"Utter derangement was a common sympton of yellow fever, and to
increase the horror of darkness which enshrouded us, for we were
allowed no light, the voice of warning would be heard, 'Take care!
There's a madman stalking through the ship with a knife in his hand!'"
Andros says that he sometimes found the man by whose side he had lain
all night a corpse in the morning. There were many sick with raging
fever, and their loud cries for water, which could only be obtained on
the upper deck, mingled with the groans of the dying, and the
execrations of the tormented sufferers. If they attempted to get
water from the upper deck, the sentry would push them back with his
bayonet. Andros, at one time, had a narrow escape with his life, from
one of these bayonet thrusts.
"In the morning the hatches were thrown open and we were allowed to
ascend. The first object we saw was a boat loaded with dead bodies
conveying them to the Long Island shore, where they were very slightly
covered with sand. * * * Let our disease be what it would we were
abandoned to our fate. No English physician ever came near us."
Thirteen of the crew to which Andros belonged were on the Jersey. In a
short time all but three or four were dead. The healthiest died
first. They were seized vith yellow fever, which was an epidemic on
the ship, and died in a few hours.
Pages:
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360