EPIDEMIC AT SEA

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 60, 5 December 1918, Page 6

EPIDEMIC AT SEA

DISEASE GRIPS A CARGO BOAT

Thirty men out of a crew of <!0 were, sick with influenza. The doctor was one of the first to go down and one of the las: to recover. Three out of four of the' dock oflirers nnd four out of five of the engineers caught the disease. The only passenger on board escaped it, but he. "volunteered for work, and for the greater part of the voyage he took his., part in doing pretty nearly every job there was to lw lone on .board irom coaltrimming to taking his trick at tho 1 wheel. Tho vessel was n big cargo; steamer which recently arrived at a. New Zealand port from 'San Francisco, and' the passenger referred to was a gentleman well-known here-Mr.'Niel Nielsen, J ex-Trade Commissioner for New Smith I Wales in the United States. Mr. Kiel-. sen found it necessary, on short notice, to visit Australia, and having misled the' passenger steamer, he secured accom- • modntion as tho only passenger on a, .envqo stpamer that was coming out. They left San -Franci«o on October 5, j and~t'wo days later influenza broke out.:' Within a week no fewer than 30 members of the crew were down with the disease The doctor v-n<i one of tli? first and worst eases. Of the deck officersI only .the'captain wos left Miattacked. The first mate, ill though" he-was, continued to take his watch. The only officer , left in.the engine-room wn3 the fifth engineer, a youngster of 21 About one-third'of the firemen were left, and nbeut the same number of greasers: but all those who wero able stuck to their work, and the- vessel lost only about 10 knoK v a dav of her speed. _ > When matters ljoernu to get serious nn. the wind or third day out. Mr. Nielsen volunteered his <jer.vie.es. to assist the cre\r, nnd the captain gladly accppted. Mr. Nielsen took his turn at all the work of the -vcsel. Ho trimmed coal, and shifted cargo, anil mended avrninss, and poiishcd brasses, and tended tho ,iirk, and tooif a four hour? , turn at the wheel every day; and now, if fortune turns asainst him, he feels competent to annly.for a berth as an able seaman on any ship. ■ '■. . Suddenness of the Attack. i Tho disease attacked the crew in a mosb sudden and virulent forth. The first symptoms were a sudden, violent' pain in the back of the head, followed, by dizziness. •In about five minutes after that the man would collapse, and have to be carried, to his bed. When the doctor collapsed the captain took' on the task of doctoring the 1 sick, and from the fact that all [ except one recovered by the time the ship got to Auckland it may be judged that lie evidently made a good job of it. i His first measure was to get out the • Board of Trade blue-book and study up what it had to say about influenza. The epidemic on 'board, however, varied from that described in th'e book'. It had 6ome of the effects of malaria, so the enptain decided to treat the sufferers for both. First, he thoroughly fumigated the whole ship, and then lie fumigated the crew and their personal effects. Next, he dosed the patients with quinine and phenacetin and another drug that the book said was a cure for influenza. After that he mustered the members of the crew who could still stand and he dosed them. To make sure that they actually swallowed the potion, he made them take it while ho watched them. •

Some of them objected strongly; but they had ..to obey, nevertheless. One rugged Scot eaid the only thing that ever did him any good was whisky, and he. pleaded to be allowed io take the old, familiar tonic. But the captain was adamant on the point, and the protestant swallowed his medicine with the rest of them.' While (he survivors were off duty they attended to the sick; but, as all had double work to do, the uufortunate sufferers got little attention. Three of them developed pneumonia; 'but by the time Auckland was nrached, on October 30, all biiit one had' ''ccovered, and he wae landed there far more skilled medical attention. The best testimonial for the captain's docton""'wns the fact that after' October 14 r.el another case of influenza developed on the vessel. Probably the men who had the worst time of" all were the firemen who remained at work. They Hd to take six. hour shifts, instead of <onv. and every time they camo off duty they swore, with lurid oaths, that they would never start a-min; but niter a rest and a strong rum ration, they always went back, and worked splendidly. Useful Language. ' Mr Nielsen worked part of the time as a coal-trimmer; but he refused to climb the mast. He is a weighty man, and he distrusted the stability of the «ear aloft. He was a great success as a sick-room steward, In his early days m Australia, before and after he entered Parliament, he acquired a fine command of language. In his best form, mtU many picturesque adjectives, lie told the sufferers what a lot of weaklings and Nvasters they were to Ik there doing nothing. They said aft -yds that he cheered them up imim-i^ly. When the vessel arrived at "lnhiti they were inspected by a French doctor, and those who had resisted the disease weie allowed ashore under the escort ot a native policeman. Then he doctor gav them some advice as to.the treatment of the sick, and they went ~n again, j™ to Sydney 'by the jMoerah.-Sydnc} day 'Times." '