Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-27
A PLUCKY WOMAN.
She Takes Charge OF Her Husband's vessel I
q Terrible Situation.

| She Takes Charge Of Her Husbands Vessel In
| Terrible Situation.
From the New York News.
Three weeks ago it was reported at the mari
time exchange that the British schooner 10
hanna. from Mauritius to Melbourne with sugar
had been towed into Freemantle, Western Aus
tralia, abandoned and in fair condition. The
mystery Of the abandonment Of the vessel was
cleared by the mails received from Melbourne
yesterday.
The Johanna is a large three-masted schooner
which left Nlauritius on the Sd Of April, manned
| by Capt. Meinder, who was accompanied by his
| wife and two-year-old daughter and a crew OF
| ten men, with a cook. She sailed for Mel
| bourne with fair wind, but after being three
| days at sea ono of her crew became delirious
| with yellow jack. and the man died two days
after he was stricken and was buried in the In.
| dian ocean.
! terrible disease on the day their comrade was
| buried, and they di ed, and ina short time after
| the whole Of the working force of the vessel,
with the exception Of the captain and second
mate, fell victims to the disease. The last two
| who died were the first mate and the cook. The
| the vessel had left Mauritius. She then
| about half way on her journey to Melbourne,
and the only naviSators on board were the
| captain, his first mate and the captains wife.
SAINT attendance on the sick crew, but she
| pluckily assisted the two men in handling the
| schooner. Two days after the cooks death
Capt. Meinder was seized with the fever and
became delirious. There was left only the mate
and Mrs. Meinder to work the vessel. The
mate had only the work of a sailor to discharge,
| but the woman had not only to be sailor
but a nurse beside, with sick husband to care
for and a baby child.
But fortunately the weather was fair and
the rays of the burning Indian sun. and got
close to the western Australian shore. Here a
| hurricane assaulted the crippled schooner, but
the woman and mate cut away the canvas that
was spread and the stont vessel outrode it with
out considerable damage. 1t was not in the
power of the two mariners to reset any canvas
| but a small storm sail, which merely helped to
give the vessel steerage way.
She was drifting with currents and was
finally brought close to the harbor of Free
mantle, where she struck a rock and had n hole
| stove into her at the water line that caused
her to leak badly. The woman and the sailor
Set to work at once to throw the cargo over
board, and succeeded in pitching into the sea
$50 bags Of sugar, which lightened the vessel
sufficiently to bring the hole in her side above
water: Then they managed to place q canvas
covering that prevented water from going
through it.
The day after the schooner struck the rock
| the captain was sufficiently recovered from the
fever to come on deck He took an observa-
ton and assisted to set additional! sail, and then
directed the vessel for Freemantle harbor.
When he got within ten miles of it pilot boat
sighted the Johanna and bore down on her.
The pilots were told the condition Of things ON
board the vessel and none of them would board
her. but they sent their yawl to her. and Capt.
and Mrs. Meinder, their little child and the
mate entered it and abandoned the plague
stricken schooner and left her to her fate. The
pilot boat made for the port at once. When
they arrived at Freemantle and communicated
! the abandonment Of the vessel and where she
might likely be found, two tugs started on the
search to find her.
where she waS c,res1,v fur;o"tea Thpe V re y
ports that came from Melbourne Yesterday say
that Capt. Meinder, with his wife and child and
n new crew, sailed three weeks ago from Free
mantle for the Mauritius for another cargo of
sugar.