Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-01-29
For the Public Ledger:
RECOLLECTIONS
OF THE
ISLANDS
BY GEORGE W. GIFT.

If any reader has had patience to fol-
low me up to this point it is possible he
or she may be curious to know how |
managed to pick up and get together
the bits of information recorded in the
preceding pages. Ifso, and that reader
will continue to follow me, will tell of
two visits to those fairy isles-the first in
the good ship of the line 0ho, Of eighty
four guns and eight hundred men, in the
year 49; and the second, four years later
in trading schooner of my own, which,
by the way, was not the voyage to the
South Seas, undertaken by my friend
Ben Richmond and myself in quest OF
hogs, which we did not get, but oranges
in their stead; and the oranges rotted,
and as traders we were not very sue
cessful. Let us take the man-o war
cruise and weave into it the informa-
ton cleaned and incidents observed on
the second voyage. In this way we will
get all the knowledge and not be bored
by two separate narratives.
The Ohio was the best ship OF her
class aAoat. She was modelled and built
under the superintendence Of an Eng
lish constructor named Eckford, who had
a uussi agreement with the Government
that when his ship was completed she
should be sent to the Mediterranean to
be shown. This agreement was not car
ried out, and Mr.. Eckiord left in disgust
and went to Turkey, where he repeated
the Ohioin three decker (l44gun ship
called the Mahmeud, and became rich
and famous. Our ship in the meantime
remained in ordinary" twenty years
and was then sent on the European
cruise as flagship Of Commodore Hull
he who commanded the Constitution
when she bagged the Guerrero. Pen
dergrast, who commanded our navy-yard
here, was her executive officer on the
same cruise. just after her return home
the Mexican war commenced, and it was
thought timer" should be sent to
batter the castle of San Juan at Vera
Cruz. Thanks to the eight-ineh shell
guns taken on shore from the feet and
worked by sailors in the naval bat.
tery-a piece of Information soJers
are not much given to mentioning when
thew write histories-Vera Cruz soon
gave up, which ended the need for the
bio ship in those dangerous waters, and
she was ordered TO New York. Her
cruise, however, had not been more than
six months, which was no cruise at ALI
therefore she was reitted and dispatched
TO the Pacific, there to bear the broad
remnant of Commodore Thomas ap U.
Jones, and to take part In the closing
scenes of the war. Her crew garrisOned
Mazatlan, and after the treaty had been
signed she took on board detachment
of Stephenson's New York volunteers,
and proceeded to California. Arrived
there in 4s, she found that gold had been
discovered, and that Congress had neg
lected to extend the laws over the newly
acquired country, and that lawless and
badly mixed population had to be gov
erned." Jones was the man for the oc
casion. and threw himself into the work
wish great zeal but this zeal " on his
mart kept the flag ship at anchor in the
then inhospitable bay Of San francisco
for many months. Fresh meat We could
get in abundance, but nothing else that
would prevent scuTvy. Potatoes were q
dollar a pound, and onions a dollar each
and Mexican dollars at that which was
beyond the purchasing capacity ol
either Jack or his master, After the mel
had been confined in the ship about
year without a run ashore, and th'
Commodore had got matters so that h
could get along with sloop OF war o.
two. We heard that his Hawaiian MaJ
esty, the old fisherman. referred TO in ih'
rr-t mart of this narrative. had been do
ing something in reference 70 American
interests not strictly legal and proper
hence 20 give the men liberty and pre-