The Ice-Cold Escape From the Myloemene
A sick sailor refused the ship's hospital, a Dane swam two miles ashore, and six crewmen forfeited their pay to desert the British bark in Port Angeles harbor.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The British ship Myloemene, lying in harbor about two miles from shore while awaiting the wheat crop, has been the scene of considerable excitement. She shipped a portion of her crew at Chile, and ever since she came here the men have been trying to get ashore. One of them, who was not very well, laid off, and the discipline of the ship demands that they either work or go aft to the hospital. This the man refused to do, and on Friday the captain and mates endeavored to take him, when knives and guns were flashing in all directions, but no serious damage was done. On Sunday morning A. Hauch, a Dane, slipped down the cable into the ice-cold water and swam to shore, where he secured the services of Dr. Herrink, who, in company with a Tribune-Times reporter, went on board. The man was discovered not to be very sick. As a whole the men were contented, though there were a great many contradictory stories told. The captain stated that had the sick man gone aft to the hospital he would have received proper treatment, but so long as he was captain the discipline would have to be enforced. On Sunday night six of the men deserted, forfeiting their pay.
“So long as he was captain the discipline would have to be enforced.”
Port Angeles's harbor was a frontier workplace, and the Myloemene affair shows how maritime discipline could turn a ship into a contested space. The crew's willingness to give up wages for shore leave echoes modern fights over seafarer conditions and the power employers hold over workers far from home.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.