1914-09-04

“An interesting account of the difficulties and hardships met with by many Canadians abroad was obtained today from Miss Mary McQuesten, 41 Jackson street west, who has just returned from an extensive tour of the continent.

Hamilton Spectator .    September 4, 1914.

Many Hamiltonians were in Europe, on business or on vacation, in August, 1914 when World War One began.

Realizing the dangers of the situation, business people and tourists sought a way to get home as soon as possible, no matter how.

For Mary McQuesten, realizing the few options available, made the decision of book passage across the Atlantic on an Italian emigrant ship.

Once back in the family home at Jackson and Macnab streets, Mary gave an account of her experiences on that ship to a reporter from the Hamilton Spectator:

“The vessel was the Dom Giovanni, of the Sicule-Americano line, which sailed from Naples on August 15 and arrived in New York on Monday last, having occupied 15 days in the voyage.

“Anyone who has ever been within a mile of an Italian emigrant ship will be prepared to accept Miss McQuesten’s statement that this ship could be picked up in the dark merely by its odor.

“It was the only ship sailing from Naples at the time, however, and the 700 refugees who boarded the vessel were so anxious to get back home that they agreed to ignore the odors.

“But it could not be done.

“The vessels, used up to that time as a third-class emigrant ship, had been disinfected from stem to stern, and from truck to keelson, she reeked with all kinds of horrible odors.”¹

¹ “Worse Than the Old Coal Oil Inlet : Odor Most Impressive Thing on Emigrant Ship : Miss McQuesten Had Rather Unique Experience :Returned From Naples With 700 Other Refugees”

Hamilton Spectator.  September 4, 1914.

While the odor issue was the paramount negative experienced by passenger on the Dom Giovanni as it made its way westward across the Atlantic:

“The blankets and bedding had been so soaked in disinfectant that it was almost impossible to obtain any sleep or to remain in the cabins for any length of time.

“There was no hot water to be had, but on certain of the decks, there were wooden washtubs where the passengers performed their morning ablutions with the aid of a hand basin. Here they met women in kimonos and men with sleeves rolled up all ready to tackle the task of shaving.”¹

Getting adequate sustenance to survive the two week voyage was another challenge for those on board:

“While the food was not bad, it was cooked up in such a way that few could eat it. When shortly after leaving the Mediterranean, bad weather set in, and most of the passengers were too sick to eat anyway.

“Later, when the weather moderated somewhat, and appetites improved, there was a general rush for what was called the ‘bread line.’ This happened about four o’clock every afternoon when a long table was set out, covered with buns.

“There was a rush for those buns, Miss McQuesten said, which would have made a newsboys’ picnic look mild in comparison.”¹

While the Dom Giovanni usually served as an emigrant ship, it was more a refugee ship when Miss McQuesten made her way home on it:

“The passengers for the most part were returning teachers, college professors and ministers.

“Many of them were stranded after paying their passage money. One man from Seaforth won twenty cents playing penny ante, but said that would hardly cover the cost of his railway fare from New York.

“So high was the cost of the passage that a number of the passengers cabled for a lawyer to meet them on the dock. It was even stated that the ship was held off Sandy Hook on Sunday night so that the agent of the steamship might have an opportunity of cashing the passengers’ checks before they docked on Monday morning in New York. The agent was taken off the ship on Sunday night.”¹

In her interview with the young man from the Spectator, Miss McQuesten noted that her European tour had been cut in half. She managed to get out of Austria just before the war was declared, and that she had spent  the last ten days of her vacation in Rome.

Keeping a positive attitude, Miss McQuesten concluded her interview as follows:

“ ‘While the return voyage was trying,’ she said this morning, ‘it was worth it to get home again.’ ”¹