt the ship lurch away
from her course and saw the quick
swerve Of the compass indicator over
his head. AZ he ran down the gang
way leading from the bridge he heard
the officer OF the watch say:
Something given way in tie engine
room. sir"
Several minutes elapsed before he o.
Walker, aided by willing volunteers
could penetrate the depths of tht
stOkehOld. The place was a charne
house, sitting pit filed with tn,
charred contents of the furnaces, which
gave off the most noisome fumes ow
ing TO the rapid condensation of steam
and water escaping from the damaged
pipes. But the gale raging withou
served one good purpose in driving
plenty of air down the ventilatinj
cowls. Gradually the choking atmos
phere cleared. Courtenay was the frs
to reach the lowermost rung of tn
iron ladder whence he looked wit
the eyes of despair on scene of dealt
and ruin.
The electric light was uninjured. I
revealed the bodies of several men
either dead or insensible, lying amit
the scattered coal. Shovels, stokinj
rods and pieces of iron plate had beel
hurled about in wild confusion. Th
door of one furnace was blown clea1
out of its bolts, furnace bars ard fir
bricks strewed the iron deck, Will
each time the ship rolled the heav.
clank of loose metal somewhere in tn
engine room proved that the damag
was not confined solely to the stoke
hold.
If Courtenay could have droppe
quietly into the sea through the stou
hull OF the Kansas he would have we
coined the certain result of that bite
moment But he was the captain, an
men would look to him for salvation
Well, he would do all that was possibl
and, at any rate, die at his post. Sc
choking back his misery, he organize
the work of rescue. Sings were form
ed Of ropes, and those men in whoI
any signs of life were visible were tn
first 10 be lifted to the upper decB
The stokehold was quickly emptied o
its inanimate occupants. Living an
dead alike were carried to the III
tenanted second class salon forward
Then Courtenay left Walker to solv
the puzzle of the accident and repor
on its extent, while he climbed bac
more pressing problem of the measure
to be adopted If he would save hi
ship.
1t. was typical Of the. map that hi