Simbo, Solomon Islands Chez les Cannibales, Paris, 1903

Circa 1895. "[We] were becalmed off the Solomon group of islands—becalmed in the midst of savages. The Solomon Islanders are the most famous cannibals in the world. Through her spyglasses the seventeen year old bride saw the brown-skinned natives pack into their long war canoes, gesticulating and pointing toward them. Horror of horrors! Suddenly she beheld clubs and hatchets in their hands. Above their heads they wielded instruments that looked like tomahawks. The little skipper set her teeth and stood watching with a white face. All sail was immediately spread on the yacht and she was headed for open water, but at first the breeze was so light that it carried her but slowly. The war canoes, loaded with blood-thirsty, howling savages, gained on them. It became a race for life. The Countess Festetics and her noble husband fleeing from a horde of cannibals! Truly a charming honeymoon!"

"Fortunately, the wind freshened, and the couple outdistanced their pursuers. The Count bade his little Countess [to] cease trembling and add the adventures as one more to her list. Scarcely had she recovered from the effects of this episode when again she was in danger of her life. These same islanders, who but a week before, had killed and feasted off a crew of Germans, came from Mouma-Houra one day and surprised the Festetics yacht. Here is the Countess's account of it:"

"From one of the canoes, a chief came aboard our yacht. He was not a prepossessing looking person at his best, but as he glared silently around at the yacht and the sailors, and then at me, there was something threatening in his bearing which I did not like. I tried to interest him in every way I could, but the kind of interest I excited was not reassuring. On this occasion I saved our lives with Ferguson's coat [a talisman made of snow white shells]. . . The instant her visitor saw it he fell on the deck forehead and prostrated himself again and again."

INTRODUCTION.

This is a true story about a man and a woman who met, got married and went on a adventure. It was primarily gathered from newspaper accounts, but some facts have been added to keep it in order. Although some of the articles were not entirely correct, and some were pure fiction, they provided an insight into what a reader of the period must have encountered. I have presented the story chronologically rather than as it appeared in the newspapers. Trust me, it's just as interesting.

James B. Haggin San Francisco Call 31 December 1897

JAMES BEN ALI HAGGIN.

James Ben Ali Haggin was born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky in 1827. Attracted by the discovery of gold, he (and his brother-in-law, Lloyd Tevis) was among the thousands who came to California in 1849 in search of a fortune. In time, he specialized in mining claims and real estate speculation. He eventually developed an empire of mine holdings that stretched from Alaska down to Chile. As he grew older he turned to horse breeding. He had a large breeding farm on 44,000 acres near Sacramento called the Rancho del Paso. He eventually sold this farm and returned to Kentucky, where he bought 9,000 acres and named it the Ellendorf Stock Farm. When Mr. Haggin abandoned his hobby of horse breeding, he turned his property into a plantation for hemp and tobacco, and for raising Jersey cattle.

When James Haggin lived in San Francisco, he was one of the wealthiest men on the pacific coast. Before he came to California he had married Elizabeth Jane Sanders in 1846. They eventually had two boys and three girls. But, let's stop here. This story is not about him, although he is one of the characters. It really is about his money and his granddaughter, Eila Haggin.

IN THE BEGINNING.

17 Jun 1865. Count Rudolph Festetics de Tolna was born at Bolougne-sur-Seine, Paris, France (though other accounts say it was on 17 September). He also mentioned once that he was born in Austria-Hungary. He was distantly related to the Hungarian aristocracy. His father was Count Sigmund Festetics and his mother was Madame Laura von Vilna (though it was sometimes reported that she was a member of an old French family, de la tour Auvergne).

Eila Haggin, 25 April 1876 Bancroft Library, Berkeley, California

Jul 1887. Louis and Blanche Haggin departed for New York, en route to England. Blanche, by December, was in Paris for the winter "for her health." Blanche remained there for the next two years working on translations of love poems from various languages.

Circa 1889. Eila Haggin was in Paris undergoing the "elaborate educational process of being 'finished off'." She would have been fifteen (15) at the time. In the time she was there, she eventually met Count Rudolph Festetics de Tolna, who "was cutting quite a dash in the social world of the gay capital." He would have been around twenty-four (24) years old.

At some point, they had became engaged. Whether it was romantic love or the acquisition of a title, we will probably never know. Although we take it for granted now that most marriages are based on romantic love, that wasn't always the case in the past. William Chambliss, a San Francisco society critic during the 1890s, wrote about the frequent practice of rich young ladies marrying poor European royalty. He even published a list of seventy (70) young ladies in his book. But, no, Eila was not mentioned.

27 Apr 1890. Blanche Haggin, Eila's mother, attended a reception and soirée musicale, in honor of King Milan, which was attended by the élite of Parisien society.

1891. Count Rudolph Festetics de Tolna was living at 90 Avenue de Jena, Paris, France.

1891. Ben Ali Haggin, one of James and Elizabeth's sons (Eila's uncle), passes away.

21 Sep 1891. Coming to America.

Eila Haggin, 19, and Count Festetics, 25, arrived in New York aboard the same ship, La Champagne, from Le Havre, France. The Count stayed at the Hotel Brunswick (the mayor of Montreal was also staying there).

22 Feb 1892. Wedding Announcement.

"Count Festetics de Tolna, whose marriage to Eila Haggin will take place in New York on Wednesday next [24th], is a scion of a famous family. . .The count met his future wife at a ball at the Austrian embassy in Paris. Friends and relatives of the family are delighted at the match. The count is said to have a large fortune in his own name."

According to a premature obituary for Eila in 1900 (she and Rudolph were often presumed dead before their time), "after the marriage, the Count and Countess decided that they would devote their lives to geographical exploration." Whether or not that was true, they did eventually became explorers as you will see.

Also, the Count would remark later that Eila's dowry was to be one million francs (approximately $194,000 in 1893, and $4,074,000 in 2004).

24 Feb 1892. An International Romance.

Eila Haggin, 1890s Courtesy of Haggin Museum Stockton, California

"There were two ceremonies, both at Mrs. Haggin's residence, 11 East Thirty-fourth street. The civil one was performed by Judge Ingraham early in the morning. At noon the religious ceremony took place, the Rev. Dr. Houghton of the Church of Transfiguration officiating, assisted by the French Protestant Church, the Rev. Alfred Wittmeyer. (According to a future article, it was noted that Rudolph was Catholic and Eila was Episcopalian.)"

"The religious ceremony was performed in the back drawing room, before a floral altar. For the altarpiece there was a tapestry interwoven with the crest of the Festetics de Tolna, while above, as a banner, hung another tapestry of white, on which was wrought in gold the Haggin arms. The altar cloth was composed of white Easter lilies. The room was darkened and the light was supplied from numerous candles in old brass candelabra."

Rudolph Festetics de Tolna, 1890s Chez les Cannibales , Paris, 1903

"The bride came in on the arm of her father. She wore white satin made a la princesse and embellished with a pearl bodice and deep corsage and flounce of old Spanish lace. A diagonal band of orange blossoms ornamented her corsage. Her tulle veil was held by a diamond tiara, the gift of the bridegroom. She wore, also, a pearl necklace, the gift of her parents, and a magnificent diamond sun and crescent, the gift of her grandmother, Mrs. J. B. Haggin. She carried a white and gold prayer book."

"The ceremony was followed by a wedding breakfast. Among those present were Mr. and Mrs. Louis T. Haggin [Eila's parents], Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Haggin [her paternal grandparents], Mr. and Mrs. Richard P. Lounsbery, Mrs. Ben Ali Haggin, Lloyd Tevis, D. O. Mills, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Havemeyer, Mrs. and Mrs. James Low Harriman, Mrs. Grosvenor Lowrey, Lorillard Ronalds, Frederick Baldwin, Eugene Kelly, Prince Leopold von Tsenburg, Chevalier de Tavera, and Mr. and Mrs. John Wilmerding."

"The Count and Countess de Festetics will live in Vienna."

The last line of that article seemed incorrect, but it may have been a long term plan. The next we discover of the couple is that they returned to San Francisco with her parents.

27 Mar 1892. "Prior to the departure of the Count and Countess Festetics (nee Haggin) for [the Pacific] coast, Mrs. Richard Lounsberry of New York gave a reception for her niece, the Countess, Mrs. Grosvenor Lowrey, Mrs. Alfred Collins and Mrs. Louis T. Haggin assisted in receiving." "The Countess wore a most becoming gown of black silk, striped with pink and trimmed with lace."

Mrs. Lounsbery gave a tea on Thursday afternoon (24th) in honor of her niece who just returned from her honeymoon journey. There was no mention of where they went for their honeymoon.

SAN FRANCISCO.

05 Apr 1892. According to the San Francisco Bulletin newspaper, Mr. & Mrs. Louis Haggin and the Count and Countess were expected to reach San Francisco that evening. They were wrong.

11 Apr 1892. According to the San Francisco Call newspaper, Mr. & Mrs. Louis Haggin and the Count and Countess were expected to reach San Francisco today. They were probably correct.

It was not mentioned whether they were coming by ship or railroad. But, since they appeared to have made the trip within 15 days, it was probably overland by railroad.

12 Apr 1892. "Every one called on Countess Festetics on Tuesday. . .and was received by a very slim, girlish bride attired very simply in a dark blue silk gown and a blue and red matinee. The Count was not visible. They intend to pass the summer on the coast."

Haggin Mansion, San Francisco, circa 1877 Jesse Brown Cook Scrapbooks Bancroft Library, Berkeley, California

18 Apr 1892. Mary Pope and Mr. Murphy were wedded on this day. The Count and Countess attended their reception around noon.

The Count and Countess didn't seem to make any major news in the papers until June of the next year. Sometime before June of 1893, the Count and Countess had decided to sail the South Pacific. Whether or not this was always one of their dreams, we will probably never know. Nevertheless, it appears that the Count was starting to make preparations for their journey.

Feb 1893. The Count employed Harry M. Hafford.

