The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-04-26
The Horrible Outward Bound
Cargo of q Chinese Steamer.
AsEcRET REVEALED At TACOMA.
Startling Allegations That Have Been
Whispered About Sub Rosa.
More Chinese for Worlds Fair-Finding
Of . Fraser River Corpse Uncovers .
MurAer-Mrs. Edwards, ofvancoavsr.
Dies Of Wound.

TACOMA, April 25.-[Special. THE night
before the Northern Pacific steamship
Mogul sailed the doctor of that craft said
that there was smallpox aboard and that
one Chinaman had died of the disease, and
that his body would be taken away aboard
the ship This and other statements of
the kind have been kept secret ever since,
and there would be no reason now for an
nouncing 1t except that some people here
got the idea that the Mogul did not
put in at Victoria because of smallpox.
Mr.. Perl. in the Office of General Assist
ant Superintendent Dickinson, Of the
Northern Pacific, who was the principal
representative Of the company aboard tho
Mogul here, says:
There 10 nothing in the statement that small
pox broke out on the Mogul here. she did not
go to Victoria because she had already landed
ali the Cinnamon there that she could in pro-
portion to her tonnage No doubt the smallpox
scare resulted from the fact that . man was
taken sick aboard and was put OF at Hongkong.
Mr.. Perl did not say whether the passen-
ger landed at Hongkong was suffering
with smallpox.
Assistant Collector Of Customs Plum
mer arrived here tonight en- route to Hot
Springs for his health. He says:
Iwss told the day before the Mogul left that
there was smallpox aboard, but did not see any
person sick with smallpox. Collector WATSON
had no Official notice Of smallpox being aboard
the Mogul. II he had such notice he would
have notified the Tacoma health officers and the
vessel would have been quarantined with all
aboard.
If there was smallpox aboard the Mogul
and her officers concealed the fact from the
health officers, her owners arc subject to
heavy fine. 1t 10 said the disease may have
developed with the Cinnamon previously
ordered deported, who had been quaran-
tined at Victoria and came to Tacoma
on the Mogul. It u an unwritten
law of customs officers that
while it 10 crime to let IN infectious dis
ease to come into the country, it 10 the re-
verse of criminal to get smallpox and
kindred contagion out of the country.
Some of Collector Wasson's officers who
were exposed have stripped themselves Of
the clothes worn while on the Mogul
and have hung the same in outhouses
and kept away from them. The Mogul
had clean bill Of health coming to this
port, and still those whose business
it was to know say that one Chinaman
perished of smallpox the night before the
Mogul left. and was disemboweled In Or
der to return his body to China. Indeed,
from the same source it is held that on the
afternoon before the Mogul sailed one
Chinaman was seized with smallpox and
taken below.
The Mogul's crew vas not called here
to the knowledge Of any customs officer.
but 1t 10 held that this was unnecessary
with British ship. While Collector
Wasson did not have Official notification
of smallpox being aboard, he was aware
few hours before tho Mogul sailed that
word had passed aronnd that the disease
had broken out. The Northern Pacific off,
cials were anxious to get the Mogul away,
but not sign or hint was given that it
was desired to hasten her departure on &C
count Of smallpox. Assistant Collector
Plummer was about the only customs off,
cial who went into the hold or between
decks. He was asked tonight if Collector
Wasson was in any way responsible if he
failed to force an accounting for every
Chinaman aboard. He said:
have since checked on all the MoGurs pas-
senger list, and all were accounted for. Each
Chinaman was furnished with his name by the
purser, but If any of them had repeated l could
not detect It Every name was accounted for.
The statement was made before the Mo-
gul got away that there was prospect of
many more cases of smallpox before she
reached Hongkong. On being notified of
the presence of the disease on board the
vessel some of the customs officials were
at their request excused from duty. The
Cinnamon who landed from the vessel
have scattered over the Coast, andimanv
have gone to Chicago. but most Of them
were not exposed.