Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1891-08-13

Vulcan, under
!. !. !: !. !. !.
~ \. the commad o.
Z, s& \ Capt. lisa &C
XnAsE5Y=& johnson, was
,M\I01 ITNa( on her home
AN Is 2 Sward bound
N$$\<$SEmwS1SPSg passage from
&$$$S1&#M&S$>S$$ the Indies with
N%MM&MSS<S> halt a ca" ~ OF
~ ~ ~ tea, and she
stopped at Cape Negro: on the coast
of Benguela, after lot of ivory to
make up her load. Having gone on
shore at the Cape the captain learned
from the native contractor that he
would have to go some fifteen miles
up the CannibaPs river, as the ele-
plant hunters had all the boats
further up in the country, SO that
consequently they had not been en-
abled to bring the ivory down.
Capt. johnson was somewhat dis
appointed at this cause for delay,
but without waiting to find useless
fault he determined to man his own
boats and proceed at once up the riv-
err. 1t required four trips to bring all
the ivory down, but as they had op,
portunity to take advantage of the
slight tides the task was accom-
plished in four days. On the last
trip the captain went himself, leaving
the first mate in charge OF the ship,
and on arriving at the small village
where the ivory was stored he was
not little surprised to find that
nearly all the miserable huts were
deserted. Several times Capt. John
son inquired the meaning of this, but
the natives were either unable or IN
willing to give any plain answer,
and it was not until the last lot of
tusks had been conveyed to the
boats and the natives had been re-
munerated for their labor that the
least clew could be obtained as to
the cause of this strange desertion,
and then for the first time the cap
tain received the startling intelli-
gence that the cholera was sweeping
down the river!
As soon as the fact became known
to the seamen they wildly huddled
into their boats, as though the fear
full death angel was at their heels,
and silently, yet with powerful
strokes, they pulled down the fatal
stream. At length they reached their
ship, and though they breathed
somewhat more freely as they trod
their own deck, yet each contenance
bore the stamp of deep fear. The
ivory was soon got on board, and
with all haste the old Vulcan was
got under way. 1t was nearly night
when the ship got off, and with a
good breeze from the northward and
eastward she stood we'll on her
course. On the next morning,
shortly after breakfast, and while
the crew had begun to think that
they had no occasion for further
fear, young man named Walter
Addison was taken suddenly sick.
Young Addison was the favorite
both of the officers and the crew, and
as it was reported that he was thus
i'll general CONSERVATION seized
upon all hands. The youngma felt
at first a giddiness and a sickly chill,
and in the course of two hours he
sank into an alarming debility. the
contenance assuming a deadly pale
ness and his skin bearing all the APP
pearance of a corpse. Poor Addi-
son suffered till noon, and then the
startling announcement went
through the ship that he was dead.
This was the first, but who should
be the next? A panic had seized up
on the men; the cholera was with
them, and none dared remove the
form of their dead shipmate from his
berth. Night approached, and with
it came an almost dead calm, but
the corpse still remained in the fore
castle, nor did the men dare to go
thither.. The captain urged that the
longer presence of the body would
breed more dangerous contagion,
but the only answer he received was
q mournful shake of the heads about
him.
At length, finding that all argu-
ments were useless, he turned to his
mate and asked him if he would as
sist himself in throwing the body of
the dead manoverboard. The mate
az first hesitated, but in q moment
he signifed his consent, and together