The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1916-09-15
The Captain Assists a Lady.

hearers attempted to question him he
damned the sou'wcster on his head
and ran up the stairs. The dog fol
lowed somewhat ruefully, the cozy sa-
Ion being far more to his liking than
the wind swept, spray dashed chart
house. Mr.. Makolm promptly stirred
his myrmidOns with a command to fall
in by boats crews, and Gomez won
his chiefs approval by quietly translat-
ing the captains orders. Beyond Mrs.
Somerville's subdued sobbing there
was little outward manifestation that
another crisis in the history Of the
Kansas and her human freight had
come and gone.
AS a little yeast leavens much flour,
so does the presence of a few stout
hearted men give strength and courage
to a multitude. Although the rumor
wave which popped the ship had car
ried away two Of her six boats, there
were no visible signs Of furry in the
measures taken to equip the remain-
Ing boats for use. The men had con-
tidence in their officers. Every one
worked smoothly and well.
All told, there were eighty persons
on board when the Kansas left Valpa-
raise. or these seventeen, including
the officers, were Of European birth
or lineage. The remaining sixty-three
were men of mixed nationalities, rang
ing from Spanish speaking Chileans
to negroes. There were eight under
Stewards, a cook and his assistants
and nearly fifty sailors and iremen.
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, q Newcastle maj named
Walker, who rushed to the engine
room at the first indication of a mis-
hap. found his chief lying in collapse
on the lever platform. Walker prompt
ly opened certain levers, which allow
ed the steam to escape freely; then he
carried his comrade out Of the spume
to the deck. 1t was too late. Partial
Euffocation had placed too great a
strain on a diseased heart. BY the
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-
ters assigned to the captain the noise
thunderous blows Of the 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. AS he ran down the gang
way leading from the bridge he heard
the officer Of the watch say:
something given way in the engine
room, sir"
Several minutes elapsed before he or
Walker, aided by willing volunteers,
could penetrate the depths of the
stokehold. The place was a charnel
house, a sitting pit, filled with the
charred contents Of the furnaces, which
gave off the most nOisome fumes "
Ing to the rapid condensation Of steam
and water escaping from the damaged
pipes. But the gale raging without
served n good purpose in driving
plenty Of air down the ventilating
cowls. Gradually the choking atmos-
phere cleared. Courtenay was the first
to reach the lowermost runs of the
iron ladder, whence he looked with the
eyes Of despair on a scene of death
and ruin.
The electric light was uniniured. 1t
revealed the bodies of several men,
either dead or %inscnsible, lying amid
the scattered coal. Shovels, stocking
rods and pieces of iron plate had been
hurled about in wild confusion. The
door of one furnace was blown clean
out Of its bolts, furnace bars and fire
bricks strewed the iron deck. while
each time the ship rolled the heavy
clank Of loose metal somewhere in the
engine room proved that the damage
was not confined solely to the stoke
hold.
IT Courtenay could have dropped
quietly into the sea through the stout
hull Of the Kansas he would have wei
coined the certain result of that bitter
moment. But he was the captain. and
men would look to him for salvation.
Well, he would do all that was posi-
BILE and, at any rate, die at his post.
So, choking back his misery, he organ-
ICED the work of rescue. Slings We're
formed of ropes, and those men in
whom any signs of life We're visible
were the first to he lifted to the upper
deck. The stokehold was quickly emp
tied of its inauimate occupants. Liv-