Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1898-03-24
HORRIBLE TALE OF sHIPwREcK.
Awful Treatment of a Fever-Stricken
Crew OFF Rodrigues Island.

rated within recent years was told at
Liverpool by Mrs. Andrew Christie,
widow of Captain Christie of the
wrecked ship Traveller. Mrs. Christie.
who belonged to Liverpool, has just ar
rived there after undergoing perils and
kardships in company with other sur
vivors of the crew that were almost be-
yond human endurance.
From Mrs. Christie's statement it
appears that the ship Traveller, with a
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 everyone
on board the ship was affected with the
malady, including Mrs. Christie herself,
and even her baby boy, about II
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
expired on Dec. IA, and on the 2Sth
Mrs. Christie's husband, Captain Chris
tie, also succumbed.
This cast a terrible gloom over the
ship. Some of the men gained little
strength, but others went, until the
death-roll at last amounted to eleven.
This left ten to man the ship, with the
second mate, Mr.. Ritch, a Liverpool
man, in charge. Mr.. Ritch decided to
make for Mauritius, to obtain assist
ance. 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
dropped anchor. 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 re-
markable and inhuman, and was rem
dered doubly so in view of the pros
trate condition of the survivors.
Rodrigues Island is inhabited mostly
by French Creoles. The governor and
Goctor, however, are white, and, al
tt ough French, could speak English.
The pilot of the place came off in his
boat, but when he heard of the sick
ness, 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 hour after
hour for assistance but none came,
and, fearing that their vessel would go
ashore any minute, Mr.. Ritch decided
to take his crew on shore. A boat
was launched, and Mr.. Ritch and the
two convalescent seamen lowered Mrs
Christie, her baby. and the other sick
members Of the crew into it.
As they approached the shore the
governor and number of others rush
ed down to the waters edge andthreat-
ened to shoot the shipwrecked people II
they landed. Mr.. Ritch asked them II
tt ey were Christians to treat people In
such manner. His men, he said, had
not the strength to pull back to tho
ship, and If they got there they would
all very likely be drowned. Mr.. Ritch
asked them to give him assistance to
take his vessel out OF Its dangerous po-
sition, and to afford succor and medi-
cine for his sick crew. These appeals
met with no response, and for fear OF
being fired upon the poor people had to
M w 9lY tn hAirr MI
rived more dead than alive, and only
got on board the Traveller again with
the utmost difficulty. The last of their
had scarcely quilted the small
boat when it was carried away and lost
No assistance was sent to the shin
either In the shape OF a doctor or Of
hands to man the vessel, and that
night the Traveller was carried ON the
reefs and wrecked.
Fortunately, she did not go to pieces
then, or every soul on board would
have been in all probability lost. Find
Ing that something must now be done,
the i.odligues people sent boat next
morning with the pilot, and this boat
took off Mrs. Christie and her child.
Mr.. Ritch launched the ships life
boat, but, as his crew had not strength
to man it, some blacks were sent from
he shore. All of the shipwrecked
people were taken to a sand island,
lear to where there were no inhabit-
'nts. and they were kept there for
twenty-five days. They lived in huts
made of leaves and for about three
weeks had nothing but leaves to lie
Town on. So fearful were the Rodri-
CUES people Of contact with the ship
wrecked crew that the food they sent
was conveyed from one small boat to
another, and then put on the beach.
Some blacks, however, were sent to
he island to cook for the unfortunate
people. The doctor came off in about
a fortnight, but remained in the small
boat many yards from the beach, and
examined the shipwrecked crew
through pair of binocular glasses.
On the twenty-second day they were
to Rodrigues, but their num-
had n ~ 81 nf