15 Apr 1893. In a local newspaper, there was the interesting article, Skull Hunters, Man-Eaters of St. Antonio Island, Captain Minot's Peril, The Remarkable Cruise of the Bark Wakefield in Circumnavigating the Globe. Captain Minot told his exciting and graphic story about traveling the South Pacific and encountering cannibals:

". . .Do you know what a skull-hunter is? A cannibal out and out. Not a sly occasional missionary-eater, like the islanders of Solomon and Marquesas groups, but man-eaters out and out—savages with ferocious appetites for human flesh, and not nice in their discriminations on account of plumpness and good health in the patient selected. . ."

You have to wonder whether the Count and Countess read this article, for they were to have their own encounters with cannibals soon enough.

24 May 1893. Another article in the same newspaper, appearing almost a month later, was written about Robert Louis Stevenson and his home in Samoa. You will wonder whether they had also read this one.

04 Jun 1893. Members of the San Francisco Yacht Club, at their clubhouse in Sausilito, were welcoming back yachts that had sailed to Drake's Bay. One reported noted that "There is not much in prospect before the yachtsmen just now. Count Festetics is building a schooner-yacht, but it is said that he means to make a trip round the world in her."

Perhaps around this time, or possibly earlier, the Count hired a Captain Edmund McNevin to teach him to navigate. He had also hired McNevin to draw up plans for their boat. The Count and Captain would eventually run afoul of each other.

Tolna San Francisco Call 12 August 1899

16 Aug 1893. The schooner Tolna was registered with the Port of San Francisco. She was named after the Count's ancestral Hungarian castle. She was 88 feet long, 24.5 feet wide, about 11 feet deep, had one deck and two masts.  The interior cabins were approximately twelve feet square. She was moored over in Sausalito.

The Tolna was built by Matthew Turner in Benicia, California. Turner was considered a master shipbuilder and built at least 228 total vessels between 1870 and 1903, including 135 schooners of all sizes. He once made a trip from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands in eight days and eight hours, which was remarkable at the time. He died in 1909 at the age of 84.

In 1893, Mr. Turner was listed as the admeasurer of the San Francisco Yacht Club. This was possibly where the Count and Countess had met him. Nonetheless, he was a well-known and respected shipbuilder at the time. 

Tolna Interior Plan Chez les Cannibales, Paris, 1903

Between 1890 and 1895, schooners about the same size of the Tolna cost about $38,000 apiece (in 2004, this would be approximately $800,000).

31 Aug 1893. Matthew Turner signed a Master Carpenter's Certificate that stated "Eila H. Festetics de Tolna" was the owner of the Tolna. These certificates had to be signed before the launching of a vessel.

07 Sep 1893. The Countess applied for a yacht license at the Office of the Collector of Customs in San Francisco:

"I, Eila H. Festetics de Tolna, master of the yacht called the Tolna of San Francisco, burden 78 tons net, do swear that I am a citizen of the United States, having been born in the State of California, so help me God."

"It was a medium-sized brunette lady, dressed in a street costume of becoming material, who went up to Deputy Collector Farley's desk in the Custom-house. . .accompanied by her broker, C.D.Bunker, and took the foregoing oath."

"Doubtless nearly everybody knows this lady, for, as the wife of Count Festetics, she has a social distinction not enjoyed by all of her sex."

"She may be called 'Countess' by society, but, as can be seen from her oath, she lays no claim to that title politically, preferring to be known by the Government as a citizen of the United States." (This was a smart move on her part, as it comes into play later in her life.)

". . .the Count and his wife are about to take a pleasure cruise among the South Sea Islands, and either one must make such a representation at the Custom-house. . .The count tried to do so a short time ago, but he could not, because he is not a citizen of the United States, and to be a full citizen is absolutely necessary, whereas the Count could only state that he had declared his intention to become one. . ." (The Count should have put that declaration in writing for later use.)

Thus, the Countess was now the master and owner of the Tolna, as well as a member of the San Francisco Yacht Club. She also had the distinction of being the second woman to be recognized as a master at the Port of San Francisco. But, the title wasn't just an honorary one, for the reporter goes on to say that "She could talk intelligently about head winds and fair ones. . .perhaps she has gained a practical acquaintance. . ..by doing considerable yachting on the bay lately."

But, alas, their journey wasn't going to start soon. It appeared that the Count had run afoul of more than one person and some past intrigue was hinted. First up is his naval instructor.

07 Sep 1893. Count Festetics vs. Captain McNevin.

"Count Rudolphe Festetics de Tolna filed an answer . . .to the suit brought against him by Captain Edmund McNevin, a naval instructor."

"The Count denies that he ever agreed to pay McNevin $380 for instruction in Navigation, nor any larger sum than $130, the payment of which has been admitted. He also denies having commissioned McNevin to draw up plans and specifications for his proposed yacht, and having promised him $1000 for so doing."

They would appear in court in three weeks time.

22 Sep 1893. Meanwhile, the Countess' roving yacht commission arrived at the Custom house. It was a "very imposing document, and its nautical design is both artistic and appropriate. It is signed by acting Secretary of the Treasury C. S. Hamlin and E. C. O'Brien, Commissioner of Navigation."

Unfortunately, it wasn't delivered right away.

23 Sep 1893. Count Festetics vs. Harry M. Hafford.

So, Hafford went to the Custom-house and swore to a statement charging the Count with loading his yacht with cargo for trading. This would cause a problem for the Count and Countess as the "principal condition of a roving commission. . .is that no trading shall be done." Also, he raised questions about the citizenship of the Countess as she was married to a foreigner. The Custom-house appeared to be divided in their opinions, so the Collector sent a letter to the Commissioner of Navigation requesting his judgement.

According to Hafford, the list of cargo included "ten cases of Old Pepper whisky, each case containing one dozen quart bottles; ten cases of gin; five cases of zinfandel; ten barrels of Wieland's beer; five hundred pounds of plug tobacco; ten cases of salmon; a lot of watches; a miscellaneous assortment of cheap jewelry; suspends, neckties and silk handkerchiefs in abundance; patent medicines galore—hair restorers, sarsaparillas, medical discoveries and the like."

Also, Hafford complained that food rations were low, even while in harbor. Here is a conversation he had with a reporter:

"Why did you leave?"

"Well, I was afraid if I went out with him we would either starve to death or drown. He discharged a man and put on a boy of 15 years in his place."

"Who was the man [boy]?"

"Charley Johnson was his name. . ."

"Didn't the captain leave, too?"

"Yes. . .the captain's name was Robertson. . .The man in charge now is first officer—Wichmann. . .he and the Count can both talk the same language."

"I don't care about risking my life aboard the Tolna. The Count's navigation is all theory. . ."

"Talk about stores! He has condensed milk enough on board to last a vessel five times her size three years."

"I'll tell you what the men forward got one morning that raised the biggest kind of a row—oatmeal mush, fried potatoes and coffee."

"I couldn't stand it any longer. I had had several rows with the Count and I concluded to quit. . ."

The reporter also noted that the culinary department of the Tolna was "presided over by a colored steward and a colored stewardess" and that "First officer Wichmann was formerly the second mate of the schooner Aloha."

The article's last words were, " 'I propose to make the Count take out a traders' license,' threatened Mr. Hafford, as his eyes flashed."

This wouldn't be the last time that the Count had a problem with the crew.

24 Sep 1893. The next day, Wichmann, the First officer, replied to Hafford's comments:

"I don't like to see these stories about the Count. . .About the crew not having enough to eat, that is not true. Fact is the Count does not know how to treat sailors as they are treated at sea. . .On the yacht sailors have silver spoons, forks and knives and a splendid service. They get all they want at table, for the Count is too kind-hearted to his men. . ."

"Hafford is not a sailor. He could not go on a deep-water ship. I discharged him yesterday for incompetency after the accident at Benicia. Why, he would not know a marlin-spike from a fork. He tried to drag the anchor over the boat's side and upset the boat. When I saw that I would not sail outside the heads with him. . ."

"About the provisions and stores aboard I cannot say anything. . .The Count lives well at sea, and I don't think he has any too much aboard for a long cruise. He wishes to collect curios, and I suppose the cheap jewelry is to buy them from natives."

The Count and Wichmann will also eventually run afoul of each other.

27 Sep 1893. The Count made his appearance in Superior court regarding McNevin's (his naval instructor) civil complaint.

In summary, McNevin said he had an agreement that the charge for the Tolna's plans was $1000, and $380 more for the Count's naval instruction.

According to the Count, he was married and "his wife held the purse-strings." Thus, "Accordingly when the time came for carrying out his project for building a yacht the unfortunate nobleman found, much against his will, that he was compelled to go to a Captain Turner for designs and general superintendence."

A Thomas Mulligan, who had to go to Sonoma quickly, said he believed McNevin was "a rogue." The judge asked why he thought McNevin was a rogue. His response was that "Well, I tried to collect of him once and he ordered me out of his house. He got excited and wanted to hit me with a chair."

McNevin then discussed the type of instruction that he gave the Count. McNevin had given him a course in practical navigation which the Count passed (cost of $130, which he received). The Count wanted further instruction in scientific navigation which would take six months, and that would cost him an extra $250. There was also mention of a small loan of $15 to the Count by McNevin.

McNevin's other witnesses included: "Marius Cousin, a cook, spoke of having been in the presence of McNevin and Count Festetics when the proposed yacht was discussed, and the witness asked for a job on board as a cook. He received a sort of promise from the Count Festetics." Jules Roberts testified that he was instructed by McNevin to prepare a model. George R. Shield and J. H. Volker gave corrobative testimony, along with McNevin's son, Alfred.

So it appears that the Count, while learning how to sail, initially agreed to have his instructor draw up plans as well. In the meantime, he was recruiting for the ship crew. But, either on the pretence that his wife controlled the funds or that he didn't have the money himself, he had to abandon McNevin.

