The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-08-31
Sailors Escape
From Ffighhul
Plight at Sea
Gaunt, Emaciated, Weary,
Men Reach Honolulu
in Safety.

| ! Honolulu. T. IT.. Aug. 5.-(By Mail)
-Gaunt, emaeiated. covered with salt
| water sores but glad to be alive. the
Is members of the crew OF the Matson
auxiliary bark r. p. Rithet. burned at
sea July "a arrived here today from
Eleele, Kauai. the port which they
made after a desperate voyage of ten
| days in an open boat.
The story told by the seamen DEM
onstrates conclusively that the Amer
| lean traditions of the sea are not dead
despite the practical substitution of
steam for the romantic sail of earlier
days. They fought for their ship as
long as there was hope of saving her
| and then fought for their lives against
Carried Little Food.
Until 1t was apparent that not only
could the ship not be saved. but that
they must hasten if they would not go
| down with her. the Is men, headed by
Captain Lindenberg struggled TO
| qnench the fire. that mysteriously
broke out at o'clock in the morning
In the end they had only time to
scramble into the one boat that the
Rithet possessed taking with them but
q very small amount Of water and no
food. except some potatoes and carrots
which they had no means Of cooking.
AS they left the ship the matches
blew up and the fire leaned M the rig
glnG Of the three masts. lighting up the
ocean for miles about. Some of the
men were almost stark naked when
they left thc~ship. the fire spreading so
rapidly that they had no time to get
clothing. Captain Iindenberg arrived
at Eleele clothed in nothing but an
undershirt
Away Just in Time.
The one boat was lying on the fore
! castle without davits or tackle to lower
it into the sea, and the men struggled
desperately to get it overheard before it
was too late. In this they were barely
successful. for hardly had they rowed
away from the vessel when 1t blew mp
| with n tremendous report then rolled
over and sank instantly.
There were no navigating instru-
ments on board the boat, and no sail
A sail was improvised fro ma pair of
trousers, the original wearer of which
had to go trouserless for 10 days. The
boat leaked and the men had to sail
steadily, while the salt water made
sores on their bodies. They had only
swallow of two of water day, and
| nothing to cat except raw potatoes and
carrots.
Drained cask at Last
On the tenth day light on the
Kauai sootst Xaa sighted.Y and the~rpen
immediately fell upon the water cask
and drained it dry, making up for the
long days during which they had been
carefully conserving their scanty sun
ply of water.
Often the sea was choppy and dan
gerous, for the boat was overloaded
and water poured in over the gun
whales.
one tragic feature of the voyage was
the apparent sighting Of the lights of
| a city. This was the night the Rithet
exploded. and as they were 900 miles
from land, they could not conceive of
land being there. But the lights al
| most convinced them aeains; their
! Judgment. They rowed in the direc-
ton of the lights and found them to he
patches of oil burning on the surface
| OF the water a result of the explosion
| of their ship.
Started for Frisco.
At first the boat tried to make San
Francisco, but found this impractirable
| on account of the direction of the wind
| so they turned and rowed in the di-
| rection of Kauai. For 10 days they
| rowed steadily until. half starved they
| were on the point of exhaustion, when
| they reached the island, and 4 few
hours later were safe in port at Elcele.