“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
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