Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-02-14
A TRAGEDY AND A HEROINE.
Bravery of a Danish Lady i'm a Penal
Settlement.
London Times.

London Times.
The Andaman and Nicobar islands.
situated In the Bay of Bengal, a few
days sail from Calcutta, are the great
penal settlement of India, especially
the former, wheAr more than ten
thousand native convicts, many of
them belonging to the most desperate
class of criminals, are kept under
vigilant supervision. 4 branch con-
vict settlement exists at Camorts, the
capital of the Nicobar islands, where
there are at present two hundred con-
victs guarded by thirty men of the
I'd Madras native infantry and a like
number of police under the native
chief constable. The officer in charge
of the station was Mr.. de Koepsterff,
a Danish gentleman belonging to the
Indian civil uncovenanted service.
A havlldar, or native sergeant of the
Madras infantry, a man of thirty
years service, had been accused by a
native watchmau of apprOpriatIng CO.
cOanutS, and had in return struck the
watchman and put him for a short
time under a sentry. The next dav
Mr.. de ROepSterff commenced the
investigation of the case, and having
taken the evidence for the prosecution
adjourned the hearing till the fellow
nag day, when the havildar was order
ed to bring up his witnesses. Shortly
afterward he was riding past the ma
tive infantry barracks, about thirty
yardsoH, when the havildar fred at him
from his room and hit him between
the shoulders, the bullet coming out
at the breast. He fell from his horse.
and the orderl y and groom who were
with him went instantly to his assist
ance. He was only able to say: "Do
not be confused; take care of the
'mem-sahib' (his wife) or she will be
shot, too. Mrs. de Roepsterff, who
was riding little behind, came up,
but her husband was unable to speak
further, and he died in few minutes.
The havildar Immediately afterward
reloaded his rifle and blew his own
brains out.
The position of the poor lady was
ueplorable-her husband killed before
her eyes, not a soul who could speak
a word of English nearer than three
hundred miles off by sea, two hum
drea cOnvicts to keep in order with
out prison to confne them in, and
bad feeling existing to dangerous
extent between the Sikh police and
the Madras native infantry. In these
trying circumstances the lady evinced
a force of character amounting to
heroism. She had her husbands
body carried at once to the bungalow
and afterward buried. She dispatch
ed native craft, which happened to
be IN the harbor at Port Blair, the seat
of government in the Andamans,
with two constables to report what
had taken place. In the meantime
she assumed command of the station.
ordering all reports to be made to
herself, and managed it with pe1fect
success, an illustration of how natural
ly Orientals submit to and relv on a
European mind when exercised with
frmness and discretion. In six or
seven days Maj. Protheroe, the acting
commandant at Port Blair, arrived,
accompanied by some other officers
and the chaplain, and relieved her
of her terrible responsibilities. Then,
on the chaplain reading the funeral
service over her husbands grave, she
broke down. threw herself on the
grave, and had to be removed by
force.
It appears that Mr. de Roepsterf,
with his wife's assistance, had nearly
completed a dictionary of the Nico-
barese language, and had also made
considerable progress IN the transla-
ton of the bible. His widow desires
to remain for some time at Port Blair
to finish the work.