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Army Mules Killed.

Animals Mangled to Death on Transport Siam During Typhoon.

     The United States transport Siam, which left San Francisco Sept. 9 with upward of 330 valuable mules, the coming of which had been anxiously awaited at manila, as mules are in great demand for continuing the campaign, arrived Friday morning and reported that all but nineteen of the animals had been lost in two severe typhoons under peculiarly distressing conditions. The Siam, which left Honolulu thirty-one days previous, encountered the typhoons early last week. One lasted forty hours. Most of the forage, which was on deck, was swept overboard, all the boats were smashed and the steamer rolled tremendously in the trough of the sea, although the officers made every effort to bring her about. The mules were hurled from side to side and frightfully mangled. Their legs and necks were broken and the wretched animals fell in such a confused mass that the attendants were unable to relieve them. In the meantime the deck load was washed off, the ship lightened and the rolling increased. When the storm abated the injured animals were killed and their carcasses thrown overboard. When the Siam arrived her propeller was high out of the water and the wrecks of her boats were hanging from the davits.

     The loss of the animals will be greatly felt by Gen. Otis, who needed them for transportation of supplies to the cities and towns held by the American troops. Gen. Otis recently cabled the War Department that the animals shipped would be sufficient to meet all requirements until the animal transports could return to San Francisco for more, so that it was unnecessary to charter more freight vessels. It will now be necessary to procure another ship to leave as soon as possible with more mules.

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