28 Sep 1893. Meanwhile, it appears that the Countess was trying to fix her husband's problems. She made a visit to the Custom Collectors office and answered all of his concerns. He was satisfied with her answers. She mentioned to him that the purpose of their trip was to enjoy "a 2-year cruise among the South Sea Islands." (Note that the trip was only to be two years.)

In response to questions regarding some of the cargo they had, she said that "the half-dozen cheap nickel watches she said she secured at an auction and was taking them along because they would answer for money among the natives of Oceania. There were 213 yards of cheap calico and 500 fishhooks among the stores, but the former. . .she wanted to utilize for awning in the torrid climes, and the latter the Count would probably use up in fishing, for he is a confirmed angler. As for the liquids—well, one of the ten barrels of beer had been emptied already. The jewelry and silverware were her own private property."

"The suspenders and the like, which were among the yacht's supplies, will probably be needed before the cruise is finished, for on a voyage of this kind it is necessary to carry supplies for the crew as well."

Collector Wise seemed satisfied with her explanations, and after a promise of her writing up an affidavit, told her that her roving commission would be delivered to her.

29 Sep 1893. Meanwhile, back in court, an L. Emanuel, "the furniture-dealer," testified against the integrity of McNevin. He related a story that McNevin alledgely had an order from the French Government to furnish them with gunboats and asked him to supply the interior fittings. But, when he couldn't get his money from McNevin, he went to the French Consul who said they had no idea what he was talking about.

The Count then testified that he never asked McNevin to draw up any plans. Also, that he never gave instructions to McNevin to procure a copy of Mrs. Butterworth's will, nor had he spoke of her to him. The Count said, "McNevin twisted me right and left so much that I couldn't possibly remember now what I may have said or talked about." What was the interest in Mrs. Butterworth's will?

He also mentioned that he didn't tell McNevin about his yacht being built, because "he was afraid McNevin might want to order a lot of things in his behalf."

Matthew Turner, the shipbuilder, testified next. He stated that the Count gave him some plans for the cabin, but they were architecturally unsound. When asked about McNevin's integrity, his reply was that "It's very bad."

Next up was John F. Wichmann, the first Officer. He related his experience of being taught by Captain McNevin.

Finally, Harry M. Hafford, who was having his own problems with the Count and Wichmann, was called to testify. He didn't have any nice words for the Count.

04 Oct 1893. The Countess delivered her written affadavit to the Custom house. Collector Wise gave her the roving commission.

Golden Gate James W. and Daniel B. Shepp Shepp's Photographs of the World, 1891

THE JOURNEY BEGINS.

09 Oct 1893. Judge Sanderson dismissed McNevin's case against the Count. He decided that McNevin had not made out a case and that there was no contract.

On that note of good news, the Count and Countess apparently decided to begin their journey immediately. The tug Sea King brought the Count, the Countess and her parents out to the Tolna at Sausalito. It was a good day to begin a grand journey:

"A piping northwest breeze blew in through the Golden Gate, stirring the bay into a multitude of whitecapped waves; just such a breeze as the nation was praying would blow off Sandy Hook three days ago. What departure could be more auspicious; a good wind, a crack yacht, a jolly good crew and a steward noted for his ability to make salt pork taste like spring chicken when provisions run low. . .The Tolna's pure white canvas stood out in bold relief against their background of the Marin hills as the vessel sailed out of the Golden Gate. Festetics was on deck and so was his sailing-master, Captain Wichmann. The Countess retired below soon after the Sea King tooted her last sainte [sic] and drew away for the city."

"Festetics kept his eye upon the gathering fogbanks in the western horizon and occasionally cast a knowing glance aloft. He is to act as navigator during the southern trip, while Captain Wichmann will do the sailing. . ."

"The Sea King towed the Tolna as far as the whistling buoy and then let her cable slip. For an instant the pretty little yacht stood flapping her mainsail in the stiffening breeze. Then the sheet filled and started the Tolna ahead. Foresail and jib were hoisted, and with a dip of her colors, Festetics famous yacht sailed away on her wonderful cruise in the South seas. . ."

Countess Festetics and Mutineers New York Journal and Advertiser 27 May 1900

October 1893. Mutiny!?

"Mutiny? Mutiny!"

"This cry was wafted back to the little Countess's friends ashore during the very first weeks after her departure. Her family were thrown into an agony of doubt and fear. The lovely skipper might be dead for aught they knew. It was know that the mate [Wichmann?] who had sailed with them had sworn to assume command himself. He had vowed he would be the owner of the ship and cargo and the young couple's jewels and money before a month was past. Somehow he was subdued, and news came over the seas that the little Countess's hair was still as brown as ever, though a new wrinkle had formed on her forehead."

23 October 1893. The Tolna arrived at the Hawaiian Islands. She touched at Hilo and Lahaina. It appears the voyage has not started well.

24 October 1893. Wichmann tells the story that basically the Count didn't know how to navigate, isn't a seaman, and that he interfered with his duties. According to him, everyone on board was nearly lost on a reef off the Island of Maui:

"We sighted the land just before dark, and knowing that we could not land without a pilot, I set a course to keep her off about ten miles and then turned in as I had been up nearly the whole of the night before. The Countess asked me if we couldn't go in that night and I told her no, not without a pilot. After I had gone to bed she or the Count had the course changed, and along toward morning I heard someone shouting my name on deck. I turned out in a hurry to see what was the matter. When I reached the deck I found the yacht in the breakers close in shore and almost on a reef. It was a close call, and a few minutes more running in that direction would have resulted in the drowning of all on board."

26 October 1893. Honolulu Harbor.

The Tolna was anchored off Brewer's Wharf.

A reporter came aboard, saw a young lady he thought might be the captain's daughter, and asked for the captain. The Countess replied that she was the captain. She related to him the story of their voyage from San Francisco:

"We are fifteen days [17?] out from San Francisco, but we had absolutely no wind. There was a continuous heavy swell most of the way. Had it not been for the calms we would have been here earlier. This is a very fast boat you see, in fact the fastest on the Pacific Coast. Most of the time she made eight knots, but when she had any kind of a breeze she swept the waves along at a fifteen-knot rate. . ."

The reporter's impression of the quarters below were, ". . .the apartments of the first and second officers, which were on each side of the steps leading to the cabin, which the Count calls his 'parlor,' Yes, it was a veritable parlor, and in fact—was much more homelike than a fine ship's cabin."

Since their arrival in Honolulu, the Count and Countess were having a hard time. "The trouble all arises, so the Count and his wife say, from their peculiar misfortune in securing the aid of incompetent officers and a poor crew. The captain is now entirely without a crew and her vessel is detained in port for want of one. A few Kanakas [Hawaiians] are employed on board in the meantime." A reporter noted that the "Count takes all the applicants for his new crew to the United States steamer Adams, where he has them professionally examined as to competency."

The "incompetent officers" included Wichmann who was discharged for issuing ham to the crew when the menu stated salt pork. In addition, one of the mates stated that a heavy consignment of opium was also illegally transported. Although he was believed, no one thought the Count or Countess were aware of the "illicit enterprise." In any event, the rest of the officers and the entire crew were also discharged by the Count and Countess.

Although they may have hard time, a reporter noted that "The firmness of the real head of the pary, the countess, was in evidence from shore every day. In getting rid of the old crew and shipping a new one both decisiveness and alertness were required. The countess was equal to every situation and to those on board knew who was in command when the handsome yacht left..."

It may have been aboard this steamer that the Countess first met and befriended Lieutenant Frank Brooks Upham. A newspaper later reported that she had a cousin in the American navy. Were they the same person? She will meet him again during her journey.

As for their future itinerary, they intended to ". . .go next to Hilo, whence he and the Countess will visit the Volcano. . .[and, after leaving Hawaii]. . .call at Tahiti, then the South Sea Islands and probably Australia. From there he will go to Japan. . .then return to Austria, via the Suez canal and Mediterranean and Adriatic seas. [He] wishes to call at as many ports along the Mediterranean Sea as practicable so that he can be home at Vienna by the expiration of two years from [this] date. He will remain at Vienna for some time after arrival. . .after that. . .will sail their yacht to New York."

In the meantime, "The Count and Countess were made much of in society circles during their sojourn of several weeks here, and were the guests of honor at many receptions and dinners."

"The best laid schemes of mice and men / Go oft astray / And leave us nothing but grief and pain / For promised joy."—Robert Burns.

01 Dec 1893. Departed Hawaii.

Tahiti, 1890s Chez les Cannibales, Paris, 1903

18 May 1894. Eliza J. Haggin, wife of James, and the Countess' grandmother, died in New York City. She had left for New York several years ago, and the Haggin residence on the corner of Washington and Taylor had been closed. Her San Francisco residence was well known for "many noted balls and receptions."

Samoa, 1890s Chez les Cannibales, Paris, 1903

25 Sep 1894. "COUNT FESTETICS IS DEAD."

The barketine Tropic Bird, which had arrived in San Francisco from Tahiti on the 24th brought the news. "Rumor has it that his death occurred in one of the small islands of the Penryn group, where he and the Countess have been living in perfect harmony with the fifty or sixty natives who compose the population of the small speck of land in the South Pacific ocean."

In addition, the story went, "the schooner Tolna, the Count's trading vessel, had been chartered by an Australian company of traders some weeks before the death of Festetics, who, in his eccentric way, made the new managers of the vessel agree to land him and the Countess at Penryn Island, and also to deliver the vessel to him there at the expiration of the contract."

The story also mentioned that the Countess "sent letters by every means. . ." about their journey. When Lloyd Tevis [the Countess' granduncle], of San Francisco, was contacted, he said that the Countess had written recently. According to his calculations, they were in Tahiti about a month ago (actually they had left there in April, five months before).

According to the Haggins in New York, "no news of the Count's death had been received. The latest advices from Festetics and the Countess were received about a month ago, when both wrote that they were safe and well."

The Count and Countess had visited the Penrhyn Islands after Tahiti, so if they hadn't been heard from again, the story could have been true. But, alas, at this time, they had already left Samoa and were sailing around Fiji.

