Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 December 1899 — FACE DEATH AT SEA. [ARTICLE]

FACE DEATH AT SEA.

FEARFUL VOYAGE OF TRANSPORT MANAUENSE. Twirl Ia Cauwht In a Typhoon and Arrive* at Manila in a Sinking Condition - Soldiers Kept Bailing for Daya in Ignorance of Their Banger. The army transport Manauense arrived at Manila, thirty-three days from San Francisco. She narrowly escaped foundering with all on board, as her engines broke down and she rolled three days at the mercy of a typhoon. The Manauense had on board Lieut. Coi. Webb Hayes and three companies of the Thirty-first infantry. The officers and aoldiers were kept baling for twelve days and it was ahuost a miracle that the vessel reached Manila. The steamer, it is claimed, was unsea worthy, undermanned and short of provisions. When the Manauense anchored in Manila bay there was several feet of water in her hold and 400 grimy, greasy, hungry, exhausted soldiers and saiiors who had been passing buckets of water for two weeks, night anil day. First Assistant Engineer Dunleuvy was under arrest, and, according to Col. Webb Hayes’ official report, the chief engineer would also have been under arrest if there had been anyone to replace him. jlen Ignorant of Banger.

The colonel’s report also declares that the captain of the vessel told him that the only thing which brought them through was the fact that the men were greenhorns and failed to realize their danger, while experienced seamen would have deserted the ship and taken to the boats in midoceau.

The Manauense is a chartered ship flying the British flag. She started from Sau Francisco accompanied by the transport Pekin, which carried the remainder of the regiment and encountered heavy seas to Honolulu without accident.

After starting it developed that she was undermanned and soldiers, had to be detailed to act as firemen, coal passers and waiters and to do other work. Beforb reaching Honolulu the crew concluded that the ship was not safe and the majority agreed to desert." Though they were closely watched, many of the crehr succeeded in getting away and the Manauense left Honolulu with less than half her crew. The vessel sprung a leak and an investigation resulted in finding several feet of water in her hold. The steam pumps were tried, but failed to work, and there were no hand pumps on board. However, forty-six buckets were found, others were improvised and the soldiers not employed in working the ship were organized into five shifts and, stripping and forming lines, they began baling, the officers working with the men, passing the buckets, which were sent up to the deck by a windlass. The baling continued until the ship anchored at Manila.

Machinery Is Disabled, The same day the leak was discovered the machinery collapsed and the electric lighting plant and evaporating, distilling and refrigerating apparatus failed to work. There w ere no lamps aud the few candles found were exhausted after a few days. 1 During the last week of the passage the Manauense was in utter darkness at night. She had been rolling in heavy seas oH the way, but Nov. 22 she encounteredtyphoon and pitched and tossed alarmingly. The Pekin became separated from the Manauense in the storm. The water rose rapidly aud the firemen could only feed the fires by being lifted on the shoulders of the other men through water waist deep.

The typhoon lasted two days and a half and in the midst of it the engines stopped. The officers held a council and found that there were 420 persons on board, with lifeboat accommodations for 213. In the meantime the men below, ignorant of their extreme peril, were passing backets and singing, while the ship rolled helplessly on the ocean with hatches closed. The heat was intense until the typhoon passed. Throughout the remainder of the voyage the engines of the Mananense failed frequently and the ship would roll for a few hours while the engines were repairing. Then the steamer would proceed again for a few hours. The meat and vegetables rotted because of the failure of the refrigerators and were thrown overboard. The officers and soldiers were utterly exhausted when they reached Manila. They declare the engineers were grossly incompetent. The officers also say that the behavior of the troops was beyond praise. For days they worked in the dark, suffocating hold with water sometimes up to their shoulders and planks washing about in a manner dangerous to life and limb.