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h.k n.Be Saved Eleven Lives, and What if He Did Break the Laws to Do It?DiYS OP DANGER IN RIO HARBOR.Ptlxoto Had Laid an Embargo There on Passengers, bnt These Eleven Broke It.AIL POSE AS MEMBERS OP THE CREV.Tear Were Leri lee end Flayed BtewardeuH m the Skip Deloomyn—Ho Passenger List. Henoe Trouble Haro.When the steamship Deloomyn reached this port Saturday from Buenos Ayres a oustums officer hOHrded her and saluted Capt. Thomas It. Keen. For a minute or two they walked about the deck, chatting, and then got down to business. First the customs officer asked for the passenger list.Haven't any. repllrd the captain.Now. the customs officer thought that quite queer, for In his quick survey of the ship ho had noticed four wpll-gowned women on board. If they weren't passengers. what were they? It made the McKinley tariff man suspicions. He asked Capt- Keen fur the crew list. The captain showed It. Entered there were the names of four women us stewardesses. Besides, there seemed to be more men’s nutnes on the crew list than It seemed the ship needed.The customs officer couldn't understand the sltuutloii. nnd forthwith reported to Collector Kllbrrth. A summons was sent to Cupt. Keen to appear at the Custom-House and piplaln. Yesterday he went before the Collector and told his store, a story that proves he la a right good captain, gallant and true, and as worthy of song ns Corcoran. K. C. B.It was Feb. 26 when the Deloomyn Ulted anchor and started on her long Journey northward from Ituenos Ayres. Seme time befora her sailing day threo ladies ar.d Capt A. E. Ooddard. of Chicago, United Stairs Consular agent at Ecuudor, had applied to the Delcomyn's agent for passage to New York City, Both with an eye lo business, and especially with a desire to oblige the ladles, the agent was quite willing to enter them ss passengers. Difficulty, however, lay In the way of doing this. This difficulty arose from the fact that the ship would hove lo atop at Klo de Janeiro. At that lime Rio de Janeiro was lo the throes of the revolution against Pelxoto. and one of the rulea I in-poeed by those In marge of the port of Itlo de Janeiro was ihat no one should be permitted tolrome tn or leave there on any ship. In other words, there waa an embaigo on passenger business at that portThe reason for this was that the Brasilian liovernmcii* feared that either revolutionists would succeed In getting Into the city or that some whom the authorities Intended lo punish would escape.It wos terrible. Me couldn't go ashore, nor would they allow- any one to come aboard. M'hen we finally drew In close to the dock to get some of our cargo ofBrasilian officer stood at theM’hen I got ashore I couldn't get hack aguln. I had to go to the British Consul nnd get an order from him, nnd . then It had to he signed by four Brnxll- , elThethat If the three ladles and Capt. Goddard went on board they might he seised when they arrived nt Rio and be detained there for a long time us nunpects or prisoners of war. Tills worried him. ■‘specially In view of the fact that fevergers shoul. ,............II would be dangerous for them.The agent explulnetl the nlluntton to the captain. Then both nut their bonds together and consulted. The result Wae that the three ladles were told they could have passage on the Deloomyn. And Consular Agent Goddurd whs counted Inalso.So It came to pass, when the ship left Buenos Ayres, that though she had no passenger list, she had four passengers, and they were cabin passengers at that.Almost .* soon as the Deloomyn got out of Buenos Ayres a gale arose. The ship more than once was swept nllli burying waves. Still the three womentan officials beforecou Id gel backAt Itlo the Consul begged me to help him get a ludy there away from the city, where the fever was beginning to rage, Lota of people were dying and he feared for her. She was Mrs. Annie Cushing, widow of Capt. Cushing. M'e I took tremendous chances In getting her I aboard the shin, but were not caught. , You see. the Rio authorities wouldn't I allow any one to leave the port for fear some of the rebels or rebel sympathisers ' would get away. 1 also maaased to smuggle on board Louts Bonin, a Cana-ConsularAgent God .lard was happy, too, for he Is a good Chicago mun. und he wanted very much to hurry up and get within railway distance of that town.Not bo was It with Capt. Keen. To be sure, he and the agmt ut Buenos Ayres had talked over ways ant means fur, protecting the women at Rio de Janeiro: yi t the captain had not finally decided just what scheme he would adopt to eviuht the Braxlllun officers, who he knew would seurch his vessel nt Itlo fur suspected revolutionists. Therefore Capt. Keen had to do a great ileal of thinking