High Seas Series: The Wilson O'Toole

As they were climbing up into The WILSON, the buildings up on the hill exploded into a fiery mass with small explosions as combustibles inside the buildings caught fire. The boys all shook their fists at the fire and seemed happy that they were being destroyed. The next morning, the man, whom all the boys called the “Pasha”, was seen getting into a power boat on the beach and he headed out of the bay in the direction of the main island alone. His right-hand man, the fat man, was already dead.

The wards on The WILSON were getting full and The PATRICK was having blower problems on one of her two Main Engines. Running on reduced power on the starboard shaft was causing steering problems and both Pat and Min figured it was time to head for home.

They decided to head north and swing through the Palau Islands on their way. The two ships steamed together and they plowed the calm waters of the Philippine Sea. The recently rescued boys on board The WILSON were coming out of their protective shells and blossoming like spring flowers. Some of the unhurt boys were on The PATRICK to help reduce the loading on The WILSON and Chance was enjoying getting to know them.

They were mostly Polynesians like himself and, after they got over the fact that he was royalty, they all became good friends. Chance was the Acting Chief Radioman on The PATRICK and several of the new boys stood in awe of him as he worked the radio. It was not long before Chance began teaching radio procedure to three of the boys, Bo-Lu, Margee and Filo. None of them had any idea what their Family Names were, they had all been taken as infants and had spent the next fifteen years as slaves.

Margee was the quickest, but Filo was the most accurate in his sendings. Bo-Lu was the only one of the three who seemed to understand the key and they were in a part of the Western Pacific where the atmospherics precluded the use of voice transmissions. Bo was manning the key and Chance was sitting in the room to make sure the youngster had no problems.

Shortly after lunch, the “clacker” began to chatter and Bo dutifully wrote down the letters as they came across, “HELP PLIS, US ANGAUR ISLAND AT WEST PORT TOWN. BIG FIRE KILL MANYS. ME BOY KAULO, ME GOT SIXTEEN YARS. ME MOST OLD HERE NOW. GOTS MANYS BOYS UN GIRLS HURTED. HELP PLIS, ANYBODYS HEAR ME, HELP PLIS.”

Chance pounded the Emergency Alarm and then told Bo to work the call. Bo asked, “What me say?” Chance told him to tell the sender that help was on its way. Just then Captain Pat stepped into the Radio Room and read the message over Bo’s shoulder.

Adam McKenzie, the Second Mate, was on the bridge and Pat picked up the phone and told Adam to set a course for Palau and to use the ship to ship to notify The WILSON to head for Anguar Island at the maximum possible speed and that The Patrick would follow as best she could.

The Radioman on duty on The WILSON had also copied the message and Min was plotting their course already. The WILSON let out a belch of black smoke as her Engineers started the standby fuel pumps and cranked them up to full pressure. The WILSON soon left the slower PATRICK behind as she raced to the stricken village, three days away from them.

Chance let The WILSON take the lead on radio traffic, but they monitored it on The PATRICK. Trong and Jowto had flown in several days earlier and joined them on The PATRICK just before they had sailed from their last port and Trong was down in the Engine Room looking at the spare blower bolted to the bulkhead. Normally, changing out a blower would be done only while tied up to a stationary pier, but Trong was sure he could get the job done as long as the seas remained calm.

Trong hightailed it up to the Bridge and spoke long and hard to Captain Pat before Pat would allow him to try changing out the blower. The blower weighed almost two tons and it would kill anyone it fell on! Pat notified Min on The WILSON that he was going to slow down for at least eight hours to allow Trong to change out the blower. Go’ was on the bridge and overheard what was said, he cringed, he knew just how dangerous this job his beloved younger brother was attempting, but he raised no objection. He trusted Trong beyond all others.

The WILSON pulled ahead and left The PATRICK behind as Min ran The WILSON to ALL AHEAD FULL.

The PATRICK slowed to eight knots and quartered the waves to provide the smoothest ride down in the Engine Room. Trong began the delicate operation of removing the damaged Engine Intake Blower and swinging the new one into place.

The ship’s regular Chief Engineer, Charlie Li, worked right alongside his friend and mentor while Jowto spent his time singing to the hurt boys in the bunk room. He was concerned about the job his beloved Trong was doing, but he had faith that Trong would pull it off, somehow.

