Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1897-11-26
WOMEN OF THE SEA.


These Have Followed . Life on the Wave
from Choice.
I The sailors superstitious fear that a
woman's presence on shipboard invites
ill-luck has failed to deter women
whose hearts yearn for the sea from
gratifying this desire. The pages of
the maritime history of the world
contain the names OF many matrons
and girls in various periods who, dis
guised as men, have followed a life on
the ocean wave. The majority of
them not only proved excellent sailors,
but even fought bravely with cutlass,
pike and pistol against the foes Of their
native land.
They did not even shrink from sail
ing under the black flag: for the Eng
fish women, Anne BonDy and Mary
Read, joined the buccaneers, the typ
zeal pirates OF the Antilles, in order to
gain booty to their hearts content.
a German writer gives a number of
names Of women who have gone to sea
among which the following are inter-
esting:
Jean de Belleville, to avenge her hus-
band, who was murdered in the year
1343 in Paris, fitted out a squadron Of
ships and ravaged the coast of Nor.
mandy, burned castles and illumined
the seat at night with the glare of blaz-
ing villages. Jean de Belleville was
famed in her age as one of the most
beautiful women in Europe.
Sometimes jealousy has sent young
wife to sea in sailor garb. The ballad
of bold Hannah Smell is now known by
all sailors. This woman was born in
London in 1928, and in the course of
time married q German sailor named
Jacob Summs, who squandered her lit
tie property and then deserted her.
To seek this .faithless fellow, Hannah
donned mems attire and went to sa.
Her experiences during her quest
would fill volumes grave and gay, trag-
ic and comic incidents alternated. She
served only on English men-of-war,
took part in numerous battles and re-
ceived several wounds. After many
years she had the news that Jacob, in
punishment for serious crime, had
been put into a sack and thrown into
the sea somewhere in France. From
that time she left the royal service,
where her disguise had never been dis
covered, and returned in woman's
clothes to London. The government
granted her an annual pension of 50
sterling for life. She is said to have
gone on the stage afterward and &C.
quilted herself admirably in sailor
characters.
There are also high-hearted women
who have performed many brave, he
roic deeds while sailing the seas with
their husbands. Among them Louise
Dittmar, the wife of the captain of the
Prussian steamer Edgar, deserves the
highest praise. On the way home the
entire crew, except the captain and
hclmsman, were attacked with serious
illness. The two men undertook to at
tend to the engine, while the woman
stood nj the helm and steered the ship,
and this was done night and day almost
without relief, for weeks! The steam.
er arrived in port safely, after seven Of
the crew had died on the passage. In
this case the valuable vessel had actu-
ally been saved solely by the captains
wife. for it is difficult to estimate what
the two men could have done without
her aid. Captains whose ship owners
forbid them to take their wives with
them might aptly cite as an opposing
argument of the example of Louise
Dittmar.-Detroit Free Press. .