Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1894-01-12
TERRIBLE VOYAGE.

TERRIBLE VOYAGE.
A5LAKE PROPELLER BEcAMEA FLOAT
ING CHARMED HOUSE.
An Epidemic Which Carried on Eighty
five Persons-Died Within q Few Hours
After Being Attacked-A Cool ReceE.ten
at Milwaukee-A T%reacherous Agent.
The Allegheny was one of the best pro-
pellers of her day. She piled between Buff
falo and Milwaukee. One day in midsum-
mer, 1850, she left Buffalo harbor on her
regular trip. She was incommand of Cap
tain Morrison. The passenger list included
40 cabin and $50 steerage passengers, the
latter all Swedish immigrants. These Were
going in a body to Milwaukee, where sew
eral hundred of their countrymen had pre-
ceded them. They were being forwarded
by some colonization society and were in
charge of aSwede named Jansen, an agent
of the society. With4th exception Of Jan
sen, not OF OF these people could speak q
word of English. Their collective wealth
amounted to 100000 in cash, which was
all in the possession of Jansen for safe
keeping.
The Allegheny always stopped at Beaver
island, which was held by King Strang
with his colony of Mormon and free love
followers. During the propeller's stop on
this trip a little girl among the steerage
passengers sickened and died, her sickness
coming suddenly and death resulting two
hours later. This little one's mother had
died on the ocean voyage from Sweden and
was buried at sea. The. child was buried
on King Strang's island.
The propeller proceeded,on her way, but
had got not more than an hours sail from
Little Beaver island when the father Of the
child diedin the same manner that she had.
Before the Allegheny arrived at South
Manitou island IS of the immigrants had
died of the same mysterious disease, which
was spreading rapidly among them. The
sudden appearance 'of this deadly plague
caused.a panic on board.
The cabin passengers were placed in
quarantine in their quarters, and the crew
of the propelleS were kept busy caring for
the unfortunate Swedes. The propeller
landed at Manitou and buried in one large
trench the score and a half who were then
lying:dead on board the vessel. From Mani
tou there was no place where the steamer
could touch before arriving at Milwaukee,
and she left that island literally a floating
charnel house. Scarcely an hour passed
that an immigrant did not fall yictimtto
the terrible, plague, the origin of which no
one at that time knew. It at last became
impossible to attend to the wants of all the
sufferers, although the entire crew devoted
every minute, night and day, to their serv-
ice. There was no installing those who
were doomed to death among the ,immi-
grants.
The victim became hollow eyed and had
q vacant, faraway look that was hard for
another to meet. When that l~ookappeared,
death was but a N hour or two away. Death
always came with the most intense agony.
One could look about among the stricken
and count to a certainty those who would
be dead within the next hour. The victims
were weighted and cast overheard as soon
as they were dead. Such a thing as shroud-
ing or giving funeral service to a corpse was
an impossibility. They were cast into the
water just as they died. y
Up to theday before the propeller arrived
at Milwaukee none of the crew or officers
had been attacked by the disease, but on
that day the cook fell a victim to it, and
was cast into the lake US the others had
been. The clerk Of the steamer, a young
man named Gardiner, about this time had
found among the stores a cask Of New Eng
I'M rum. The story is that the engineer,
man named Curtis, soon after the cooks
death, was attacked by the disease, and
that Gardiner, without any idea of the re-
suit, had caused the doomed man to drink
aglass of the rum. What the virtue of the
rum was as y remedy. for the disease no
n ever knew, but the engineer did not
die. Gardiner chen dosed the immigrants
with it as they fell sick, and. in several
cases the victims were saved Gardiner, at
the time he discovered the rum, discovered
what he had reason to believe was the orr
gin of the deadly disease. 1t was a barrel
of putrid fish among the immigrant: stores,
of which poisonous food some of the poor
people had eaten early in the voyage.
The propeller reached Milwaukee in the
evening. There were then IL lead .Swedes
aboard. The captain sent for physicians.
They decided that the disease was some
kind of fever usual in ships where passen-
gers were closely CHARTERED, but its exact
nature they could not determine. The news
of the terrible state of affairs on board the
Allegheny was not slow in getting abroad
In the town. No one, not even the officers,
was allowed to remain anywhere in the city,
and they were driven back to the nlelan-
choly~ surroundings on board. Next morn
ing the authorities ordered the propeller to
move away from the dock and out into the
lake. This was done.
A new element then appeared in the nn-
fortunate situation, and it for a time threat
ened serious trouble. The Swedes living
in and about Milwaukee were made &C
quainted with che sad straits their fellow
countryDen were in on board the ALE
ghany, and they marched to the dock in a
body, 500 strong. They sent word to Cap
tain Morrison that If he would run his YES
sci back to the dock they would prevent
any interference with his landing. For a
time q riot seemed inevitable, but a COM
promise was effected by the authorities
making an agreement with Captain Nor
rison that he might land his passengers ON
scows and have them towed to an old store
house that stood on the outskirts Of the
city. Three more deaths had occurred on
the propeller pending this arrangement.
The immigrants, or the IS that remained of
the 15O that left Buffalo. were q%uarantined
inrthe storehouse, and the terrible disease
was got in hand without any further
deaths. 63
Y Tho ,,oAohoano,. ~ 49, -.