The Republican journal., 1888-04-05
A Girl of Is at the Helm.

yellow fever had dccinlatcd her crew. was
commanded, sailed 5000 niles. and finally
brought safely to san Francisco by the cap
tain's 15-year-old daug hter. forms one of the
most thrilling stories in all the history of sea-
faring.
1t will have been eleven Wears next fall since
the brave and daring girl performed this most
distinguished act of heroi>m in the drama of
her young and eventful life. and after most
perilou> voyage of $50 DAYS from New York.
entered this port Oft Fort Point. where the YES
sci she commanded was put in quarantine.
On Wednesday afternoon an Examiner man
found the captain at Il residence Oh tlrAli>ter
street. where be was stopping with his wife
and their little chubby 2-year-old heiress. whom
they have chriStened ''Seagull'' because She
was born at sea.
lies said the captain. IL believe that most
terrible voyage of the Tempar You have re-
ferred to was at the time very briefly mention
ed in one of the san Francisco papers, but not
at any such leugth As horrible disasters and
ocean experiences of the kind would be related
nowadays by papers like your monarch Of the
daes."
Il have called to hear your relation of the III
cident> of that VOYAGE said the scribe. las |
think it may be interesting to the readers of
the Sunday Examiner"
hen the ship Tcmplar WAS cut eight days
from New York. said the captain. ''>he was
caught in a heavy gale. lasting forty-cight
hours. which stove in her hulwarks. smashed
stanchions. and nearly filed the cabin with
brine. After this damage had been repaired,
she encountered ii terrible hurricane that broke
of her rudder head and made her leak badly.
Relieving tackles were used in steering. and
the pumps were kept constantly going. The
crew became thoroughly exhausted by over
work and exposure, and a run into Rio Janeiro
was made. In this port the cargo was dis
charged and repairs attended to.
Notwithstanding the inviting temptations
extended to me by land pirates at Rio Janeiro
to practice fraud at the expense of the vessels
owners and underwriters, | ordered the cargo
reshipped. This work was scarcely completed
when was taken sick with yellow fever. and
before the vessel weig hed anchor nine Seamen
died from the same dread disease. But in
spite of this terrible calamity my anxiety to
proceed on the voyage to san Francisco urged
me TO issue the order. and the anchor and all
sails were hosted.
son the first day. however, the yellow s,.olIrye
broke out afre>h, and not only |, but my wife
and daughter and the ships carpenter and four
more sailors We're obliged to seek our berth>.
OF these. on the third day ont. one able seaman
died, and on the succeeding day the same sad
fate bcfell my good Wife. Her name was
Andalusia Armstrong. and she was native of
llampden, Me-. and A. years of age. On the
following day another good seaman died. Those
who had the disease in IA less violent form sadly
and silently threw the dead overheard one by
one. And just at this juncture another serious
trouble came to light. revealing Il mutiny
among the few remaining of the crew who on
several occasions sought to have the vessel beat
for ports nearer than her point of destination.
This action, have been told. made ne ,le>per-
ate, and with an expressed determination my
men understood and Il pistol in my hand. the
mutinous crew agreed to rclent and obey orders
This difficulty again had no more than been
compromised when | completely and entirely
broke down under my straininy combination OF
troubles and the ravages Of fever. became
SO violent they tell me. as to necessitate my be-
ing chained to the deck to keep me from Jump
ing overheard in search of the body of NV
wife, as | am told was the manner of my
deliriou> talk. Iwear the sears from the chains
and lashing to this day After the shin had
driftcd about fcra few months without pilot or
navigator, the second mate and three or four of
the sailors recovered. but being out of sight of
land and not understanding navigation, they
were poWerless to do anything with the ship.
Finally my daughter Emma, and my only child
at the time, IA brave and spirited girl of -, re-
gained her reason, but not her strength, and
when in this condition she sent for the second
mate and asked him to carry her on deck, which
he did. She then sent for the ships inStru-
ment>. and by the aid of these and her knowI-
edge of navigation she figured out the location
of the vessel. She then took the charts from
cisco, and from this time on practically took
command of the vessel and ordered the second
mate and surviving members of the crew to
make sail. giving them the direction in which
to sail. Every day for months she would be
carried Oh deck to take the bearings and rive
her orders.
''Beng SO light-handed the vessel could not
be properly handled, and could carry but little
sail, consequently her progress was slow
After many weary, dreary months l finally re-
gained my reason, and when l learned of what
my daughter had done was greatly surprised,
and SO declared. Had l been placed in the
same position could not have done better.
1.-The ship was loaded with general merchan-
disc, the cargo being insured for over 500, 900.
Her long absence of $50 days and no tdings
from her, led the owners and all interested
parties to believe that the vessel, with all hands.
had been lost.
''After this supposed faee of tine ship had al
most passed from their minds the surprise can
best he imagined when, one bright day in sum-
mer, the ship Tempar, with her cargo all in
tact, came sailing into San Francisco Bay.
Here, however, notwithstanding that the last
death on board occurred four months previ ous,
the Templar was held in quarantine. and ali
beds and bedding and all cabin carpeting and
furniture burned and all clothing boiled and
washed and the ship thoroughly fumigated and
whteWashed."
The fathfulness and heroism of Capt. Arm
meet with appreciative recognition, and the
Board of Underwriters of this city, at a meet
ing called for the purpose, presented to each one
OF them purse containing $500 in gold, ac-
companied by many expressions of approval
and esteem, and especially was the Young lady
commented upon in fiatterng manner for
having performed the remarkable feat of navi-
eating a ship around Cape Horn. In addition
to this, Capt. Armstrong and his daughter
Emma were literally rewarded by the owners
of the Templar.
The River and Harbor bill aggregates 3d.
1872 7S3, the largest bill of the kind yet brought
in.
Jacob Heaton, q weli-known and active
worker in the anti-savery movement in this
country, is dead.
The coronation of Emperor Frederick and
Empress Victoria as King and Queen of Prus-
STA is expected to occur at Konigsberg in June.
Mrs. Celia ThaXter. who passed the winter
10 Boston, is now at her home at the Isles of
Shoals, where she will remain drought the
summer.
Congressman Long has instituted an inquiry
which shows that the Administration is re-
spOnsible for the deficiency in the Custom
House appropriations.
The Drexel-Morgan syndicate has agreed to
accept $2,5OO,0 900 Of the new Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad bonds in satisfaction of its claims
under the contract of last August.
The late John Rollin TiIton, the landscape
painter. who died recently in Rome, had re-
ceived from Dartmouth College the honorary
osOphy.
A singular story comes from Toledo, O., to
the effect that little girl is 80 horriied at see
ing woman push man into river that she
loses her memory, and only RECEIVERS 1t after
eight years on seeing the same woman again.