An item reported that the illness among the crew of the Danish brig of war Mercurius captain lieutenant T. Paludan finally was banned.(1) Since Friday the 3rd were no longer sick men transported to the quarantine hospital. Paludan himself wrote on the 9th a letter to the newspaper explaining what happened. He referred to an earlier item in the edition of the 4th. He disembarked on 24th August his ship at La Guayra, Venezuela as being ordered to do so and travelled by land via Caracas towards Puerto Cabello and to wait there for the Mercurius to arrive. Underway towards Puerto Cabello occurred the illness on board and his first officer decided to go straight to Curacao as soon as possible while the number of sick men daily increased. The Mercurius departed on 29th August Puerto Cabello arriving on 1 September at Willemstad. Paludan arrived on 1st September Puerto Cabello missing his ship by two days.
Note
1. Armed with 12-18pdrs, dimensions 96’5” (prow) x 25’3’ x 12’5”, keel laid down at Copenhagen 29 March 1836 and launched 16 August 1837.