So, how was the story about the Australian traders concocted? We shall probably never know. But this wasn't the last time that the premature news of the Count's death appeared.

28 Sep 1894. The steamship Monowai arrives in San Francisco, and brings the news that the story of the Count's demise was not correct. The steamship reports that when she was at Apia on September 11, while en route to Sydney, the Count and Countess were the guests of Robert Louis Stevenson.

30 Oct 1894. The Tolna is struck by lightning.

08 Dec 1894. Arrived in Sydney, Australia. They apparently spent the winter (Australian summer) there until they left in June of the next year.

Choisel, Solomon Islands, 1890s Chez les Cannibales, Paris, 1903

06 Apr 1896. "THE TOLNA MAY BE LOST. . .The Crew May Have Mutinied or the Vessel May Have Been Caught by Cannibals."

There had been no news of the Tolna since the previous October, when they supposedly departed Sydney and asked all of their mail to be forwarded to Japan. As you can see, they had left earlier than that.

Back to the news: "A number of seamen are of the opinion that the Tolna is not so very long overdue considering the fact that she is a slow vessel and in charge of a man who is not a practical navigator. Several old salts who know every shoal and current in the Pacific express the opinion that the vessel will not be heard for a year yet. They say that unless a man thoroughly understands the trade winds he is likely to get among some of the islands and stay there becalmed for months. Such things have happened before and may happen again."

"Captain Festetics is said to be a good navigator, but he knows very little about handling a sailing vessel and still less about handling a crew. Nor does he know anything about the islands he would be compelled to sail near. Many of them are inhabited by people who are not far from savages and a captain who knows his business would not go near them. There are other dangers to be calculated on besides the dangers of the sea. . ."

Apparently, some seaman did not have a high regard for the Count.

May 1896. Everyone on board narrowly escapes a typhoon in Japanese waters.

30 May 1896. The Tolna arrived in Yokohama, Japan. Two years and seven months have passed since their departure from San Francisco. They were slightly behind their original schedule.

They stayed in Yokohama while the Tolna underwent repairs and refitting. The Countess also again met her friend Lieutenant Frank Brooks Upham here.

July 1897. Departed Yokohama and arrived in Kobe, Japan at the end of the month.

Oct 1897. The Countess received a cable about the serious illness of her mother in New York. She departed immediately, without the Count. She took passage at Yokohama, having come from Kobe to that port on one of the regular way port steamers.

06 Nov 1897. Countess arrived on the steamer Coptic into San Francisco.

According to the newspaper, with the Countess arriving without her husband, "tongues wagged" and rumours immediately started about marriage troubles. This was her first break from the "phenomenal honeymoon" that had started four years ago. Two theories were proposed—they had either quarreled or she was here on business? She stated to a reporter that she was here on business and that "she declined to deny or affirm the story of a disagreement with her husband." Of course, that didn't help. The newspaper wrote, "They say that if all were well the lady would hasten to deny all rumors to the contrary."

In this same news report, it was written that "They spent many months in the cannibal islands belt and in China and Japan. It was once reported that they had been shipwrecked near Hilo, on the island of Maui, and again that they had been eaten by cannibals."

08 Nov 1897. "Mrs. Haggin Not Ill."

The newspaper reports that the statement that Mrs. Louis Haggin was in poor health was "without foundation." She was at her Fifth-avenue residence awaiting the arrival of her daughter, Countess Festetics.

26 Nov 1897. Countess was in New York visiting her mother.

The Countess apparently downplayed the details of her journey to the newspaper, except for those cannibals:

"We have had no particularly exciting experiences. . .The last four years of the time we have been cruising. We had much pleasant weather, we were caught in no hurricanes, we had no accidents, and we found the people very pleasant."

"And were there no cannibals?" she was asked.

"Oh, yes, there were cannibals," said the Countess, "but we always found them very agreeable people to meet. They seemed to be rather in awe of white uniforms, and when we went out we had a party of armed men with us. The people were very much interested in our yacht, in the guns, and to know why we had come."

"Most of the people on the coast of the Solomons speak a peculiar English, not exactly like pigeon English. 'What come for'? they ask. 'Come to look,' we told them, but they never could understand it. When the yacht came to anchor near one of the islands, the natives would come out in great numbers in their canoes. Sometimes the chief of the island would come on board and leave his son for a hostage, and we could go ashore and he would entertain us."

"The chief's hut was very large, and round, thatched all over, and supported by poles of some of the native trees. The people are very clean, contrary to what is generally understood. They are particularly clean about their persons and also about their cooking. In entertaining us they would give us a feast, and there would be a dance, and all the members of the chief's household would make us presents. These were fine mats and different articles worked by the people, and things to eat."

"The chief's hut is very high and in what we would call the rafters he keeps all his treasures, his fine mats, his cocoanuts, and his weapons. The mats from these islands are not like those of the Hawaiian Islands, but they are very interesting and not much known, for almost the only people who go there are the traders, and they are such brutes that the people will not have anything to do with them; they do not appreciate such things, anyway."

"The first thing that is brought out to entertain the guests are the soft new cocoanuts. The people also eat chicken and pork, yams, and other tropical fruits. They cook their food after it has been carefully cleaned by wrapping it in leaves and putting it down over the coals and covering it with earth."

"The presents that are made necessitate returns gifts to each giftmaker. If by chance you neglect any of those who have made you presents the neglected ones are sure to come to you after a while, saying they are sorry you did not like their present, and then you know that you have forgotten your duty and make good the neglect."

"The chiefs are fine-looking men, and we could always tell them from the ordinary people when they came to see us. They have excellent manners, though they are, of course, ignorant of all customs of civilization. The chiefs have some forty or fifty wives each. Goria, the late King or Chief of the Shortlands, had 500 wives. I never saw him, as he died about five years ago. He was a famous chief and a great friend of the white people. When his daughter Looking Glass—they like white people's names—was born 300 slaves were killed. The people are still friendly to the whites. Goria's grandson, Furgeson, is now the Chief. He has the most beautiful skin I ever saw. All the Chiefs have fine skins. They are thoroughly rubbed five or six times a day with cocoanut oil. The men wear their hair in enormous masses standing out over their heads and painted red and blue, and with the natural black and the odd designs in the colors it is very picturesque."

"They are very fond of red in any form, and some of the men wear a red cloth around the body, falling to the knees. The bush people wear no clothes, but they seldom come to the shore, for they are not on good terms with the sea people. Some of the women wear a string of beads around the waist and some of them wear a little piece of cloth. The most noticeable thing about the women is the ear. They have a hole made in the ear when they are very young, and it is enlarged until the lobe finally reaches the shoulder. In this hole the woman carries all her possessions, her knives, her tobacco, and her pipe."

"Yes, they all smoke, and I have seen a mother put her pipe intot he mouth of a new-born baby for it to take a whiff. They carry a child on the hip, and to see a mother put her pipe into the mouth of that little monkey on her side was very funny."

"The people of the New Hebrides have one strange custom. The huts are made very low. When the head of a family dies he is laid on a sort of scaffold raised part way up in the hut, and underneath this the eldest son of the dead man sleeps until the flesh of the body is entirely decomposed. The bones are then made into arrowheads and dipped in this decomposed flesh, which makes a most deadly poison. In addition to that, the arrows are buried for a time in one of the poisonous marshes of the country, and after that covered with some putty-like green stuff. The poison is so deadly that recovery, when one has been inoculated with it, is almost impossible to get them out."

"One thing which makes it comparatively safe to go among these people is that they will never kill any one before their women. Marys, they call them. The people of the Shortlands are very particular about this. When you go on shore you ask immediately for the Marys. If the answer is 'The Marys go bush,' then you had better take yourself off as soon as possible; but if the Marys are at home you are quite safe. They were very much interested at seeing a 'white Mary,' as they called me, on a boat; they seemed to think I was a sort of goddess, and it was really safe for me to go anywhere on the islands where no one else could have gone."

"I did something once for which any one else might have been killed, but I fortunately escaped. We had been visiting the chief, and as my husband was talking with him I found it rather stupid sitting there, and, thinking it would be more interesting outside, I wandered into the village. I came to a hut where there were a great many people looking very serious, but I went in. I noticed that the men seemed angry, and made motions with their tomahawks, but I did not pay any attention to them, and sat down. I gave the women some tobacco, and we got on swimmingly. When I told the chief what I had done he said that was a child's funeral and the people were very sad, and they might have killed me."

"European dress is very interesting to the natives, and they would look me all over carefully, and take hold of the material of my gown to see what it was like. I amused them very much, for when the women brought me presents I always wanted to know how the things were made, and I really learned to do a great many things."

"When the people go head hunting is one time when they eat human flesh. The prisoners whom they have captured in war they take out in the canoes with them, and they eat nothing but their flesh, as they think it makes them more valorous. Once a year they build their canoes, and before they are launched they go on a head-hunting expedition and the most savage and most ferocious looking heads are brought back and hung ont he bow of the canoes when they are launched. This is supposed to give the canoe virtue, so that it can see in all directions when it takes part, later, in head-hunting expeditions. Carved wooden heads are always swung at the bows of the canoes."

"These head-hunting expeditions are the expeditions of the people against their enemies. They never fight their own people unless one man owes another something and will not pay for it, and then the Chief gives the man who cannot get his legitimate dues privilege to kill the man who is in his debt the first time he sees him. The most valiant Chief is the one who gets the most heads. Each Chief has a little tambu, or hut, where he keeps the skulls which show his valor, and if an ordinary man can get a certain number of skulls, he is made a member of the aristocracy of his tribe."

