The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-10-23
SHOT ACROSS BOW
STARTLES SEAMEN
Passenger Tells How II Feels
To Be On a Vessel That Is Ap-
parently Serving AsUargetyU

X. p"SUNy NS''"s8 PNaSNaBNCG
i. Many interesting stories have been
told Of the feeling experienced when a
shot is fired aetoss the bow of vessel
Us signal TO stop, During the last
two weeks, many sampan captains, ig.
norant of the rules laid down by the
naval authorities In connection with a
vessel entering port before sunrise and
after sunset, have observed sPlashes in
the water several yards ahead follow.
ing loud explosions in the vicinity of
Fort Armstrong. Not only have the
smaller sampans been startled by these
leaden missiles, but Il was only short
time ago that the Inter,Island steamer
Claudine was suddenly stopped from
entering the channel before sunrise,
and II took more than one shot TO inn
press upon the mind of the captain that
something was radically wrong.
A passenger from Maui, in telling
the story upon reaching dry land, said
he was rudely awakened by n grinding
noise, which be later learned was the
reversing Of the engines ut full speed.
This particular Maui passenger said
that he had been dreaming Of bril-
liant Allied victory, In which he was a
participant. After waking from his
troubled sleep, he heard sharp re.
port. as from large calibered gun, and
rushing TO the deck, he saw members
Of the crew hurrying in every direc,
tion--Aa certain indication Of some I'M.
usual occurrence.
Crew Was in q Hurry
~ II seemed 10 him that every mem.
Der Of the crew was bent upon getting
aft with all possible speed, his ques.
tions as TO the cause Of the disturbance
all remaining unanswered. He had
just reached the forward rail of the
deck when he heard another loud ex-
plosion followed by a splash in the
water considerable distance ahead.
Glancing toward Fort Armstrong, he
observed smoke being carried away
on the morning air, and IL was then
that he realized the Claudine was serv.
ing in the capacity of target--a real
isation not altogether pleasant.
He thought Of his dream. Perhaps
he hadn't been dreaming at all. Here
was state Of actual warfare in the
peaceful Pacific Isles. II was feasible
to believe that the Islands had been
captured by the enemy and that they
were firing good American shells upon
American vessels as they entered port.
While all the thoughts of war were
passing through his mind and he was
Just trying to decide which was the
best way to reach land, and what he
would do to the enemy il he were al.
lowed to get there, and a million and
one other things, the captain came
down from the bridge, greeting him as
he had done before on many occasions.
Hts'We'r re coming in q little early"
he said. '.We'll Just run out for q
half hour and wait for sun-up. A new
regulation, l guess H.. h
II took considerable explaining on
the part Of the eaptian before the pas
senger could be convinced that the
naval authorities were only enforcing q
new regulation which had been impos.
ed while the vessel was calling at Val.
ley Isle ports. This passenger said that
il required at least couple of hours
of mental effort before he could con.
vince himself that there hadn Z been
q glorious victory in which he was a
. b. %.
Sampan Is Stopped ... -
A sampan attempted to enter port a
few days shortly after daylight, and
when Just across from Fort Armstrong,
the little fishing craft was brought to
a halt by the Fort Armstrong guns.
Several members of the crew were yet
asleep on the deck, but the report Of
the guns on the Waikiki side of the
stream soon awakened them. ~
One of the Japanese fishermen awoke
just in time to hear the explosion aud
see the ball splash short distance
ahead. He quickly told his mates that
unless they swan to Sand Island, their
craft would be destroyed and possibly
several or all Of them either killed or
injured. so saying, he jumped over.
board and closed the gap between the
sampan and the shore with Duke Ka.
hanamokp speed. The captain, aware
of. having violated a regulation, gave
orders to swing the boat around and
return TO sea. ~, =
~ He said later that he wanted to pick
up the fisherman who was swimming to
shore, but with the shells striking the
water just ahead of the sampan, he
said be deemed II wiser to get back TO
sea, regardless Of whether the man was
lost or not, ... NJ,
The fisherman reached land and
perehed himself on q rock where he
sat bordering over the situation. He
saw his ship lying peacefully just oil
the haTbor, and came to the cOnclu
sion that he had acted too hastily. He
was picked up by the sampan which
entered the harbor just after sunrise,
and II is said that when he had the
situation fully explained TO him, he
sheepishly retired TO the engine room
where he remained until the boat was
locked. ..... p.
B As the story goes, he took his be-
longings, started home, and has not
been seen since.