The evening times., 1900-02-24
DEATH WINS THE RACE.
George Westerman's Desperate Ell
fort to See His Dying Wife.

NEW YORK, Feb. 24-George Wester-
mans last voyage around the world was
disastrous 1t ended yesterday when he
was admitted as charity patient IN the
Kings County Hospital, broken in health
and spirit. The last leg" of the voy-
age had been made overland.
Racked with pains caused by rheuma-
tism contracted in the forecastle OF a
British ship, he made all the haste he
could on the stretch between Tacoma,
Wash, and Brooklyn. letter waiting
for him when the ship reached Tacoma
had told him that his wife was dying, and
that her constant appeal to the doctors
was Keep me alive until George ar
rives."
When he was so i'll from pain that train
hands advised him to stop off and enter a
hospital the whirr of the wheels OF the
car seemed to him to sing, Keep me alive
until George arrives" and he remained
in the car which was bringing him nearer
to his dying wife in each of those ago
niZing minutes
In the effort to keep the woman alive
that she might see her husband once more
her doctor had her removed from ner
home. IS South First Street. Williams
burg, to ST. GATHERINGS Hospital. There
was no hope of saving her life, but it was
! believed that the fading spark might be
kept dimly burning by artificial means for
a few days.
| Mrs. Westerman had looked forward to
| st. Valentines Day. Recollections OF her
childhood that had been forgotten re-
/ turned to her in her weakness, ana she
was convinced that her husband would
! come on that day and be her lost vaien-
| tine Come today, George, she muir
INJURED again and again, and as the sun
| sank in the evening the one word come
! faded on her lips as she ceased TO breathe.
| Her son and her daughter kept the body
until last Saturday, when the crippled wiz.
| over limped into the house where the dead
| wife Law I came as quickly as | could
! he said but had shipped from New 1ork
/ 10 return to the same port, and there was
/ a question about forfeiture at Tacoma.
IF | forfeited some Of my pay should
have been stranded. The British Consul
! finally ordered the captain to pay my rare
! overland: but he was slow; too SLOW
Mrs Westerman's body was buried, and
then the question of providing for NeS-
terman was considered His two children
could not aid him Westerman had had in
! fueutial friends in New York. but ne elth-
J er would not or could not tell MS son
! where to find them.
He had been for many years caretaker oil
one and another of the Sandy Hook pilot
! boats and when his term OF usefulness IN
that position had ended his friends placed
him in Sailors Snug Harbor. He appeared
To be restored TO health after he had been
there a short time, and he became amDi-
tious TO again earn his bread.
I DesDite the protests of his friends and
The infrmities from ffty-two years OF eN-
posure. he shipped on the steamer Engle-
horn and sailed from New York to YOKE
hama on May - last. He had oFeresIl
mated his strength and when his shiI
reached Tacoma last fall he realized tha'
he had made a mistake.
His sen in despair applied TO Retei
Clerk Short. at the office OF the Charite'
Deuartment in Brooklyn and when Mr.
Short heard the story of the trip acroS4
the continent and the death OF the hopetu
wife he signed an order for the reception
of the patient. although he had never beer
a resident of Brooklyn.