Over the next six hours, there were curses and barked knuckles and more than a couple pinched fingers as they unbolted the heavy blower off the intake manifold of the Starboard Main Engine. Once it was off, Trong rummaged around in the spare parts boxes until he found all the proper gaskets and a new drive chain for the blower.

The installation went faster than the removal of the old blower and, ten hours after they had started, Pat was overjoyed to hear the roar of the exhaust of the Starboard Main Engine go rumbling up the stack. Trong was on the phone immediately and he told Pat that he was going to shut the engine down for a short time to retorque all the mounting bolds on the new blower. It would take about thirty minutes and then they would be ready to go!

Trong beat his estimate and twenty minutes later, he was filling the fluid clutch and told the Bridge the engine was theirs! In less than a half hour later, The PATRICK was bustling along, flat out at 28 knots! The replacement blower was running like a fine watch. They would remain four hours behind The WILSON and The PATRICK could not go fast enough to overtake the larger ship in the short time it would take to get to Anguar Island.

Pat was on the horn to the authorities in Melekeok on the main island of Palau, telling them that they would handle the emergency. He was speaking to the Prime Minister, who was more than grateful for the help. They had been helped before by The O’Tooles and knew that they were all good people. The Prime Minister asked, “How are your supplies of fuel oil for your ships?” Patrick told them that they were good and the Prime Minister replied, “We have just received a shipment of oil and our tanks here at Melekeok are full, if you need fuel, please you have only to ask!”

Pat thanked the man and then sat in his Bridge Chair, where he would stay until they reached West Port. Three days later, The PATRICK came careening around the West Port Light and spotted The WILSON moored against the mole. He could see deckhands standing on the main deck of The WILSON. They were waiting to handle The PATRICK’S mooring lines. The PATRICK was to moor outboard of The WILSON.

There was no shore power available, so they had to leave a generator running on both ships. The crew of The WILSON began shuttling boys with lesser injuries over to The PATRICK, as their own Hospital was nearly full.

Chance was busy translating for the many boys who spoke no English and the huge young man seemed to sooth the frightened youngsters who were about to be operated upon by these strange white men. They were unused to “buzzing boxes” and the strange machines these men used and Chance patiently explained to them that they were machines to look inside their bodies to see what was broken and needed to be fixed.

The less serious cases were handled on The PATRICK, although, their own room was limited by the boys already living there. In all, they spent four weeks tied up at West Port. The Prime Minister and his staff made frequent visits to the two ships and saw for themselves how their island boys and girls were being treated.

Out of sixty children who had been hurt, ten pleaded to be allowed to remain with the folks from America. These were all boys who had no families of their own and they had all asked Chance how it was he was with these Americans. Chance told them the story of the O’Toole Folk and all they had done over the years and those boys all decided they would walk on water, if need be, to stay with these people!

Four weeks after arriving, the two ships sailed slowly out of West Port Harbor, richer by, they thought, ten additional boys. It was not until supper time, when the cooks were counting noses. The Galley Chief called up to the Bridge and spoke to Captain Min, “Sir, wes gots fifteen mores boys then we tooked on, Sir!”

Min hotfooted it down to the Mess Deck, where the fifteen boys were all seated, shoveling food into their mouths. He chuckled and said, “OK, guys, do ya’ got family back at West Port?”

They all shook their heads and said, “No, sir.” Two boys said, “But we gots cousins* on that other ship, sir!” (* to many islanders, a cousin is not a relation but a friend like themselves)

Min laughed and told them, “Yeah, I already called Captain Pat and he told me he has six more of you guys. I guess we will just have to…”

The boys began to cry and wailed, “Bbbbut….)

Min reached out his arms and was covered in frightened boys, thinking they were going to be put back on the island. They were sure, that Mr. Chance had told them all that it would be OK. Min was still smiling as he completed his sentence, “I guess we will have to…… tell Lihue to get some more beds!”

The boys’ relief was palpable and the boys went back to filling that empty space in their stomachs! The two ships continued on their course that would take them to Guam and Saipan before they headed across the Western Pacific Ocean toward home. On both Guam and Saipan, they treated children and adults, but neither island needed any children extracted. They were a happy folk and closely related to Chance’s people.

It is a long distance across open water from Guam to Lihue, there are the tops of a few volcanos sticking their heads above the waters of the Pacific Ocean, The Marshall Islands, Micronesia and poor lonely Nauru. The two ships first called at Narlap Dock, near Rontiki, the capital of Micronesia. There was not much there, the land surrounding the dock was scarcely out of the water at high tide. There were about twenty canoes tied up to the pier, filled with island natives asking for medical assistance.