tind planning.The- days passed and soon the Drl-eomyn was near the harbor of Rio, Then Capt. Keen had a schema ready nnd explnlned It to Ills four unsuspecting passengers. Thin part of the story can lie told In the captain's own words, Just as he told It yesterday to Collector Kllbreth, Here Is what he sold:I In-ard how the Brasilians were treating passengers on ships, so I said to the folks I hud on I muni that If they wanted tn save themselves they would have to go In as part of the crew. The ladles were willing to do nnythlng. so I told them to put on old dresses und got themselves up as stewardesses nnd do the work u stewurdeSs would naturally do. They didn't have any time to 'oso tn getting ready before the Brasilian officers hourdea us. That was on March 6. I told Capt. Goddurd, who Is an old sailor, to pretend he was the third mate, and I put 'em all on my •hip's papers as pun of the crew.Then 1 was ready for the Brasil officers. They came almurd und searched high und low. nnd did a heap of questioning, but the three Indies were busy■iiiufttic veil uttaiu iajuii giuiiin, a v anti-dlun nnd mate of a ship at Itlo. His eyes were In bad shape, and he needed to get somewhere where he could get proper enre.Rut directly I got them on hoard I explained that they must for their own rarely become n pari of the crew. If I had put them down ns passengers they would have been taken off again. So Mrs. Cushing became a stewardess along with the others, and Bonin wus put down on the ship's papers as port of the crew. M'e kept a sharp outlook, and whenever we saw- the Brasilians coming to make another examination or our ship all the passengers would begin to work at what they pretended to be hired for.The day before we ailed five poor devils got on board somehow, They must have Hwnm off :o us, nnd they begged me to take them out of that hull hole. 1 hadn't the heart lo refuse, so 1 put them down on the papers as part of the oew, and told them to keep hard ut work when the authorities hoarded us fur a last Inspection.M'e passed through that otdenl the next day. and although the ship', papers were looked over several limes, slid every nook and corner of the vessel searched for refugees, the officers didn't dttiet our Itxlng of the passengers os part of the crew.M'hen those fellows left us for good •ml I got I ha Delcomyn out In blue wuter once more, those passengers nnd poor devils who swam out to us all felt us tf thev had a new leune on life. It was Just like escaping from prison. Had those women gone ashore they would have died with the fever. And now you know why I had 'em all down os crew Instead of passengers.Such Is the story of Copt. Keen and the Delcomyn und her passengers. Now for a passenger list such ss might have been made uo If circumstances had been different. Here It Is:Mlse MARY HARMAN'. New York-Mlu HKLEN KEEP. AN. New YorkMrs. MY 1.1 US. New York.A E OOIHIAIUI. Chicago.Mrs ANNIE CUSHING.I.U1 IS flONIN, Canada.These were all the cabin passengers. The first three named women were those who came on board at Buenos Ayres. Information IS given of the others in that part of Capt. Keen's nnrrutlvc reported above. The live men who swum to the ship were ihree negroes and two white men. After they had lert Rio they were practically steerage passenger*. Lust Sunday the passengers were landed. The five steerage men were taken lo Ellis Island.Technically. Capt. Keen violated the revenue laws In bringing In the passengers In the way he did. The offense Is punishable by * ' * “working in the raidni cleaning up tilings, and they saw Mr. Goddard giving orders to some of the creiv, and didn’t suspectsuspecng wrong, hud lo stay at Rio twenty days.Prom Girlhood to YVnniAnhood.The change Is fraught with dangers. If fine of ii.ooo.J am aorry I violated any law and I don't want to be fined, said Cupt. Keen ut the Custom House yesterday nfter-noon, “but. tine or no fine, I'd do the same thing ugaln If tho circumstances were the same Capt. Keen told his story In Drputy-Collector Phelps'* office, and several of the customs officials were present. When he finished Cel. Phelps told him that he deserved tile greatest praise for what he hntl done for a lot of unprotected women nt such great risk, nnd the other officials praised Capt. Keen In the highest terms It didn't take Collector Kllbreth many minutes to decide that It would he rank Injustice even In think of Imposing f tie on the big-hearted Englishman, nnd this morning, when the Contain calls at the Collector's office, he will be commended nnd not lined.
Newspaper Details
New York Evening World
New York, New York, US
Wed, Apr 25, 1894
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
DC, USA 06 Nov 2023
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