Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1894-08-17
A TERRIBLE VOYAGE.
ALAKE PROPELLER BECAME FLOAT
ING CHARMED HOUSE.
An Epidemic Which Carried on Eighty
five Persons-Died Within n Few Hours
After Being acked-A Cool Reception

at Milwaukee--A Treacherous A gent.
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 in command of Cap
tain Morrison. The passenger list included
40 cabin and $50 steerage passengers, the
latter all Swedish immigrants. These were
going in n 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 Swede named Jansen, an agent
of the society. With the exception of Jan
sen, not one of these people could speak
word OF English. Their collective wealth
amounted To $4,000 in cash, which was
all in the possession of Jansen for safe
| keeping.
The Allegheny always stopped Mt 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 little girl among the steerage
passengers sickened and died. her sickness
coming suddenly and death resulting two
hours later. This little ones mother had
died on the ocean voyage from Sweden and
was buried at sea. The child was buried
| on King Strangs island.
The propeller proceeded on her way, bat
had got not more than an hours sail from
Little Beaver island when the father Of the
child died in the same manner that she had.
Before the Allegheny arrived at South
Manitou island 25 of the immigrants had
died of the same mysterious disease, which
was spreading rapidly among them. The
sudden appearance of this deadly plague
caused panic on board.
The cabin passengers were placed IN
quarantine in their quarters, and the crew
of the propeller were kept busy caring for
the unfortunate Swedes The propeller
! landed at Manitou and buried in one large
trench the score and 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 floating
charnel house. Scarcely an hour passed
that an immigrant did not fall victim to
the terrible plague, the origin Of which no
one at that time knew. 1t 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.
a vacant, faraway look that was hard for
another TO meet. When that look appeared.
death was but an hour or two away. Death
always came with the most intense agony.
One could look about among the stricken
and count 10 certainty those who would
be dead within the next hour. The victims
were weighted 9nd cast overheard as soop
as they We're dead. Such thing as shroud-
| ing or giving funeral service to corpse was
an impossibility. They were cast into t
water just as they died.
Up to the day BEFORE the propeller arrived
at Milwaukee none of the crew or officers
had been attacked by the disease, but Oh
that day the cook fell a victim 10 it. a.,
was cast into the lake as the otht's Cd,
been. The clerk of the steamer, . yo,r
man named Gardiner, about this time ,u.
found among the stores n cask Of New T..
land rum. The story Is that the cn".H,..
man named Curtis, soon after tie CO
death, was attacked by the disease, a..
that Gardiner without any idea 81 ;.t.i.
suit, had caused the doomed man to J.is
glass Of the rum What the virtue a. ,....
rum was as remedy for the disco D..
one ever knew, but the engineer did 49,.
die. Gardiner then dosed the immi.,r.a,
with it as they fell sick, and in scylia
cases the victims were saved. Gardiner, T..
the time he discovered the rum, discover.
what he had reason to believe was the ori
gin of the deadly disease. 1t was barre
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 10 dead 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 quartered, 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 melan
choly surroundings on board. Next morn
ing the authorities ordered the propeller 70
move away from the dock and out into the
! lake. This was done
A new element then appeared in the I'm.
fortunate situation, and it for time threat
ened serious trouble. The Swedes living
in and about Milwaukee were made ac-
| quainted with the sad straits their fellow
| countrymen were in on board the ALE
| ehany, and they marched to the dock in
| 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 a riot seemed inevitable, but 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
txx.se that stood on the outskirts of the
city Three more deaths had occurred on
the propeller pending this arrangement
! The immigrants, OF the 65 that remained Of
the $50 that left Buffalo, were quarantined
| In the storehouse, and the terrible disease
was got in hand without any further
! deaths
The wretchedness of the immigrants was
made still greater by the baseness of the
man Jansen, who had them in charge. Be
fore the survivors of the plague were able
to look after their interests Jansen disap
peared taking with him the 100000 be.
longing to the party. He was never heard
! of afterward.
The young clerk, Gardiner, of the Allie
ghany, whose prescriptions OF New Eng
| land rum undoubtedly saved several of the