The Catalpa Affair by Tarquin O’Flaherty. Part 5
Rescue
The whale boat had hardly begun it’s journey when a fierce storm broke out. This was so severe that no progress at all was made and all of their efforts were directed towards simply remaining afloat. For hour after hour they frantically bailed water, at one stage actually tossing what little food they carried aside so that the food containers might be used as bailing instruments. The storm’s ferocity continued all day and far into the night, the people in the whaleboat without respite of any kind lest their battered craft be overwhelmed. Anthony later remarked that he doubted at the time that the whale boat would withstand the pounding. At some stage the wind and waves abated sufficiently to allow some rest to the exhausted men. As soon as they were capable, Anthony had them lift the mast into position. With good wind in their sails they began to make steady progress and there was for a while, little need for the oars. The Catalpa could be seen now, greatly out of position and much further away, obviously driven off by the storm. Hours later one of the men in the whaleboat drew Anthony’s attention to a smudge of black smoke on the horizon. The Royal Navy steamship Georgette, a small coastal steamer, was seen to be trying to get to the Catalpa. The men in the whale boat quickly lowered both sail and mast and kept their heads down. Instinctively they knew things had gone wrong, that they’d somehow been betrayed. They lay quietly, exhausted and saturated, the boat plunging up and down in the still considerable seas, and watched. Then, miraculously, the Georgette, finally short on fuel, broke off and headed for shore. Still Anthony waited, insisting on caution, aware of how easily they might be spotted by a vigilant telescope. Finally he judged it safe. Rowing powerfully now, and with assistance from the little sail, the whaleboat burst throught the waves, it’s crew convinced that another boatload of police would not be far behind. They were finally spotted, their mast snapped, from the decks of the Catalpa, and the whaler came round, cutting its way along easily until they were, miraculously and at last, alongside. (It has been estimated that the overloaded whale boat had been at sea for more than 24 hours.) The men were climbing up into the Catalpa when a police cutter, packed with armed men arrived. Those on board the cutter were fully armed and might ordinarily have boarded Anthony’s ship, but the high-handed attitude of the Royal Navy in international waters had cost England dearly in fines, threats and reprimands of late and she was as a consequence, being cautious. Calmly Captain Anthony ordered the whale boat to be hauled aboard and stowed safely. The cutter hung around indecisively for hours, then finally, having taken no action whatever, departed. All Anthony had to do now was wait for a favourable wind.
The very next day that favourable wind arrived. As the Catalpa, safely in international waters, made ready for departure, the Royal Navy SS Georgette returned to the fray, this time armed with a cannon. Attempting to herd, to push, to force the Catalpa into waters where arrests could be made, she fired warning shots across her bows. Immediately, Captain George Smith Anthony, standing on deck and pointing at the US flag, informed the captain of the Georgette that firing on his ship was tantamount to an act of war against the United States. Without waiting for an answer, he turned his back on the Georgette, weighed anchor and sailed steadily and imperturbably away, out into the Indian Ocean. The steamer, beaten, limped along behind for a while before lack of fuel again forced it to return to shore.
Without further incident, the Catalpa found her way back home, carefully avoiding contact with British Navy vessels or British controlled ports. The Captain, hero of the voyage, was presented with the ship as a gift by Clann na Gael, but obviously could not command it himself. As far as the British Navy were concerned he was a marked man, a criminal, and would be arrested or shot should he appear outside US waters. As a consequence, Clann na Gael provided for him financially for the rest of his life.
The prisoners rescued, to my knowledge, took little further part in Irish politics. It is a widely held view that their harsh treatment at Fremantle had broken their spirit. This was certainly true of the two remaining Fenians who were eventually pardoned. Neither showed any interest in Ireland or politics and eventually simply faded into the Australian landscape.
John Boyle O’Reilly died of accidental poisoning at the age of 45.
Ireland won independence from England about fifty years later in the 1920’s.