The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-06-28
ANCIENT BARK
HAS ILL LUCK
MonongaheIa Most Unfortunate
Windiammer of Recent Times.


taken by Adverse Fate for Month,
Heavily Involved In Debt, Vesse
Cannot Be Sold and Cannot Leave
Turns Back to Manila After
Months Of Fighting Against Heavy
Weather-often Changes Hands.
Swinging idly at her mudhOOk
which has rested in the Ooze of Manila
bay for more than one year; her lofty
spars towering smartly in the all
above the bedraggled outcasts Of the
seven seas that surround her, lies the
most unlucky windjammer of modern
times-the American four masted bark
MOnOngahela. Near by a squatty
wooden tramp no longer than harbOr
tug, with rust streaked tunnels, sneers
derisively at her from every pitch
stained gaping seam, for all the world
like some blowsy reprobate of the
slums accosting decent girl who has
wandered by mistake into her baili-
wick
Asterr of her and all along the four
miles of beach between the Luneta
and the Polo club lie the bleaching
rusting ribs of stripped and Quilted
vessels which will never sail the seas
again. Week in and week out, the
trim liners slip by, plying between
the homeland and Eastern ports
month in and month out the white
sided transports churn their sturdy
bulks past her to and from San Fran
cisco; destroyer divisions come and
destroyer divisions go; the lifting
wakes Of cruisers lap along her sides
as they steam proudly past her in
studied disdain, and still the poor Mo
lies, fretting at her anchor
chain.
A Tale Of Bad Luck.
The story Of the Monongahela is one
of romance and i'll luck, story Of
Of fighting against head seas
and winds in the stormy China sea, of
litigation and changes of ownership, of
that has logged not only
the ship herself but also her officers
md crew, and that has succeeded in
binding endless chains of circum
stances about her until the fate Of the
vessel is so much in doubt that she |
nay hang in Manila bay until at last
she is towed to rest her weary bones
along the shores of Cavite. And the
,ruel part of it is that, given d chance.
he MonongaheIa is good for many
more years Of cruising on the high |
eas. That is the part that makes the
Onely vessel the most pathetic sight |
n this port of derelicts.
More than two years ago-in Janu-
ry, 192O-the Monongahela cleared
rom San Francisco with full crew
f forty-nine officers and men, bound
or Wellington, New Zealand. Thence
he sailed for Sydney and Newcastle,
few South Wales, and from the last
AIMED port to Manila. While on this
eg of the voyage seaman, reefing on
ne Of her lofty spars, lost his footing
4 a heavy sQuall and fell to the deck.
0 die week later. From that time
er i'll luck seemed to date. She made
fanila after a fairly long voyage and
nally cleared from that port with
900 tons of cOpra cake and meal, in
ne middle Of October, 1920, bound for
an Francisco. For some unexplained
sason, apparently due to orders from
er owners, Captain Elwell, who
-anted to take the southern route
ONE, was forced to go via a northern
)ute.
Fought for Months.
Hardly had the Monongahela
Popped Cofregidor below the horizon
ian she ran into heavy weather.
fter that she had never a day of rest.
ale after gale buffeted her, squat
ter squall forced her from the course
she struggled to make her way. Z
avs heightened into weeks, weeks
TO months, and still the Monongahela
'ggedfy fought her way. From the
llf of Tongking to the Formosa I.
rats the big fourmaster fought 1t :
1t. And day by day her crew sick +
ed of their eternal task Of alter
telyl making and reducing sail, and a
y by day the water and food grew D
antier. Captain Elwell gave up try F
z to shake his way clear for the n
lg trip to the States and tried to Il
Ike some Chinese port. Even this j
aped impossible, for he was blown n
ck to Luzon again. At last, heart
H with provisions and water almost
ne and officers and men at the limit =
their endurance, the vessels head :,
S swung about and course laid :,
ck to Manila. q,
Then, as if to prove its contrariness, 7
weather shifted, and when the YES il
and her crew could not possibly al
Ike the trip, the wind blew favorably
China. 1t was only after almost
,er-human struggles that once again Sc
Monongahela made landfall and y
ght her way literally inch by inch a.
to Corregidor and into the bay. /.
here human endurance failed, and % %
vas only when coast guard cutter NJ
sed her a friendly hawser and r,
red her within the breakwater, just
days from the time she had
ared the port, that the big bark was
rest When the anchor dropped and at