"The men as they are ready to start for a head hunt make the most magnificent sight I ever saw. They have long canoes, beautifully made and sewed together and set with pearl shells. There is nothing crude about them. The prow is twelve feet high, they are very narrow, barely wide enough for one man, and there are fifty men in one canoe, and perhaps thirty or forty canoes. They have a particular way of paddling when they are going on these head hunts, putting their paddles into the water and then striking them in a certain way against the canoe. They have different strokes in paddling for different occasions—funerals, feasts, and other ceremonies. The people of the Shortlands do not go head hunting now, but their neighbors do, and the Rubianas in New Georgia are among the fiercest of the head hunters. They have depopulated two or three islands, and many of the people have gone back into the bush for fear of them. They are comparatively safe there, for people are superstitious about the bush."

"This has all been very interesting to my husband and me, for we are both interested in ethnology, and I think we would enjoy going back there again."

Three years later, a more fanciful newspaper story was printed (including the one at the beginning of this article):

"The first head hunting expedition I ever saw is burned in my memory. . .It was creepy. I knew the natives were going from the other side of the islands to cut off the heads of their enemies and eat them. I saw a line of black canoes stealing across the face of the water like so many shadows. In each canoe were fifty men who paddled as if they worked by machinery. It was a moonlight night, and such moonlight! The water and shore aglow with a light like burnished silver save where the hills cast into black shadows. We were on deck when we heard the rhythmic splash of the many paddles. In each of the long line of canoes were fifty men, paddling as if working by machine."

"They swung swiftly and stealthily around a point of land bound on their mission to another part of the island. Those head hunters are of course, cannibals. They are splendid, powerful creatures, with clean brown skin and bushy hair, which they color red and blue. But one didn't feel altogether at ease to be living among them. I had an indescribable feeling when I saw them coming back with the most ferocious looking heads hanging on the bows of their canoes. I couldn't sleep that night. Indeed, there were many nights when I lay awake."

"Over and over again during her lonely honeymoon the Countess has visited the taboo house of an island Chief. There she has stood beneath ceilings and walls lined with skulls, each skull with a great crack in it, so that it bore silent witness to a cleft of the tomahawk. The Count enjoyed himself thoroughly. He has the reputation of having queer tastes."

30 Dec 1897. James B. Haggins, Eila's grandfather, married Pearl Voorhies (daughter of George Voorhies of Denver, Colorado) in Kentucky at the home of her stepfather, James P. Amsden, in "the presence of members of the bride's family only." Apparently, the Countess and her mother were not there.

The bride was a niece of Haggin's first wife, Elizabeth Sanders. Miss Voorhies was described as "a beautiful woman of slender carriage and elegant manners and is a queen in society." Haggin was seventy-four (74) and she was twenty-eight (28). She had been a member of the New York Haggin household for several years. (Pearl lived until the age of ninety-six (96), passing away in 1965 in New York).

30 Dec 1897. According to the newspapers, the Countess left New York for Hong Kong to rejoin her husband. Also, the Countess mentioned that she was contemplating writing a diary of her trip and publishing it with photographs.

In actuality, the Countess had remained with her parents.

Apr 1898. The Countess departed New York for Hong Kong.

10 Apr 1898. The Spanish-American War began when the United States declared war on Spain. The United States would soon be fighting in the Phillipines.

31 Jan 1898. The Count departed Japan. The (new?) crew was made up of Malays, Filipinos and Lascars. It was written that "For two years the Tolna cruised the waters of Japan between Yokohama and Kobe. The Tolna behaved well in spite of her 'queerness' and withstood some violent storms on the voyage to Australia." Maybe they had meant "from" Australia?

15 May 1898. The Tolna reached Hong Kong. The Countess rejoined the Count here. She also met her friend Lieutenant Frank Brooks Upham once more. A monsoon was blowing hard, so the Tolna was sailing near Manila. The Count and Countess knew the officers of the American fleet in the Pacific, no doubt through their travels, and had been "asked by them in jest to come and see the fighting."

U.S.S. Olympia, 1899 Courtesy of American Memory Library of Congress

22 May 1898. By the time they had reached Manila, Admiral Dewey had just destroyed the Spanish flotilla.

According to a newsreport, "The yacht's owners knew many officers on the American fleet and expected that a salute would be fired when the Tolna hove in sight near Cavite."

"Arriving at dusk, the Tolna sailed up the bay to Cavite and unfurled its American colors. Instantly the rays of a searchlight were turned upon the little pleasure boat. The Tolna sailed on. Then there was another flash of light and a crash. A six-inch shell went sailing over the Tolna's bow. The helmsman brought the boat about, a long boat came up to the Tolna, and an officer stepped to the deck where stood Festetics."

"'What boat is this?' asked the officer sharply. 'The Count and Countess Festetics' yacht Tolna,' was the answer. 'We came to Manila to see how you were getting on.' "

"When Dewey [aboard his flagship, U.S.S. Olympia] heard the Tolna had voyaged to Manila to satisfy the curiosity of its owners and given his fleet another vessel to protect, when he had use for every ship in his fleet, he was indignant. He sent back a message that ran: You will be given until tomorrow night at 8 o'clock to get water; after that your vessel must leave the harbor. This is final."

28 May 1898. Departed the Phillipines and set course for Borneo.

09 Jun 1898. Tolna changed from American to Austrian registry. Because of the outbreak of war between Spain and the United States (and also because Austria was not involved), the Count changed the registery of the Tolna from American to Austrian.

The Spanish-American War would end two months later in August, but the Phillipine-American War began in February 1899 and lasted three years.

26 Jun 1898. Arrived in the vicinity of Borneo. The Count and Countess spent the next three months here.

Aug 1898. Arrived at Sandakan, Borneo.

Sep 1898. Departed the Borneo vicinity.

11 Oct 1898. Arrived in Singapore. They remained there for the next six months.

Nov 1898. The Countess wrote to her mother-in-law: "Poor Rudolph has been very sick at Borneo during the whole week. He had to stay in bed, which left him so feeble that the first time he went out he caught a cold, which soon turned into bronchitis. Really Rudolph distresses me. He is by no means strong and yet he pays less attention to his health than any one. Since we arrived at Singapore he is better, for every one is so kind, inviting us to pass a week here and a week there and we are almost no longer on board. Singapore is excessively gay. Races, festivities, garden parties, dinners without end. Luckily the week of races is finished. Rudolph rode in two races, but his horse was so bad that he could not win. That is what made me lose a good deal of money, as I put my whole fortune on him. (I really find that he ought to have reimbursed me.) Since three days we are at the Government House. Besides Rudolph and myself there is a Captain and Mme. Louis Jones and the Captain and Mme. Farmar, The Governor, Sir Alexander Swetnam, is charming, and his R. D. P., the Captain Duff, is also very nice."

"On the 16th of this month we go to Sir Frank Swetnam, who is the resident general of the Malay Peninsula. He has organized an enormous tiger chase for us. Louis Jones will also be of the party. Really I must make you my excuses, my dear mother, for this scribbling, but since two days I have suffered with fever, which makes my hand tremble so."

"This afternoon there is an interment of the young secretary of the Governor, who died this morning at 8 o'clock, I think that this is too terrible, to be buried so quick as that. It was only Monday evening that he became sick and we had all arranged to go Sunday together to Jehoor. The heat in my room is extreme, though the punkah moves very deftly over my head. I am as in a sweat bath. It is terrible for the hair. It is necessary to have the hair waved every day. There comes my little tailor, who brings me my black dress, which he has arranged for this evening. My little tailor is charming. He makes you a very fashionable dress for $5, not 15 francs. He made me a good many robes of muslin, but that is so difficult to get here of nice material, and the women dress themselves so well, almost all have their dresses come from Paris. Mme. von Brandt, the wife of our Consul, a woman sufficiently famous, dresses ravishingly. She has all her dresses come from Judith. How foolish all of this is that I am writing to you. You must think me a little foolish, but I must confess, that I am enough American to adore handsome dresses."

TWO SHIPS.

20 Apr 1899. "Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness: So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence."—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Count and Countess have been on their South Pacific journey for six and a half years. On this date, the Count had set sail on the Tolna by himself, leaving the Countess behind in Singapore. They only saw each other once more, soon after, while passing in the night. The Countess filed for divorce a year later. Every breakup has two sides. Here is what each of them had to say (from the divorce proceedings).

Countess Eila Haggin Festetics de Tolna:

Countess Festetics San Francisco Call December 1900

"During the trip we visited Kobe [Japan] and there found a message informing me that my mother was seriously ill. I immediately took a steamer for home, and did not join my husband again until early in May, 1898. He was then at Hongkong [sic] with the Tolna. Against my objection, for I was in poor health, we set sail for Manila. The crew was made up of Malays, Filipinos and Lascars, while the captain was an Austrian. In addition to my fear of the crew and the elements, I was forced to accept a Chinese boy instead of a maid. When we reached Manila we found that Admiral Dewey had destroyed the Spanish flotilla, and as things were still in a dangerous condition he ordered the yacht away. We went, but my husband insisted on visiting the other important cities of the Phillipine archipelago. Though we were in constant danger we cruised around and among the islands, but finally, without injury, we made our way to Sandakan, Borneo, where we arrived in August of 1898."

"We cruised around and finally arrived at Singapore. There the physician ordered. . .me to the mountains for my health. Count Festetics would have none of it. He said the yacht was good enough for me and that I was not as sick as I thought I was. At last, in despair that I would lose either my mind or my life, I went ashore and he sailed away, leaving me penniless at Singapore. I telegraphed home for money. My father responded promptly and I took the steamer for home."

"I last saw the Count in the Straits of Majorca. The Oceania, in which I sailed, passed close to the yacht one dark night. I knew the Tolna from her low hanging light. I shouted: 'Tolna, ahoy.' Back from the little vessel came the shout: 'Ahoy, Oceania. Au revoir, Eila. Bon Voyage.' The little vessel was lost in the darkness and I have not seen my husband since, neither have I heard his voice."

