The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-02
THE VOYAGES OF A FEVER SHIP.
Ohicers Died OF Until There Was
None but an 1S-Year-old Boy to
Navigate Her.

From the Melbourne Argus.
On Saturday night the British bark
Trafalgar arrived in Hobson's Bay from
Batavia in charge of the third officer, a
youth of Is years of age The record of
her passage is sufficiently sensational and
thrilling to be taken from one of Clark
Russell's romances.
The Trafalgar, which is owned by AL
fred Brown, of Glasgow, is four-masted
bark of 1896 tons burden. In the begin
ming of the wear she was dispatched from
Cardiff to Rio de Janeiro with cargo of
Goals, the passage being made in the
smart time of thirty-one days. After
discharging, she proceeded to New York
in ballast, and, having loaded with kero-
sene. she started for Batavia, under the
command of Capt Francis Edgar, ma
tive of Edinburgh. Batavia was reached
in the latter part of Septem Der. Here
her troubles began. Three of the crew
deserted. One was arrested and brought
back to the ship, the second could not be
found, while the third evaded capture by
an absconder from Dutch man-of-war
lying in New York harbor at the time he
signed articles. He was placed on the
guard ship. Next, the second officer,
who had joined the vessel at New York,
thrashed one of the crew, and was COM
PEELED to lock himself in his cabin for
safety till, fearful that the seamen would
carry their threat into effect to throw
his carcass overheard to the sharks" he
asked for and was reluctantly granted
his discharge
Orders were now issued that the crew
were not to go OF shore, for fear that they
should be stricken down with the Java
fever. Despite these precautions Capt.
Edgar was the first to succumb to the
fever, and his condition hourly becoming
worse the chief officer, Richard Roberts,
rowed to the Dutch guard shio for medi-
cal assistance, but when he returned
three hours later Capt. Edgar was dead
dead. His remains were inferred in the
Batavia cemetery on the following day,
the steward and six of the crew taking
part in the obsequies with. as it suisse
quently transpired, terribly deadly re-
suits. Most of the men soon after COM
planned of being seriously ill, and as there
was little hope of their complete recovery
while inhaling the miasmatic vapors arts
ing from the marshes in the vicinity of
the city, it was determined that a start
should be made for Australia. The COM
mand of the Trafalgar had now reverted
to Richard Roberts, the chief officer
The journey was accordingly commenced
under most discouraging circumstances
on Oct. 20, the crew on the articles num-
Just after the Trafalgar had got well
clear of the island, James Kelly, A B.,
aged &c, native of Cork, was seized with
the fever and although the steward, John
Lee, and the deck officers, tried with the
aid of the restricted means at their COM
mand, TO relieve his sufferings, he sank rap
idly and died on Nov. 8. IN latitude 10 So
north, and longitude l01o 90 east. His
body was buried at sea. Capt Roberts
1a Of i'm nd 70 do,-
the navigation of the ship still more
difficult, Mr.. Samuel Norwood, now first
officer designate, was compelled to lay up
about the same time. He was almost
FRUSTRATED by the fever, and beyond max
ing an occasional entry in the log book,
he was unable either to take his watch or
to assist in directing the ship on her
course AT IL a. m. on Nov: Is, Joseph
Full. the ships carpenter. died from the
fever, and on the afternoon Of the same
day Capt. Roberts lost possession of his
reason. and succumbed to the dreadful
disease shortly before midnight. The
ship was then in Lat 22o 80 s. and lon.
1882 40 E. Full was over 80 years of age,
while Capt. Roberts was a comparatively
young man and had been married just be-
before leaving Cardiff. He has, it is
stated, brother and several other near
relations living in Victoria.
The position of the vessel was now ex-
tremely critical The death of Capt.
Roberts and the prostration of Mr.. Nor
wood had thrown the whole responsible
ty of working the ship upon Mr.. William
Shotton, who had only quite recently com
pleted his linden ture term of service, and
had been promoted to the position of
third officer mainly because OF his praci-
cal and theoretical knowledge of navi-
CATION. Mr.. Shotton assumed command
until Mr.. Norwood's condition should
improve of which there was some pros
poets, but he weakened rapidly. and at
last his reason gave way and he died on
Nov. 81 in lat. 2s' 3S S. and lon. go SO
T. Hugh Kennedy the sailmaker, was
now the only person irrespective OF Mr..
Shotton, who had the remotest idea Of
the duties Of a supernumerary officer