Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-06-13

Written for The Evening star.-Copyrighted 1901.
ME HAD HEARD OF HIM IN MISTY
w sort of way. In eastern clubs, in after
dinner talks or in semi-confdences told over
japanese mats in ieafy tea houses. Little by
little, then here, then there. he had become a
sort of reality to US in the ward room, and in
various naval minds on the China station dim
mental pictures of an old American chained to
the Russian walls of gloomy prison excited
true indignation and desultory sympathy. 1t
was not for many months after this that the
reality indeed stumbled on the stage of at
least my own experience. We had been row
ing up and down the China coast for year or
two. hating Tientsln and yearning for Shanghai,
firing Of Shanghai and yearning for Hong
hong, till the heat Of Tonquin summer drove
Us north with its spiee-laden breaths over the
muddy Yellow sea to Japan Here ships
galore, ships with stately masts and spider
yards. square trimmed against cloudless sky;
ships with stumPy spars and crowds of shout
ing men tumbllng bales and boxes into great
lighters grOaning alongside; plenty, too, Of
long. low. rakish steamers with lead-colored
sides and short stacks vomiting black smoke
against background of dwarfish hills and
trees and low-roofed houses-Yokohama-
We made her out soon enough, though it had
been many months since We had been in COM
Pany. Her black hull with its long row of
square white ports, each dotted with a gun;
her lofty masts and masses of heavy rigging;
the quiet dignity with which she rode the blue
waters of the BAY amid the noisy fleet of native
junks and saupans. but above all the futter of
blue and red and many stars at her peak. It
was the flagship, with the pennant of an adj
mlraI flying AT her mizzen- She didn't intend
TO give us much rest either. for almost before
our Blooms were out her boarding officer was
alongside and in to see our captain. We had
our sailing orders that very night. and early
the next morning, pitching and rolling about.
were flying before heavy easterly gale to the
northward and westward, and the inhospitable
Coasts OF Asiatle Russia
RUSSIAN CONVICT Town.
Spread along the shores of one of the finest
harbors Of the eastern world stands. in a
rambling sort Of way. the queer convict town
OF Russian yladivostok An air of Russian
mystery comes over one from the moment that
the anchor drops from of the bows of a foreign
craft Everything Is inaccessible. The great
arsenal Is sealed to visitors: the post and tele-
graph Offices are very caves of secrecy. Even
the inhabitants seem to tread the narrow roads
that run by the sea with the uncertain and
suspicious steps of those that are watched and
suspected. The entire population is convict,
either political or criminal. the descendants
OF such. There Is military club and mill
taIy park. where military band plays TO an
Idle crowd of loungers in long coats and shaggy
boards with big odd caps on their heads. 1t Is
the eastern eye OF the greatest of modern
despots, the ear; the tip of the middle finger
OF that modern hapd Of power that spreads
from the confines of civilized Europe to the
shores Of the Japan sea- Oar captain had been
ashore several times, once in uniform with an
aid to attend him. several times in plain
clothes and finally in all the naval regalia of
his rank This last visit of his med to settle
the reason of our unexpected visit. for the fol-
lowing morning We put to sea and returned to
Yokohama But We had passenger. He had
come of the day before We sailed. in a peculiar
old boat, pulled by two rough Russian sailors
who had helped him up the side with an old
trunk covered with halr and brass bound on
the corners.
THE Oop-LooKrSG PASSENGER
Little attention paid to him at first as he
stood neac the mast with his shaggy coat but
toned TO the chin about him and his great
hands thrust in the depths of its baggy pockets.
He wore on his head round fnr cap, which
every now and then, he would scrape of to
pass his fingers across his face to throw back
his tangled grayish hair. He kept his ewes
upon his solitary trunk always amid the hurry
ing sailors and th' hoarse shouts Of getting
under way FINALLY they carried it below,
and he followed it in a meek sort of way till it
disappeared down the forehatch. We did not
notice him much the first few days. He seemed
to be quiet, inoffensive man. who took his al
iotted place at the mess cloth of the petty Off
GERS and after that sat in obscure corners TO
smoke his pipe in silence or to comb with his
fingers his long. unkempt beard We in the
ward room had only general idea that he Was
soule outcast in hard luck TO whom we were
giving passage free of expense out of charity.
IL was not. IN fact, for some weeks after our ar
rival at Yokohama that l stumbled across him
again IN the streets. He wore the same old
coat and cap. was smoking the same ponderous
pine and staring about him in the same half
curious. half lazy way. He took his hand from
his pocket and raised it TO his face as passed.
Il 4
are you making out?" About the same sir:
about the same; nothing to do and nowhere to
turn I'm some years behind my time. guess
and the crowd have sort of left me-passed and
left NE behind
NUMBER 53s's STORY.
His appearance was 50 odd generally and the
hesitancy in his speech, punctuated with quick
glAnces cas-, about him. so peculiar that my in
terest in him revived and motioned TO a pub
lie house near by and suggested that he go
with me and tell me his story He followed
me across the narrow street in his shamblng
way and took seat opposite me at one of tn:
little wooden tables. There was no one else
In the ROOM He leaned his hairy head upon
his outstretehed hands and told me this:
i am American. SIR though thew saw I
look like Slav. / was born IN the west in
one OF the then new states fifty-eight years
ago this coming month. My real name is
simpson, though have had many since.
For nine years it has been $50 in the Russian
tongue; that was the number had on the iron
collar wore about nv throat
lou see, sir, Was of the rowing and law
less KIND that makes tails out Of heals Of
everything and sweep round and round in the
eddies and gulhes Of life. l didn't stay on the
fnrm long. but wandered farther west until /
hOated over the Rockies and fetched up in Cal
ffornia in the early ffties. Then from camp
to camp, from good luck to bad and M again
Till l came out the mines with a good twenty
thousand in a Frisco bank and a fair sruatter-
iag Of engineering. So gave up a rowing life
and made hitch 20 settle down and enioy nv
self l took TO studying. too. and paid my
way in . school where they taught building aud
such
HIS MARRIAGE
married during these years the daughter OF
. chum Of mine IN the old days, who owned a
small hotel and was doing q fiourishing trade
She was pretty little thing. with wavy, faxen
A'sir, that she had q way of letting tumble
down when she got TO talking and shaking her
head TO convince me. Well. sir. / followed her
advice and took half out OF the bank and put il
lnto the hotel and married her. So. when the
oeeidentai went up, il took with it my half and
drew the rest out Of the bank and with my
WE and children-we had two then-I came
out TO Japan TO start afresh. made out to do
pretty well at first Europeans in my trade
were lev then, and the Japs had a craze for
oTeign buildings and foreign railroads and
t1rsish clothes, 50 had n good deal to 10.