"The Count was never solicitous for my welfare. Once he sent me off to the yacht, when she was lying off shore, attended only by a Chinese boy and a black sailor. Only once during my years at sea did I have a maid, and that was at Sydney. She left me at Yokohama, because she was frightened almost to death by the typhoon we had passed through. I was as wearied to death of my cramped quarters, the whole cabin being but twelve feet square. The Count's desire to go to Africa hastened my conclusion to quit the yacht forever. The dangers with which such a voyage across the Indian Ocean were fraught were too much for my nerves, but he laughed at me. Then he deserted me and I am here [San Francisco, November 1900]."

"My husband never supported me. Though we never had any agreement that I was to support myself, he compelled me to do so. If I wanted luxuries I was forced to buy them myself. I paid for my own washing and my own clothing. He never gave me a garment in his life. Once, on a Christmas, he became generous and gave me $20. He forced me to pay my own physician's bills and meet other expenses of a similar nature, though he always had money to expend on himself when he desired. When he hired a carriage I was forced to pay the bill, for he said he only got the horses to please me, and I must pay for my own entertainment."

"The items on the bills [the Countess had submitted copies of bills to the Court] were segregated, and all purchased by me were paid by me, and Count Festetics footed his portion of the bill. Though the cruet and a silver napkin ring I purchased were for use on the yacht, I was forced to pay for the same, just because I fancied them and suggested that they were needed."

The Countess also presented a New Year's [1898/1899?] letter to her from the Count. In the letter, "he bravely asserted that he was in search of a commission in the British army for service in the Transvaal. He concluded by stating that if he didn't get killed he would certainly make a fortune after it was over."

Count Rudolph Festetics de Tolna:

Rudolph Festetics de Tolna San Francisco Call December 1900

"At Singapore she asked me to dispose of the yacht and live on land at any big city that she liked. This was after our trouble with Remington on board of the Tolna, and particularly when he stayed over night on the Tolna at the especial request of my wife, although I objected and told Remington that I would have him taken to his ship in one of the Tolna's boats. He said he preferred to sleep on board the Tolna, and upon the further urging of my wife and her objection to Remington leaving, I at last yielded and allowed him to sleep on board, my wife making up his bed in the main saloon. She took a blanket off her own bed to use, and seeing this I took the blanket from her, but she got it again and put it on Remington's bed. The next morning about 6 o'clock I heard my wife in the saloon, calling to the boy: 'Boy! Boy! Bring quick some cognac! Mr. Remington is fainting!"

"I immediately went out and saw my wife nursing Remington, and I told my wife: 'Will you please go in your room. It is my business to nurse him.' Then my wife said: 'No, I am not going to my room. I am going to nurse him.' In the meantime the boy had brought the cognac. My wife took it, and, pushing me away, went toward Remington to give him the cognac. I pushed her aside, and then I took a whisky bottle standing on the table and breaking this on Remington's head he immediately recovered from his faintness and went. I stayed below, but my wife ran after him, and I heard that he jumped quickly in the gig which was in readiness to take him away. When my wife came down below I told her that I had quite enough of this sort of flirtation, having already seen her engaged in similar flirtations at Samoa and Yokohama, and that I had had enough of this sort of thing, and I told her: 'You would better pack up and go back to your people.' She said all right, and taking her hat went to the telegraph office, and upon my talking with Sir Alexander Swetnam and my counsel, Mr. von Brandt, Remington apologized and promised never to see my wife any more. I asked my wife not to make any further scandal and continue to stay with me on board the Tolna, and that I would pardon her. She said she would have stayed if her father had not sent her money in reply to her telegram, but now that her father had sent her money she would go."

"In reply to my wife's request to live on land, I said: 'If your people give me the amount that they promised, as you know, before our marriage—that is a million francs—then I can give up the yachting and live where you like on shore.' My reason for keeping up my yachting life so long besides my love for the sea, was that I was always waiting for the payment of the money which the parents of my wife promised me before my marriage with their daughter. They promised me that I should have it at the time of the marriage, but it was never given me, although they continued to promise that I should have it later. I only had money enough myself to own the yacht, and could not afford to keep an establishment on land, too, especially as my wife was rather lavish in her expenditures. If I had the means it would have been a pleasure to me to have had a house on land and to keep the Tolna as a racing yacht."

"I cannot state the exact money furnished by me to the plaintiff for her maintenance and support from the time of our marriage until May, 1900, but the amount was about 150,000 guidens, some $60,000. If I had been alone I should have lived on my income, as I did before my marriage, but the amount just specified I drew from my capital at various times to cover the demands of my wife for money."

"Between April 20, 1899, and the commencement of this action, May 17, 1900, I gave the plaintiff no money; first, because she had received a large credit from her father; second, because she did not ask me for any; and, third, because she was living with her parents, who were supposed to be wealthy. Until we arrived at Japan on May 30, 1897, my wife did not receive altogether from any source more than $25, as she herself expressly told me."

"I had for two years, that is from 1893 to 1895, a large apartment, 90 Avenue de Jens, in Paris, which I occupied before my marriage. This apartment was beautifully fitted up with my own furniture and fittings. Besides I had there my own horses and carriages. This whole establishment was sold out in 1895, as I could no longer pay the rent."

"I never remained way from the Tolna overnight, leaving the plaintiff on the yacht. I did not remain away from the yacht at any place except with my wife. When I left Singapore my wife in no manner objected or disapproved of my departing without her. After receiving the money from her father by telegraph she spent the interval of the four or five days before I sailed, in carefully packing up her belongings. She not only used all the trunks she had on board, but brought several large chests, and when all were filled had them taken to Mr. Bond, who was to ship them elsewhere for my wife. We lunched the day of my sailing with the Austrian Counsul, Mr. Bond, and then with him we went to the Tolna. My wife and Mr. Bond came on board the Tolna for a short time just before the yacht weighed anchor. My wife and Mr. Bond then descended to the launch and I also went down, where my wife and I kissed and parted in the presence of Mr. Bond. Our parting was affectionate, but my wife in no manner whatever objected or disapproved of my departing without her."

"From the first two letters written by my wife after our parting at Singapore I fully expected her to return to me. After the third letter, which I received at Port Said [Egypt], I suspected that there was something the matter. Less than a fortnight after leaving Port Said I arrived at at Trieste and I was astounded to read in the newspaper that my wife was seeking a divorce, which I did not believe to be the case and publicly denied."

In regards to the Tolna, he remarked: "The yacht was well constructed by Captain Turner of San Francisco at Benicia, and I know that she was stanch for I saw every piece of wood that went into her. She was luxuriously furnished, commodious and a fine sailor. My wife's family all saw the yacht before we set sail on her and they never objected to her as a place of abode for my wife. Though we always slept ashore when the opportunity afforded, it was not because the Tolna was not safe and comfortable. Often we stayed at night on the vessel when we were visiting the South Sea islands, for they were too wild and dangerous to admit of our remaining on shore over night with safety."

Countess Eila Haggin Festetics de Tolna:

In response to the letter the Countess wrote to her mother-in-law, she replied that her mother-in-law had written back "and expressed her wonder that she had remained on board the yacht as long as she did." The Countess "further said that her parting with her husband was not more affectionate than that accorded any gentleman friend, save that she was forced to kiss him good-bye owing to the presence of the Austrian Consul."

After the Count and Countess separated, the Count sailed up to Sumatra and out into the Indian Ocean.

16 Jun 1899. The Count and the Tolna arrive at Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the southern tip of India.

With the Count far away from the South Pacific Islands, and the Countess enroute to New York, the following news had to be either extremely late or just complete fiction. Their separation had yet to be published in the newspapers.

Countess Festetics and Head Hunters New York Journal and Advertiser 27 May 1900

03 Jul 1899. Cannibals Chase the Festetics!

According to a story published two months later, the "Count and Countess Rudolph Festetics narrowly escaped death at the hands of Solomon Island cannibals. . ." [They were at the Solomon Islands sometime in late 1895 or early 1896.] The Miowera had brought news to Victoria, B.C., on August 11th, that the Count and Countess who had been cruising the South Seas and had encountered a cannibal war a month beforehand.

Supposedly, the Count told the following story: "We landed on Wango Island the 3d of July, and immediately tried to make friends with the natives. We pulled our steam yacht up a small creek, and we were right away surround by a crowd of curious natives. They were not only curious but impudent, and they started to walk away with nearly everything they could lay their hands upon. We had not been on the island two days when a small war began. The tribe on opposite sides of even these small islands always seemed to be at war. They did not fight in open battle, though the men are physically well formed, but they would pounce down on small camps of the natives, their enemies, kill as many as they could and carry away the rest of them for a future feast."

The article went on to say that the Count had followed one of the war parties and watched as they were successful in capturing enemies which they brought back to be executed and served in a feast. The Count also supposedly succeeded in getting photographs of the execution and feast.

The narrative continued: "They had just completed the execution and were preparing for the feast when the tables were turned. The friends of the captured men came down to avenge their loss, and the remainder fled. The feast had been half prepared, and the newly arrived enemies mingled dead foes and friends alike in the grand meal that was to take place. We had retired to our boat at the first of the trouble, and now we got away from the scene of carnage. Just as we were leaving we were pursued by a large body of natives in their canoes, and had it not been for a favorable sea and tide we might have been added as neutrals to the dinner of boiled tribesman."

Perhaps it was a different boat and crew that experienced this? Well, it was a fanciful and exciting story that only added to the mystique of the Count and Countess.

27 Aug 1899. The New York Times published the following blurb:

"Just now it is somewhat of a fad to go to the Cannibal Islands on a cruise. At different times the harrowing adventures of the Count and Countess Festetics are wired from some Oceanic port, where there may be a cable, and their many narrow escapes from being served at de jeuner or dinner are subjects about which many friends feel that they can congratulate Mrs. Louis Haggin, the mother of the Countess. R. B. Fithian of San Francisco, well known here, will sail shortly on a long cruise, taking in the Marquesas Islands, the Fiji Islands, the New Hebrides and the Solomon Islands. Mrs. Fithian, Miss Kate Clement, and Mr. George Loughborough, will accompany the party. Mr. Fithian's mother-in-law, Mrs. W. W. Stowe, has decided not to go, much to the regret of the other members of the expedition, who will sail eighteen thousand miles, and expect to have extraordinary adventures and escapes from the man and woman eaters of the Southern Pacific."