There were the usual burns, cuts and broken fingers, but one small boy attracted Chance’s attention. He seemed so sad and downcast that Chance sat down beside him and put his arm around the young lad’s shoulder. He asked softly, “What troubles you so, young man of Rontiki?”

The boy looked up at the huge man sitting beside him and replied, “Me gots no Mama, no Papa, me ‘lone. Me gots no place for me, me begs for foods an’ me gots hurted.” He the boy showed Chance his burned arm, where he had fallen into a campfire.

Chance gathered up the small child and gently carried him into the Medical Center and asked Doc Ben to take a look at him. Doc had been around the block more than a few times and he saw the tender look Chance was giving the child. His only thought was, “Well, it’s about time!”

He pasted the child’s arm with a soothing cream and wrapped gauze loosely around the whole arm. He then patiently pulled stickers and thorns out of the boy’s feet before handing Chance a warm cloth and a bar of soap to clean the boy up. While Chance was washing the child, Doc leaned over Chance and whispered, “Papa Chance, when you have finished, take your son up to Captain Pat and get him registered in the log book.”

Chance’s face turned bright red and he began to stammer, “BbbBuuu….”

Doc laughed and replied, “Daddy Chance, go take care of your boy.” The boy understood enough English to know what the medicine man was saying and he looked up at Chance with hope in his eyes. Chance was lost! Those big brown eyes bore holes in his soul. An hour later, there was an entry in the ship’s log that read, “Bilbe, family name unknown, age unknown but believed to be under five years of age has been accepted by Prince Chance Fishingspear of Tonga and now a naturalized citizen of The United States of America, as his adopted son.” This was signed by the Captain and two other ship’s officers who were all American Citizens. Neither Chance nor Bilbe could talk around their wide smiles.

As the new father and his son walked from the bridge they were met by cheering members of the crew, all of them were Chance’s friends and they were wishing the new family the very best. Boys stood there with gifts of clothing, rubber sandals, and toys, some of which had been made by hand by the givers. Bilbe turned shy and climbed up into his Papa’s arms, looking down at these boys who were giving him things. Always before, the village children had given him kicks and shoves, not toys!

It was a wet-eyed little boy who hugged and kissed his Daddy before he asked to be put down so he could play with his new toys and his new friends. Over the next several days, Bilbe blossomed into a happy, friendly child and stood contentedly in his Papa’s embrace as they sailed from Pohnpei Island. The next stop for the two ships was Utwa Ma on Kosrae Island, a tiny island in the Micronesian Protectorate.

At Utwa Ma there were only the usual minor injuries. There were only a few people living there. The whole island was the top of a dormant volcano, with hot springs and earth tremors daily. They spent a few days at each of the coastal villages as travel across the island was very difficult. The little boy from Pohnpei Island was looked on with envy and it would be three days out from Kosrae Island before five young boys were discovered hiding in a cleaning locker on The WILSON.

Nobody was going to make the boys go back, Min had contacted the Island Administrator and learned the boys were all orphans and he had no problem signing them over to Captain Min Tangimora. Now, all the beds on both ship were full up, if they “acquired” any more children OR teens, some were going to have to hot bunk! Bilbe solved the problem for one bed, he was sleeping every night, curled up in his Papa’s bed!

Their next stop was the Marshall Islands. Those were, what seemed like a million small mountain tops, some of which were still smoking. They split the islands up, The WILSON went south and The PATRICK to the northern islands. They planned to meet at Bairiki on Bonriki Island in a month’s time.

Time went swiftly, they spent most of their time traveling from one island to the next and, while there was some exiting times, mostly they spent their time setting broken arms, applying burn cream and bandaging coral scrapes that threatened to become infected. Many of the corals were poisonous and, if not treated, could cause a terrible wound.

The PATRICK did treat one young diver who tangled with a Moray eel and The PATRICK spent a week at Rakaru on Arno Atoll while young Gosha recuperated from the bites and Doc fought a minor infection in the wound.

The WILSON spent several days at Mwaneaba Atoll as earthquakes were shaking the island, but, fortunately, the tremors calmed down without the small volcanic cone blowing its top. Nobody was injured, but they were all very frightened. The smaller children stayed on the decks of The WILSON, where it was safe.

A week after they sailed, three small boys and one girl were discovered hiding in an empty storage locker. When Min radioed the Island Administrator, he suggested that Min keep the children. They were better off with him rather than returning them to the island!

