Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1890-06-19
DAsA,s OLD snrPmArE.


A Survivor of"Two Years Before the MAST
stan Alive in California.
At Santa Barbara, San Pedro. San
Juan, Capis rane and San Diego one is
sue to have Two Ye ,rs Befofe the Mast"
and its author brought to ones attention,
not only from the ple .sute derived In
noting how the remarkably accurate and
comprehensive descriptions Of the feat-
ures OF those places, though written In
1885, are just as correct In 1890. but this
American classic Is constantly brought
to tue front by residents OF the places
named, who take a local pride In the re-
nown ach Q cd by the book, and so indis
rectly by the place of their habitat on
This local self.sufficiency and jealousy
Of 9th er points has become character
Il tic feature of Southern California.
Possibly prompted by this desire for
lit bit Of local notoriety. writes cor
respondent of the New York Tribune
from Los Angeles, friend who resides
at San Diego writes me that he has dis
covered q human relic in the grizzled,
gnarled, sailed person Of one Jack"
Stewart, who claims to'have been ship
mate of Dana's on the voyage of the Alert
from the coast to Boston, and whose
story Is fully substantiated. When Jack
spraug ashore with Dana at Boston be
was 1.-THE, active, able seaman; to-day
he is, my correspondent writes, "a de-
crepit, palsied old man of eighty odd
years. He s.iled ont of Boston haibor
on the Alert on her next trip to the West
Coast, and he sailed out Of his Saxon en-
ergs into the Latinized Ianguor Of Span
ish-American existence at old San Diego:
i saw Jack recently. He lives in an old
adobe in the shadow of the ruins of the
old Mission Chuioh, tho house has no
windows. no conveniencss; the floor wore
out possibly half century ago, bat no
one has had any time in which to repair
it. 1t was probably dilspidated years
ago when Jack, just In the first STAGES OF
being Mexicanized. took to his casa his
dark-skinned half In ian and half Span
ish bride. perhaps pretty then, but now
wrinkled black old woman. Jack has a
daughter. good looking young woman,
who had enough ambition to get public
hool education, but to her, no more
than to her father, are repaired fco g.,
W ndows, or anything else that requires
much time to secure, necessities.
Jack, after brief s ay in Boston, had
sailed / ack to California on the Alert q
her second mate. She clme into San
Diego Bay 10 load with hides ag ain, and
here Jack had some hot words with his
captain, and by some means getting his
Liberty came ashore and stayed. I asked
him If he bad ever read Mr.. Dana's book.
Yes, he had heard Dana hal written a
book about his scattering life, and he had
bou hit copy of it and be had read il
until became 10 part which told how In
q nasty blow there was reefng which Dana
d be ause the rest hung back and SOL
d.ered, and he did not care 10 read any
more. In fac, the old sea-dog bi o IDLY
intim lie that Dana h d painted himse I
in very glowing co ors. He did not seem
to tbink much of ID ma as sailor nor as
a chIonicl r. / asked the brown eyed,
black haired daughter if she had re d the
ook. No, she had not read it. She had
not much time IN which to reld.
Jack, found, cared little or nothing
for anything in the outside world. He
had rarely been away from oil Town
snSe the day he went ashore flom the
Alert. All through the wonders worked
since 1919 he has siestaed away life in his
adobe casa with his semi-raced. semi
tropic helpmate. He cared nothing ioI
The refec ed greatness l tiled to throw
upon him, so came away leaving the two
relics of the past of Californ n, jack
Stewart aud Old Town, both of which
Mr.. Dana would recognize at a glance TO-
day, though both have been rudely han :
died by time"
hope my friend is not deceived. There
is poetic fitness in the idea Of old San
Diego and this shlpmate OF Danas 60 nG
gether.