The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-01-19
NO MERCY FOR THE FEVER SHIP.
Rodrigues Islanders Let the Traveller Go to Wreck and Treat the Crew
 Inhumanly


 Go to Wreck and Treat the Crew Inhumanly.
 One of the most remarkable tales of shipWreck and adventure narrated within recent years was told by Mrs. Andrew Christie, widow of Capt. Christie of the wrecked ship Traveller. The ship Traveller with cargo of sugar was going from Java to Delaware Breakwater, and almost as soon as the vessel left river fever of the usual Java type broke out, and this spread day after day until every one on board the ship was affected with the malady, in- cluding Mrs. Christie herself and her baby boy about Il months old. Death after death took place, and the victims were one after another buried at sea. One of the men, a Dutchman, while delirious with the fever, jumped into the sea and ended his life. The chief officer of the ship died on Dec. IA, on the 18th Mrs. Christie's husband, Capt. Christie, also succumbed This cast a terrible gloom over the ship. Soneof the men gained little strength, but others died until the death roll at last amount ed to Il. This left 10 to man the ship, with the second mate, MT. Ritch, a Liverpool man, in charge. MT, Ritch decided to make for Mauritius to obtain assistance Later on, at a time when he had but two men and himself to work the ship he approached Rodrigues Island. With wonderful skill they brought up their ship off the Island, and then dropped anchsr They thought that they could get assistance and medicine here and that all danger was passed. The treatment they received, however, Mrs. Christie described as the most remarkable and inhuman, and was rendered doubly so in view of the pros- trate condition of the survivors. Rod rigues Island is inhabited mostly by French creoles, The Governor and doctor, however, are white, and although French, could speak English. The, pilot of the place came off in his boat, but when he heard of the sickness, which was explained to him as the usual Java kind, he would not board the traveller but returned to the shore, and the report was spread that the vessel had yellow fever on board. The helpless people waited honr after hour for assistance, but none came, and, fear ing that their vessel would go ashore any minute, Mr. Ritch decided to take his crew on shore. A boat was lowered and MT. Ritch and the two convalesc- ent seaman lowered Mrs. Christie, her baby, and the other sick members of the crew into it. As they approached the shore the Governor and a number of others rushed down to the waters s edge and threatened to shoot the ship wrecked people if they landed. MT. Rtch asked them if they were Christians I to treat people in such d manner. His men, he said, had not the strength to pull back to the ship, and if they got there they would all very likely be I drowned. MT. Ritch asked them to l give him assistance to take his vessel out of it's dangerous position, and to give succor and medicine for his sick crew These appeals met with no re- sponse, and for fear of being fired on l the poor people had to row back to their ship
 I Here they arrived more dead than | alive, and only got on board the trav- eller again with the utmost difficulty. l The last of their number had hardly I quilted the small boattwhen 1t was car- ried away and lost. No assistance was
 sent to the ship either in the shape of a l doctor or of hands to man the vessel and that night the Traveller was carried
 natey she did not go to pieces then. of 1 every sou on board would have been l in all probability lost
 Finding that something must now be
 done, the Rodrigues people sent a boat next morning with the pilot, and this l boat took off Mrs Christie and hel
 child MT. Ritch launched the ships 1 lifeboat, but as his crew had not
 strength to man it some blacks were sent from the shore. All of the ship l wrecked people were taken to q sand
 island where there were no inhabitants
 and were kept there tWenty-two days They lived in huts made of leaves, an6 l for about three. weeks had nothing but l leaves to lie down. So fearful were the Rodngues people of contact witt tie shipwrecked crew that the food they
 sent was conveyed from one small boat to another and then put on the beach l Some blacks, however, were sent to tht
 island to cook for the unfortunate peo
 pie. The doctor came off in about z
 fortnight, but remained in the smal
 boat many yards from the beach anG 1I examined the shipwrecked crew through
 a pair of binocular glasses. The morn i ing after the wreck, as MT. Ritch ant his companions were being conveyed tt the island, one of them, a Scotchman died, and the authorities made ths blacks take him back to where the shil
 was ashore to bury him in the sea Another sailor named Pilgrim died or
 the sand island, and Mr. Ritch had him self to dig a hole and bury the body l On the twenty-second day it becam,
 patent to those at RQdrgues Islans
 that, as the monsoon was setting il
 it was likely that the island would b.
 covered by the sea, it's occupants wer
 in great danger. They were therefor
 moved to Rodrigues. but their numbe
 had now been reduced to eight of tn
 crew and Mrs. Christie and her child
 On Rodrigues Island they remained tw,
 months, and during that time were wei