Autumn 1899. The Countess arrived in New York, remaining with her parents at 28 Fifth avenue.

Lighthouse, Island of Minicoy Courtesy of maldivesroyalfamily.com

11 Feb 1900. "Ships feare fire more then water. "—George Herbert

The Count told the following story of the last days of theTolna at the Island of Minicoy in the Indian Ocean:

Island of Minicoy, 1976 Central Intelligence Agency

". . .the Tolna was lost on February 11, 1900, about 1 o'clock in the morning. . .the second officer was on watch and ran the yacht on the reef, thinking, probably, that the reef was farther away. . .The yacht ran soon very high on the coral reef. . .She remained so for about three days, very quiet, without taking any water at all. I asked the natives on the island to help us bring her off, but they refused, saying that they preferred to have the vessel to any money that I could give them. On the fourth day she made plenty of water so that we had to leave her and go on the island. As I saw that I could save nothing more and that the natives were beginning to plunder the yacht [they had stolen 2,600 rupees and a brass cannon] I set her afire, pouring kerosene on her. She was burning for three days and then disappeared altogether."

The burning of the Tolna, of course, "greatly incensed the natives. Thereupon the black British subjects in charge of the lighthouse, fearing to be held for his death, shut him up in the lighthouse for a month [with two other crewmembers], until released by the British freight steamer Birchtor. . ." which took him to Port Said [Egypt]. Furthermore, "The Tolna was not insured, but a large collection of curiosities was saved. Count Festetics will probably leave Port Said Monday [30th] for Brindisi, going thence to Trieste."

Thus, the Tolna sailed through the Pacific and Indian oceans, surviving a typhoon, multiple crews, dangerous waters, reefs, and probably many other calamities for almost seven years (1893—1900).

18 Apr 1900. Countess Festetics Drowned!

A special dispatch was made to the Lokal Anzeiger newspaper in Berlin giving "meagre details" about the loss of the Tolna with everything and everyone on board except for the Count and two servants. Thus, everyone had presumed that the Countess must have drowned.

The New York Times picked up on the news and published a glowing obituary, although it had some major inaccuracies—such as the Countess being born and raised in Paris, and that after her New York trip she had rejoined the Count in India.

They also published a blurb that the newspaper had called at the residence of J. B. Haggin, 587 Fifth avenue. He was not home, but the servants were "positive" that the Countess was in New York and that the dispatch was wrong.

The next day, the same newspaper printed "Countess Festetics is Alive." They wrote that the "despatch was known in the clubs and other up-town resorts by midnight Tuesday [17th], and was generally credited, for although the Countess has spent the last Winter in this city with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Haggin, she has been so little seen that it was generally understood she had rejoined husband." They also published the first news of the separation of the Count and Countess.

THE DIVORCE.

Countess Wants a Divorce!

Whether it was the loss of the Tolna or that the Countess just felt ready, she returned to San Francisco and upon the advice of her attorney, E. S. Pillsbury, filed for divorce alleging desertion, failure to provide and cruel treatment. She then "went for rest and recreation in the beautiful place in Napa Valley, the home of her aunt, Mrs. George Hooper."

There was gossip that she could get a divorce based on the fact of their differences in religion and that her marriage would not have been recognized in Austria.

The Count appeared to have been in Vienna, Austria, at this time.

Frank Brooks Upham, 1900 San Francisco Call November, 1900

The divorce proceedings began this day before Judge Bahrs. E. S. Pillsbury represented the plaintiff, the Countess, and Mr. Lowey represented the defendant, the Count.

Mr. Lowey asked the judge to postpone the proceedings until the Count's deposition arrived from Vienna. The judge replied that the Count's information would "deny everything asserted by Countess Festetics and corroborating witnesses, and would reaffirm every allegation made in his answer to his wife's divorce complaint." Thus, the proceedings continued. Her full testimony is reprinted under the date 20 Apr 1899.

Her friend Lieutenant Brooks testified "that many naval officers agreed with him that the yacht [Tolna] was fit only for coast trips."

Also, there was testimony from Lillian Ross Thomson (or Thompson), about her visit to the Tolna in Yokahoma: "The cabin in which the Countess stayed was a little place, quite unfit for a lady to live in. It was very dirty and a pig was running around on the deck. There were many [creepers and] cockroaches all over the place. The crew were a mixed lot, many being South Sea Islanders. They were not a lot I should want a lady to be left with. I saw no American or English Sailors.

"The Count was often away from the yacht at night, in spite of the fact that his wife was in poor health. She had a bad cough. The Countess frequently expressed a desire to live on shore. She left the yacht whenever she had an opportunity." She continued on about how the Count was "surly, impolite and disagreeable," which was "commented on by every one." Also, that "he never went near his wife unless she called him and that was seldom. He neglected her and treated her cruelly."

One reporter seemed to sum up the situation about the Count: ". . .his love for the sea and for adventure was greater than his love for his wife."

23 May 1900. Escaping Gossip.

While trying to escape the gossip regarding the divorce, the Countess remained at the summer home of the Haggins in St. Helena. The only person she entertained was her grandaunt, Mrs. Lloyd Tevis. As for the divorce, she said, "Count Festetics may make whatever statement he sees fit of his side of the case. My lips are closed. The South Sea adventures, the life on the yacht, terrible indeed for a young girl accustomed to every comfort, are things of the past that I do not care to resurrect by idle discussion. When I say that I married Count Festetics I was a mere child. I have said all I care to say."

27 Dec 1900. The Count's Deposition.

The Count's deposition was submitted to the divorce court. His testimony is reprinted under the date 20 Apr 1899.

At the end of his statement he wrote, "My name is Count Rudolph Festetics, and I was born on the 17th day of June, 1865, at Bolougne-sur-Seine, Paris, France. For the last ten years [since 1890?] I have been traveling in various parts of the world, although my legal residence has remained at Vienna. I never deserted my wife and never have I lived separate and apart from her against her will. I never willfully or intentionally or without cause failed to furnish the plaintiff means of support. For these reasons I ask that her prayer for a decree of divorce be denied."

The lawyers had already planned to take the case to the State Supreme Court regardless of the verdict.

31 Dec 1900. Count Scored For Cruelty.

Judge Bahrs finally made a ruling in the favor of the Countess and gave her an "absolute divorce."

"The Judge scored the Count severely for his indifference, neglect and cruelty and for his mendacity in his answer, in which he tried to blacken his wife's reputation. . .[that, of the] Remington episode at Singapore. . .the Count evidently magnified the simple social courtesy of his wife, as there was no evidence to support his statements of her flirtations. . .[and] finally declares that the yacht was no fit place for a lady. . .[and that the Countess] had no alternative but to leave him."

According to the newspaper, "She may now be counted among the daughters of American millionaires who have paid for a title and found that the purchase price was worse than money thrown away—the price of misery."

In the final divorce decree, she was granted the legal use of her maiden name and thus relinquished her title of Countess Festetics de Tolna. In addition, the Judge ordered the Count to pay the court fees, approximately $15.

With this first round finished, according to the newspaper, the Countess decided to remain in California and live in Napa County (though that was probably only temporary).

19 Mar 1901. Eila, still referred to as the "Countess Festetics" in the newspapers, is back in New York City.

24 Jun 1901. Count Festetics Steals His Son!

Well, actually, Count Gyula de Festetics stole his son, Dwight, from his wife, Countess de Festetics. Rudolph and Eila never had any children. The newspaper added this blurb at the end of the story:

"The Count Festetics mentioned in the foregoing dispatch is probably the elder brother of Count Rudolph Festetics de Tolna, from whom the Countess Eila Festetics, a daughter of Mrs. Louis T. Haggin, was divorced in January. The Count and Countess Rudolph Festetics had no child."

That Gyula was Rudolph's brother was probably not true. Rudolph did have a younger brother, Sigmund. So, Gyula was most likely a cousin. In any event, the marital difficulties of Gyula and his wife made the New York newspapers many times. One has to wonder how many readers got these couples mixed up.

17 Oct 1901. Eila and her mother are noted at the wedding ceremony of Gertrude Randall and Allen Withane in New York City.

26 Feb 1902. "Supreme Court Decides That the Austrian Count Is Responsible for the Trouble on the Yacht Tolna at Singapore."

The California Supreme Court decided in favor of Eila.

One of the attempts by the Count to contest the divorce was based on the grounds that Eila was not a legal resident of California and could not legally be divorced there. A one year's residence is required by law. Eila stated that she had been a resident for ten years [since 1890]. The Count stated that since she had lived with him from October, 1893 to April, 1899, on the Tolna and in various foreign countries, she could not have been a resident. The Supreme Court decided against him, stating that since the Tolna flew under the American flag, she could claim residency. Also, it was decided that just because the Count uses a title of nobility the lower court was not required to take notice of his Austrian residency.

The other attempt was based on who deserted who that fateful day in Singapore. After reviewing all of the evidence, the Supreme Court ruled that the Count was the guilty party.

And, so ended their legal battle. Well, almost.

THE REST OF THE STORY.

14 Sep 1902. James B. Haggin and wife arrived in Lexington, Kentucky, from New York. Among his guests are friends and his granddaughters, the Misses McAfee and Lounsberry of New York, and the "Countess Festetics."

1903. The Count published his first book on his South Pacific travels:

Chez les cannibales: huit ans de croisière dans l'océan Pacifique à bord du yacht «Le Tolna.» (roughly translated in English: With the Cannibals: eight years of cruising in the Pacific Ocean aboard the yacht Tolna) in Paris. The book was published in Paris, written in French, had 407 pages, 200 photographs, and a map detailing the first part of Tolna's journey.

