Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1892-12-23
A FEMALE CRUSOE.

sne trauinB scuoOner lALLle AluR sailed out !
Of the port Of Singapore, bound for the |
Kinderoon islands, to the north. and only |
one Of her crew was ever again met with
For five years before the schooner had be-
longed to and been commanded by Capt.
Ezra Williams, an American from San
Francisco. He traded between Singapore
and Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the small
er islands Of the Java sea, and in May,
1871, died at Singapore OF fever. He had
then been married for three years to an
English woman, whose maiden name was
Danforth, who had been q domestic in an
English family in Singapore. She had ac-
companied him in all his voyages. and had
secured much experience and information.
As she could not readily dispose Of the
schooner, she determined to continue in
the business. acting as her own super
cargo
Mrs. Williams secured an Englishman
named Parker AZ captain. another named
Hope as mate, and with three Malays be-
fore the mast and Chinese cook, and
with about 5000 in specie In the cabin,
she sailed away on her first voyage, and it
was four years later before she was again
heard OF. The purpose of this narrative is
to chronicle her adventures in the interim,
as naQ IL from uer own lips.
While it was bit queer to start on
voyage with woman virtually in com
mand OF the craft, Mrs Williams had
nothing to fear from her crew. The off
GERS were good navigators and the men
willing, and all were anxious for a profita-
BILE voyage. She had no complaints to
make until the islands had been reached
The group lies between the Malay PENN
sula and the island Of Borneo. about 100
miles of the coast of the former, and from
$50 to 800 miles from Borneo. There are
nineteen islands in the group, covering a
length of 100 miles by about 10 broad.
There are only seven or eight which are in
habited, and at the time of which write
| the people were lawless set. and share
! of them out and out pirates.
The products were dried fish, sea shells,
cocoanuts, dye stuffs, various herbs and
| roots for medicinal purposes and several
sorts of spices. The schooner had been
there once before and made profitable
| trip of it. She had clothing, powder,
shoes, axes and great variety of notions,
| and where none of these was wanted she
paid cash
| On this trip the schooner worked to the
northward and made her stop at the island
of Quewang, being the third one from the
northernmost island of the group. She
met with cordial reception, and at once
began bartering for and receiving cargo.
She was anchored in sheltered bay. with
| in 500 feet of the beach, and had been there
| five days before anything occurred to
arouse Mrs Williams suspicious that all
was not right. She then observed that the
entire crew were drinking deeply of ma
tive liquor which the natives were supply
1 :-x -. shav hot ~
the fellows were becoming impudently ia
miliar.
When the captain was spoken to he
laughed at her idea of trouble and promised
better things; but the drinking continued.
On the afternoon of the seventh day several
women came off in the canoes. One of
them, who could speak English pretty fair
ly, was presented with some ornaments by
Mrs Williams, and in return she limited
to her that it was the intention of the
natives to capture and loot the schooner
that night They had discovered that
there was large sum of money on board,
and they had found the crew an easy one
to handle The native woman hadn't time
nor opportunity to say much, but no
sooner had the crowd of natives left the
schooner at dusk, as was their custom,
, than Mrs Williams set out to sound the
alarm. Imagine her feelings when she dis
covered that every single man on board,
from captain to cook, was so much under
the influence of liquor as to be unable to
comprehend her words She doused them
with sea water and pounded them with be-
laying pins, but all to no purpose. The en-
tire lot were stupidity drunk, just as the
natives had planned for.
1t was perilous situation for the WON
an to be placed in. If the natives capcured
, the schooner they would murder every ons
3 of the crew as a natural sequence, and thu
q first step toward capturing her had al
8 ready been taken. The step she took
). showed sound Judgment. The schooner.
a yawl was down, having been in almos
hourly use. The native village was abou
forty rods back from the beach, and as thu
l. schooner swung to the ebb tide she pre-
8 sented her broadside to the village. WheI
the yawl was pulled around to the por
aide she was out of sight Mrs. Williams
first act was to step the mast, her next tt
o supply the craft with provisions and water
y There were an unusual number of light
v burning in the village, showing that some
:. thing was on foot, but she had no fear
;. An attack until later hour. The native
would wait until certain that all the pee
y pie were helpless.
is Mrs. Williams had determined to sill
10 away from the doomed craft in the yaw
r. although she had no experience in tn
!. management of small boat. After waite
"a and provisions she brought up all he
money. which was in boxes she coul
:, handle. Not penny of it was left behind
~ There were rife, revolver and douoi
10 barreled shotgun belonging to her nus
r hand. These she took, together VIII
. nowder, shot and fixed ammunition. The
She gathered up all her bedding and cloth
ing. took three or four spare blankets, wv
.uits of clothes belonging to the oincer'
er and when these were in the boat she TOO
=. nots mans. dishes and cutlery, bundled u
lot Of carpenters tools, secured two axe'
10 /, lot of small rope, several pieces OF canvas
o. and. in brief loaded the yawl with VIVA
ne ever was portable and handy, inciudln
r. the clock, compass, quadrant, sextant an
-, for Upward OF two hours getting Ines
things into the boat. and the last artici'
taken aboard were meat, flour, beans, u
~ and other provisions from the lazarette.
10 1t was about 10 O'Clock when Mrs. IL
90 Jams took her seat in the yawl and cast o
from the schooner, and the tide at on,
drifted her out of the bay to the nortl
The only thing of consequence she hs
" FORGOTTEN was a chart of the Java Sc
which she could have put her hand on AT
minutes notice, and it was the want OF Tn
NO which made her Crusoe for several year
As the yawl went to sea after its own ias
1t, ION Mrs williams lost the points OF Il
.,n.ss Mt once Indeed, had she keI