Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1894-10-31
A LITTLE GIRL sTOWAWAY.
She Wanted to Go TIC Her Mother in Al
stra1ja and She Went.

stra1ja and She Went.
There was a stowaway on the steamer
Monowai when she left port on her last
trip to Sydney. who became the pet of
the passengers before the voyage was end
ed. 1t was Il little girl, who gave the
name of Rebecca Levy, and said that she
wanted to go to her parents, but could
not pay her fare.
The Monowai was late leaving her dock
on her outward voyage, waiting for mails
delayed by the strike, and it was long aft
er dark before her lines were cast off.
Next morning when the big gong an
nounced breakfast, Capt. Carey was de-
scending from the bridge when he was
met at the foot of the stairs by a pretty
girl who showed traces of seasickness.
She stopped him and bluntly told him that
she was stoWaway.
q know | have no right to be here,
she said, but / want TO go to my mother
in Australia. and | am willing to work
for my fare.
no work on the ship the girl could do, and
besides. he was doubtful of her story.
He had a suspicion that some of the
passengers were attempting to carry their
child through without paying her fare,
and he questioned the girl closely.
She said her father and mother and
herself lived in Melbourne until about
two years before when they all went to
San Francisco. Her father was a shoe
trimmer. but work became so slack III
Australia that it was with difficulty he
could keep bread in the mouths OF his
| family without drawing on the little re-
serve fund that he, by years of hard
toll. had managed to put away IN a saw
ings bank. Finally matters became so
| bad that he decided to strike out anew,
and drawing his money from the bank
| he purchased tickets for himself and wife
! and daughter for San Francisco.
In America the little stowaway's father
Jared worse. Then the father wrote to
| friends he had left in the Australian colon
! les for assistance. They sent him some
money, but it was sufficient emily to pay
i the fares of the father and mother back 10
/ Melbourne. where the head of the unfor-
tunate family had work awaiting him.
The little StoWaWay was left to the care
of distant relatives until the father could
send for her. The girl had a good home
for a couple Of months, until the people
she was stopping with began to quarrel.
The quarrel ripened into a general family
| fight. with the result that the home was
| broken up The family separated and
| left the city, and just before the uncle"
as she called her guardian, left for the
East he gave her s., and told her to SHIFT
! for herself.
She was alone in a strange city and
without a friend. and for two or three
days before the steamer sailed she spent
| her time about the dock, watching the
! great iron ship. the only tie between the
poor outcast and her mother far across
the sea. How she longed to go on board
and ask TO be taken to her home, but
| the stern man at the gangplank awed
| her.
! At last the sailing day came, and
! bright and early the little outcast was Ut
| the wharf Soon passengers began to 90
on board. and the face of the Waterman
was wreathed in smiles. He was not
! such an awful being now, and she thought
| she could get past him. Twice she tried
! it. but her courage failed her. A nickel
! was all the money she had left and she
| was hungry She was beginning to Won
| der what her fate would be, when there
| came a crush at the gangplank Now
| was her chance. and into the crowd she
| got in the hurry of the passengers to
| get aboard. and in the indstinct light
! she got past the Waterman and on the
! deck. She was found late in the night
! cuddled in & dark corner III the women S
! Steerage by a German passenger, to
whom she told her story. The kind
hearted lady shared her berth with her.
and early the next morning she hunted
up the officers and offered TO work for
| her passage.
Capt Carey tried to break her story,
| but it was of no use. He threatened to
! put her in irons. or down the stokehole,
or leave her in Honolulu and carry her
no further unless she told the truth, but
| she stuck to her story.
The little stowaway was bright, and
! she soon became a favorite OF board
with the officers and crew as well as
| with the passengers. When the Hawaiian
! islands were sighted the stowaWay be
came anxious. She had heard nothing of
the captain reversing his decision of
| landing her there, and her German
friends in the steerage shared her anxi-
ETY.. The result was that the hat was
passed among the second-class passengers
to pay her fare for the remainder of the
| trip. The amount secured was small,
| but it was given with a good heart and
| the money was turned over to the cap
| tain with pleadings not to put the girl
| off,
Capt. Carey had no intention of put
| ting her off, but the passengers insisted
on paying the money. and it was taken
/ for her passage.
At Sydney the officers of the vessel
made UP purse to take the little stow
away to Melbourne, where she was re
| stored to her parents.-San Francisco