The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-06-21

allegeQ husband tnat ne nau insultou uoE
and be came to me with demand that he
be made to apologize. heard both OF
their stories, and as they differed so widely
/ took no action, the second mate. by the
way, being the man who stood by me
| from the first, which no doubt angered
them. The next day l received this rather
| curious letter:
BARK INvERURIE, october 5. 1894.
Captain WiLLoU-SIR: On thinking over our
conversation of last evening re your second
male, have come TO the following decision.
viz: That not only as master. but the legally
constituted judge Of this ship, II appears to my
mind that you have not acted 10 that impartial
manner which you profess so much 10 admire.
You we're quite right in saying you had heard
Mrs. Armi ages version. and that OF the Sec
Ond mate. Now. sir, had the second mate had
half the candor she portrayed you might then
have arrived at your decision that one word
was as good as another, but you have appar-
emily thought fit 10 side entirely with the Sec
ond mate against Mrs. Armitage. although you
said on Wednesday night that the second mate
was far too insOlent with his tongue.
Now, sir, this Is my decision: That in view
of the way you have treated this matter, and
not wishing TO criticize your profound judg-
ment, nevertheless reserve to myself the right
to keep TO myself, and as long as am aboard
lulS snip you VIII hlDuly INSTRUCT the SecOnu
mate not 10 address himself either to Mrs ARM
itage or me. and, Furthermore. pursue the same
course yourself, and by so doing you Will
greatly oblige faithfully yours,
L. Z. ARMITAGE.
"Of course / had no objection to their
keeping to themselves. Ny wife had come
to fear both of these people as unscrupu-
lous and bad. and begged me not to allow
nifhar Of n her Giak- n no m nr
When the time came, however. seeing how
helpless l was, she said that perhaps he
knew more than 1 did. and 1 had better
call him.
This fellow had come to ms originally
as physician. l know his history now
as l did not then. He was travelling
agent for a tobacco warehouse and had
travelled in South Africa. / believe that in
the Zulu War he was attached to the am
bulance department, or something Of that
kind, and there picked up enough knOwl-
edge to enable him to fool a man who
knows little or nothing of surgery. He
said that it required three certificates TO
practice medicine in England; that he had
taken two and was fully equipped to take
such a case. | called him in and very soon
saw when he began to use the instruments
(Which be bought especially to deceive me)
that be knew nothing about it. He pla ced
my wife under the influence of chloro-
form, and l had to assist him in that.
Finally l ordered him away. and calling
two men l tried to assist her myself.
Then l was drugged-l am sure l was
and taken away In a straitjacket and
locked in a room. For five days l was
Kept there. while a crowd OF rufians sur
rounded my wife.
when l was gone he was free to re-
sumo his experiments. and finally the child
was born dead, and he brought il and held
it up to the bars of my cell for me to see
ICED only knows how the little woman
suffered. But they told me she was doing
well, and said If so, If she was well, /
did not care what they did with me.
But then they saw that she was going
TO die, and perhaps some sort of feeling
returned to them, or they saw they would
get into trouble if she died away from me.
They came and said they would release ME
if l would forgive them and not report
against them.
What could l do? l said anything
that would admit me 10 her. l was re-
leased at 10 o'clock in the morning and
she died at o'clock that evening
when l got to her told her that II
she died l would kill all those who had had
hand in that great outrage.
But she. put her arms about my neck
in great alarm and made me promise her
l would not. Perhaps, as she said, there
is God, If not a government, to punish
them.
81 am told that Immediately after l was
taken away the crew got to the liquor,
and this doctor was drunk and the others
were drunk while they butchered my wife.
Ny wife told me that she heard this
woman in the next cabin all the time carry
ing on in drunken fashion; it was horrible
"But do not know what may be done
about it. Here is letter from Mrs. Alex
ander. the deserted wife of this alleged
doctor, to me:
635 Bowling street,