When the two ships hooked up at Bairiki, Min was not a happy camper, but the officials on the main island agreed with the administrator. The boys were happy staying with all the other boys on the ship, but the little girl, MaiLi, ended up in Min’s cabin. They decided that MaiLi was about four years old and Min could not help himself, within a week, he was on the radio telling his wife, Alice, that they had a new daughter. Alice was not unhappy and she told Min to bring the child on home, she would make room for her and love her like she was their own. She did!

It was time to head for home, they had been gone over a year. They headed the ships towards Hawaii and Lihue Island and ran the throttles up to All Ahead Full. It would take them seven days to get home and everyone was anxious. Boys had outgrown their clothes and many of the boys had trousers that stopped between their ankles and their knees. Shoes had to be discarded for sandals and shirts were several sizes too small.

They arrived at the Nanini Light just before lunchtime. The word had gotten out that both ships were full up with children. The bay was lined with cars and, as The PATRICK led the procession into the inner harbor, the Island erupted in the noise of car horns, firecrackers and noise makers! Whole families stood on the beach waving, schools had been let out and the High School Band was out, complete with the cheerleaders!

Pat pulled on the whistle chain until the air tank was flat empty and the deeper bass of The WILSON’S air horn reverberated from the mountain behind the town of Lihue, shaking window panes in all the town’s houses. A holiday atmosphere prevailed as children were led down the gangways. The new children were shy, but the boys from the ship’s crews led them down and introduced them to their friends and soon, they were all dancing to the band’s music as they headed for the Prince Tahuli Welcome Center.

A number of the injured children were carried down the gangways by older boys, only to be taken by fathers and adult men in the crowd and carried into the Welcome Center. The girls among the rescued children were hesitant to join the festivities, but local girls from the island rushed up the gangways and gathered up the girls and carried them down to the land.

Food had been set out in quantities the newcomers had never seen before. The rescued slave boys just stood and stared until Chance gathered them up, helped by his new son, and the two led the boys down to join in the Welcome Home meal. As the children quieted down, eating the goodies served to every table, Jowto stood on the stage and sang his song, “I Love You”, which had been written so long ago by the love of his life, Trong O’Toole.

Chance presented his new son, Bilbe, to everyone at O’Toole House and Andy whispered to Chance that he had a new room already set up for the two of them. Chance hugged Andy and then introduced Bilbe to him saying, “Son, this is Mr. Andrew, if you ever need something or you are hurt and cannot find me, you are to go straight to Mr. Andrew and he will help you.”

Despite the many years Andrew Causey had been working with the children at O’Toole House, Chance’s words brought tears to his eyes. Chance hugged Andrew and called him, “BROTHER”! Andrew would become very close to Chance’s new family and soon Bilbe was calling him “Gampa”!

All the children were quickly settled in rooms at the several hotels on the property and the local schools absorbed the influx. There were language classes held in the meeting rooms to bring the island children up to speed in English. Some of them spoke almost no English at all, while others had attended some schooling before coming to the O’Toole ships.

Min brought little MaiLi over to Alice and she grabbed hold of the child and held her to her breast. They all three were crying as the little girl called Alice, Mama! Min and Alice’s first child, little Tanya, stood on her tippy-toes and kissed her little sister, who was but only a few months younger than herself.

Over the next few days, they cleaned up both ships and replaced the supplies they had used over the past year. The new children settled down into a routine and harassed their school teachers unmercifully. They wanted learning right now. They wanted to talk American and be American boys and girls RIGHT NOW! The school system that Andrew Causey had created for O’Toole House was able to absorb the fourteen hundred children in cooperation with the public school system.

Over the years, doctors, lawyers, soldiers and more school teachers would come from those new children and many of them eventually became crew members on the O’Toole ships. The O’Tooles had spent almost forty years since the beginning in rescuing children throughout the Pacific area and they were not willing to stop now. Min and Pat would grow old and would retire and the next generation would continue their work. There never seemed to be an end to slavery and abandoned children and it continued to be predominantly boys.

Many would call it the “Shame of the Pacific”, but they would learn that it was not confined to just the Pacific, it was a worldwide problem. Graduates of The O’Tooles would carry on the battle in not just the Pacific and not just in America. The word, “O’Toole” was a hated name among the pirates and slavers and, while they never completely disappeared, the O’Tooles and others like them put a terrible crimp in their style.