1904. The Count continued his first book with another:

Vers l'écueil de Minicoy, après huit ans dans l'océan Pacifique et Indien à bord du «Le Tolna.» (roughly translated in English: Towards the shelf of Minicoy, after eight years in the Pacific and Indian Oceans on board the Tolna). The book was published in Paris, written in French, had 395 pages, 174 photographs, and a map detailing the second part of Tolna's journey.

11 Sep 1904. A Fashion Leader.

Under the headline, "What New York Leaders of Fashion Are Wearing," Eila was described as "wearing some simple and pretty muslin frocks quite ideal in their summery effort of coolness and lightness when she comes in from her father's country place at Closter, N. J. She is the granddaughter of James B. Haggin, and, while the Haggins are wealthy, the countess affects simplicity and quiet gowning for the street. One of her latest frocks is a white muslin with a modified scroll pattern in delicate china blue. The skirt is shirred in cord effects below the waist to outline a hip yoke, and about the bottom there is a narrow ruffle or two. The bodice is shirred around the shoulders, producing a yoke effect to match the skirt's hip yoke, and the full sleeves gathered at the sholders are shirred at the wrists and finished with white lace to match the bodice stock. With it she wears a hat rolled at one side and trimmed with white flowers."

25 Jan 1906. Home Sick.

Eila was reported to have been ill with bronchitis, living with her mother at 441 Madison avenue, New York City.  She also frequently visited the opera with her grandfather, J. B. Haggin (who was living at 587 Fifth avenue).

7 Mar 1906. "Royal Suit Over American Money."

Well, it appears that if the Count could not be the main character of an exciting story, he would at the least get to play a supporting role.

The Count sued Princess Louise of Belgium in the Viennese courts for the sum of $20,000. The princess declined to pay the amount mentioned on the face of the promissory note on the grounds she only received half and that the rest was merely "usurious rate of interest." The money was used by "Princess Louise in order to enable her to escape from Bad Elster and to obtain not only her liberty, but also her divorce from her husband, Prince Philip of Coburg."

American money? The newspaper speculated that the money had originally come from the Haggin family. They also mentioned that the "fine ethnographical collections," gathered by the Count and lately presented to the National Museum at Budapest, were paid with Haggin money.

City Hall San Francisco, April 1906 Courtesy of Pete Becker, Personal Collection

16 Jan 1907. The Story behind the Court Suit.

"Ex-Capt. Mattachich, the sorry hero of the romance of Princess Louise of Belgium, is once again involved in financial scandal. . .after eloping with the princess to France, and after fighting a duel with her husband, Prince Philip of Coburg, he was arrested in Austria on a charge of having discounted notes bearing the forged signatures of ex-crown Princess Stephanie. He was convicted of the crime by court-martial and sentenced to a term of penal servitude, the princess being locked up in a lunatic asylum near Dresden as irresponsible. Toward the close of his term he was set at liberty by the order of the Emperor, and thereupon assisted the princess to escape from her sanitarium, their flight creating an even still greater sensation than their elopement several years previously. Subsequently a divorce took place in the courts of Coburg, the decree being rendered against the Princess. . ." In the case of the Count suing the Princess, it was discovered that Capt. Mattachich had actually received $8,000 on "behalf of the princess," which he neglected to tell her. The Austrian courts ruled against the Count for the remaining $9,000.

4 Jan 1908. The Count tries marriage once more.

Announcement was made of the engagement between Count Rudolph, living in Paris, and Mrs. Alice Ney Wetherbee, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gardner Wetherbee, one of the proprietors of the Hotel Manhattan. The wedding was fixed for January 28, though another newspaper said early February. "Both have known each other only a short time and were divorcees." Mrs. Wetherbee, who was previously married to Gene Schopfer of Switzerland, had a daughter by him, was a sculptor and had been living in Paris.

Eila Haggin was currently living in New York.

11 Feb 1908. Count Rudolphe Festetics de Tolna and Mrs. Alice Wetherbee were married in the American church, Rue de Berri, Paris. They left Paris on the night train to Marseilles to embark for Cairo and then to America.

21 Apr 1908. The Count recently arrived back in America with his new bride.

The Count, acting as a leader of a "gang of creditors," was still trying to collect from Princess Louise by "urging the Brussels courts to sell at public auction the jewels of the late Queen of the Belgians, in order that the proceeds coming to the princess may be turned over to them in part settlement of their claims."

Of interest to genealogists: "Count Rudolph holds a commission as lieutenant on the reserve list of the Austrian army, but has not been accorded the honorary title of chamberlain enjoyed by his late father, and by most of the other members of the Festetics family, as a birthright, by virtue of their genealogical qualifications, on both the father's and the mother's side."

30 May 1908. The Count and Countess (Alice) departed America and sailed on the Kroonland for Antwerp, Belgium.

08 Sep 1909. Eila Haggin and mother were in Paris for the wedding of Miss Florence W. Breckenridge and Thomas Fermoy-Hesketh.

19 Nov 1909. The Count sails once again.

20 Mar 1910. Well, apparently, the Count noted that newspapers kept referring to his ex-wife, Eila, under her old title of Countess. So, he decided to "serve upon the representatives of his former wife" what he declared to be a decree forbidding her the further use of his noble name. The newspaper stated that her divorce decree permitted her to retain the name (this contradicts what was reported at the time of divorce). The article concluded that he would only be successful in this endeavour only if she "comes under the jurisdiction of the courts of Austro-Hungary."

27 Mar 1910. The Count and Countess (Alice) intended to sail to the Far East about April 20 on the Tolna II. His itenerary was to go to Europe first and then to Japan and the South Sea Islands. When they reached Marseilles, the Count said that he "would install a 40-horse power standard gasoline engine."

Also, at this time, the Count was petitioning the Royal Hungarian Tribune at Budapest for an order restraining his first wife from using the title of Countess.

03 Apr 1910. An Expensive Ex-Husband.

In the newspaper article, "Shameless Sale of American Girls for Foreign Titles" by Dr. Madison C. Peters, he wrote this about one of them: "Eila Haggin paid $5,000,000 for her Count Tolna de Festetics, who took her down to the South Sea Islands, left her with the cannibals, came home and got a divorce."

08 Jul 1910. Crew of Yacht in Mutiny.

The Count was again in a familiar situation: "A special dispatch from Lisbon says that the crew of the yacht Tolna, which is owned by Count Raudolph [sic] Festestics de Tolna of Austria, muntinied [sic] yesterday with the purpose of looting the vessel. They bound two of the officers, but the count quelled the mutiny with a revolver and the ringleaders in the affair was [sic] handed over to the police at Madeira."

22 Dec 1911. Eila Festetics arrived in New York from Gibraltar aboard the Prinzess Irene.

27 Jan 1914. Eila Festetics arrived in New York from Southampton aboard the Minnetonka.

28 Jul 1914. Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia and began World War I.

03 Aug 1914. Germany (and, thus, Austria) declared war on France.

10 Aug 1914. The Count, Countess (Alice) and her daughter Anne were taken prisoners aboard their yacht (Tolna II) by a French warship in the Mediterranean.

The Count told his story: "The yacht was flying the Austrian flag and war had not been declared when we sailed out of Cannes. The captain of the French cruiser sent an officer on board with twenty marines to take charge and navigate her to Villefranche. We were kept on board there for seven days and I was taken before the military governor and ordered to Marseille. As my wife and daughter were Americans they were not detained but they accompanied me."

"On our arrival there I was separated from my family and put with a lot of other prisoners in a big room. By bribing an old sailor I managed to get out and drove to the United States consul, who got passports for us to cross into Spain, and we caught this steamship [Infanta Isabel from Cadiz] at Barcelona."

In another, longer version of the story: "In the early days of August, ignorant of war and strife, the Countess [Alice], some friends and I were sailing our yacht, named the Tolna, after my ancestral Hungarian castle, along the coasts of Southern France. One fine morning a French cruiser hove in sight and I was signaled to stop. Well, I am an old sailor, and know the etiquette of naval affairs, so I stopped."

"French officers boarded my vessel and curtly informed me that my yacht and I were prisoners of the Republic—the vessel because they had a use for it, and I for being an Austro-Hungarian subject. I announced myself an American citizen. They professed not to believe me, and a prisoner of war on my own vessel I sailed into Marseilles."

"Now, much as I like the French, they behaved rather badly. They knew well enough that I was an American, that my wife was a native-born American, but nothing availed. The French had temporarily lost their heads, and I stood condemned in their eyes for having been born in Austria-Hungary."

"In Marseilles I communicated with Ambassador Herrick in Paris and both he and the American consul in Marseilles firmly demanded my release—and after a week of durance I was told to leave the country. The French government has not yet apologized to me, though, and neither my chateau nor my yacht has been released from confiscation. The matter is still in the hands of the diplomats. . .But for my American citizenship, I would to-day be in some prison camp of France."

So, when did the Count become a citizen of the United States? That "fantastic" story is coming up soon.

06 Sep 1914. The Count, Countess (Alice) and daughter arrived in New York.

12 Sep 1914. James B. Haggin, Eila's grandfather, passed away at his summer residence at Newport, Rhode Island. His estate was estimated by the executors at $15 million, though his ranches in California and Kentucky were frequently estimated at no less than $50 million. The $15 million was divided into approximately five parts:

(1) Mrs. Margaret Voorhies Haggin (wife);
(2) Louis T. Haggin (only son and Eila's father) along with the land and house at 441 Madison Avenue, New York;
(3) Mrs. Edith H. Lounsbery (daughter) which includes her estate at 14 East Fifty-Second street, New York, $100,000 of her share is set aside for equal shares to her children Richard Lounsbery and Mrs. Edith L. Perry;
(4) Mrs. Mabel McAfee Preston (grand-daughter), of which $50,000 goes to her son Ben Ali McAfee;
(5) the remainder of the one-fifth share to be divided as follows: a trust fund to produce $15,000 of interest income for Mrs. Lee W. Haggin (daughter-in-law), and the remainder of the one-fifth share is to be divided equally from James Ben Ali Haggin and Louis Lee Haggin;
(6) Also, specif