Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1889-09-19
UNCLE BEN'S STORY.
BY GEORGE II. CooMER.

recall one of them in particular, the
incidents of which occurred in his
youth, little previous to the war OF
1872
AT that time" he began, Sailors
had more to dread than now, for they
were in constant dread of impressment
by the British. Sometimes they would
be picked up while on shore in the
English ports, and whisked off on
board a man-ofwar; but oftener they
We're seized ON the broad ocean--taken
right off their own decks, and com
PEELED to serve among strangers.
"How would it look Mt this day for
British officer to come on board an
American vessel and order the cap
tain to muster his crew, just as slaves
are brought out for an auction sale in
the West Indies? Think of it! What
would the newspapers say? What
would the people say? What would
the President say? Wouldn't there be
call to arms from Maine to Cali
fornia? And wouldn't every man in
the county, capable of shouldering II
musket, be eager to volunteer for the
honor of our hag?"
Uncle Ben looked full of enthusiasm
as he said this; full, too, of just in
dignation at remembered wrongs.
But habit" the old mariner re-
sumed, rs everything. Our people
had got in the way of looking upon En-
gland as having kind of ownership of
the ocean, and it took them long while
to forget this inherited feeling
"Why, some of our vessels, brought
tn Inv tbn RritiSb oruicaru Uoul1 hn
left with hardly men enough to work
them into port. And yet, our folks
took it as matter of course, seeming
to think that nothing could be done
about it, Wasn't England the mother
country" they said, and the mistress
OF the ocean,
Before going to sea, got what was
called protection telling where
was born, how old, how tall | was, and
what color my eyes We're, The very
fact that an American sailor should be
obliged to procure such writing, with
such an object, was enough to fill one
with shame, But, still worse, the
thing did no good.
"A protection, in so far as regarded
the danger OF lmpressment, was worth
Just It's weight of blank paper, and nc
more. 1t Is true that the British pro
fessed to seize only their own country
men; but, III reality, they paid no at
tention to any affidavit of birth. we
want men, and Will have them,' they
said; and that ended the matter.
All my sea-going acquaintances had
the like passports, subscribed and
sworn to III proper legal FORM and as
bTrni niliotincr 11p1o,, +ba "a, 10
as if in so many words they had asked
John Bull to grant the bearers the lib
erty Of sailing on his big pond,
The one | carried answered very
well for three years, simply because it
never happened to be called for. and
then, finding myself grown too tall and
robust to answer the description, got
another.
AT that time | was going to Lisbon
III the ship Rebecca. The captain was
an excellent man, named Eddy, whose
family lived directly across the street
from ours, and who had known me
from my birth.
"The entire ships company was made
up of our townspeople, so that when
we went out of port it hardly seemed
like going away from home, we had so
many familiar associations in common.
The kebecca reached Lisbon i'll
about thirty days and our stay there
was very interesting The foremast
hahds pelh8 an sober ana well-lhiolm-
Ell men, there became treasured up in
the iorecastle great deal OF enter
Ialhlh8 knowledge concerning the
forI98uese ana ihelr country
we had all heard the story OF the
destruction OF old Lisbon by the tre-
mendous earthquake OF l755, and i'm
aglnation yludly painted the scene as
we looked up and down the lagus.
AT the time we were there Marshal
Juhot, Wlth French army, had pos
session OF the city, for Napoleon had
then Just laid his hand upon Portugal.
u shall never forget the appearance
OF those French troops. Every morn
ing they used to turn out for exercise,
ana assure you they were no holiday
soldiers. The grenadiers, especially,
were very imposing, for they wore huge
bearskin shakos, and We're, besides,
taller than the others.
When, finally, we had secured our
cargo OF VINE and dates, and We're once
more at sea, every one thought how