The Hawaiian gazette., 1917-08-07

tain Hindberg, were driven into the
night shrouded ocean ON July "a, al
most nine hundred miles from land,
without sufficient water or food, with
out Instruments, without charts and
without sails.
Yesterday morning, on the steamer
Kinau. the sixteen men arrived from
EleeIe, Kauai, whittier by lucky chan
crs they had navigated. The first de-
tails Of tragedy more common to an
era now half century gone than To-
this age reached Honolulu with the.
crew. \
The men were driven from their ship
for their very lives, too exhausted from
their combat with the flames, 10 use
their oars. Their vessel exploded and
went down, and left them in sea Of
ghostly fire. With pair Of trousers
for a sail, the sun by day and the
Polar Star by night for a compass,
with twelve ounces OF water day per
man, and a, biscuit and q raw potato
for each, they sailed 70 Kauai. l.:-
Uphold Traditions Of Sea 81.
Captain Lindberg and his men,
whose fight for their company's ship
upheld the best traditions of the sea,
reported yesterday to the agents Of
the Matson Navigation Company and
have been placed on board the liner
Maui, with which they will sail for
San Francisco Wednesday noon.
The other members Of the crew are
=. II. Page, Hans Nelson, T. Mooney,
A. Gouvins, E. Rodes, E. Anderson, T..
Vincent, 0leson, Lungren, Emery, Aus
tin, Shears, Myer, Carlson and Dick.
man. ~4 -It 4a
& An unembellished and vivid tale Of
the tragedy was told yesterday by
Seaman Rodes, a West Indian negro,
to whom the experience stands out in
peculiarly simple outline.
The fire started at three O'Clock in
the morning, he states, in the engine
room, which was aft, Just before the
after deck houses. He does not know
what caused il and If it's origin as
discussed in the little boat during
those ten uncertain days, he retained
nothing of. He did not remember the
name of his captain, or his mates. The
only thing that remained in his memo
ry were the things which happened to
him personally, and these. things stand
out like flame. He could not tell how
movement that was made during the
two hour struggle to launch a boat,
every knot that was tied, and every
tackle that was rugged. He helped do
that. ~ . %. a.. 81. ..'
Fought To Save Ship ... 1lfs.w o.i
The fire spread aft quickly, attacked
the galley, the water tanks and the
store rooms. The things that were most
essential to them were the first to go.
They saved nothing from this part of
the ship, although the life of the nayi-
gator is aft. From three O'Clock in the
morning until daylight they fought
the fire in an orderly, efficient and
unremitting manner with the idea of
saving the ship.
During the day-Tuesday-the fire
increased in force and they decreas-
ed in efficiency. The hotter the flames
grew, the less they were able to put
a front to them. In the afternoon they
were exhausted, and the flames were
creeping up the mizzen rigging,
Their idea was no longer to save the
ship but to save themselves. They
could not reach the stores and the
water pipe in the galley had burst.
Decks Burning Under Foot
their feet and the fire spread from the
mizzen to the main rigging and drop
ped bolts of fire on their heads. The
bark listed over and, it was difficult to
keep IA footing. The sea was chOppy
and the wheel house had gone. and it
was impossible to go aft at all. The
vessel therefore drifted as it pleased
BY night fall on Tuesday all en-
deavors were frantieally directed to-
wards saving their own lives. -
There had been two life boats in the
Rithet but the one aft had burned up.
The one forward was lying on the
fOrecastle without tackle or davits to
lower it into the sea. The men had
been so busy trying to save their ship
that they had not thought of their
lives, until it was almost too late, At
ter the first effort to launch the boat
had failed they gave themselves up
for lost. .s....s =.
One small space forward was all that
was left to them on the Rithet. Every
thing else was q raging furnace.
Drown or Be Burned g. .
The men agreed among themselves
that when the fire spread to the fore.
rigging that they would jump over
board, 1t was better to drown than to
be burned to death. That was to be
the signal. If the boat was not launch
ed when the foremost caught, they
would all die. .u. ..-..-. ...,
After two hour fight the boat
was got oversize and what they had
saved was put into it,, This amounted
to fifteen gallons of water, according
to Rodes estimate, held in. a few ket.
ties and other containers that had been
picked up. on the deck. There we're
some raw potatoes and some biscuits.
There were no navigating instruments.
When the men dropped into the boat
they lay on the bottom exhausted.
They had no strength to row away
hut providence touched them and they
drifted off before the Rithet exploded.
The sea was choppy and dangerous.
Water was shipped and wet their bis.
cults, making them liable to spoil.
Rodes does not remember the ex-
plo9ion of the Bithet, apparently from
TIL fuel tanks. The elements were
confused in his mind. Earth, sea and
fire ra1 in together and he does net
rem ember whether the Rthet disap.
peared Immediately afterwards or
nh ahn