Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-10-11
DARING BOYS CAREER
How Ernest e. Maynard, a Four
teen-Year-Old Boy,
Won His Way to the Front on Stormy
seas-He Was Born in Clarks-
vile.

IEe following story, which has for
lis central figure a native of Clarks-
vile, is clipped from a recent issue oil
the Dallas (Texas) Daily News. The
Ernest Maynard mentioned was
born, from the most reliable informa.
tion at hand, in the old Southern
Hotel, now the Peoples Warehouse.
His father was route agent for the
Southern Express Company with
headquarters here. He and his wife
were popular here and will be re-
menbered by many citizens. In
fact some will recall their little son,
Ernest, The story runs as follows
and reads like romance:
"The career of Capt. Edward Ern-
est Maynard is one of thrilling inter-
est. 1t probably has no parallel. 1t
challenges the whole field ofrornance,
where it is exceedingly doubtful if
his prototype can be found. His ad-
ventures are worthy to be written by
the most. brilliant pen, and would fill
volume of thrillingiinterest from
beginning to end. The young heroes
of this days fiction, whose adven-
lures fill long volumes, are hardly
worthy to be his shadows. At the
age of IA, the age at which most boys
ambition is to excel at base ball, top
spinning and marbles, Ernest was
planning his future, in which his
fancy pictured swift sailing ships
with the ocean for a bAc6 ground
His mother, Mrs. nj. A. Maynard, of
Dallas, being widow with four chill
dren to support, of whom he was the
oldest, his proud spirit was CALLED
with the idea of leaning upon her for
his support. One day while she was
away from home on a visit to friends
in Corsicana he put his plans Of going
to sea into execution. He bid good
bye TO his little brothers and sister,
in June, 1884, and with letter OF in,
PRODUCTION to whomever it might
concern from Col. w. II. Sinclair, of
Galveston, he turned his back upon
his Galveston home to seek his for
t. q upon the sea. He went first to
New Orleans and from there to Chi
cago, where he was forced to stop, his
small supply of money being ex-
hausted. He found work in Chicago,
where he remained just long enough
to earn enough money to take him
to New York, where he found one of
his mothers brothers, II. p. Kirk.
ham. To his uncle3 he confided his
plans for becoming a sailor, which
were received by that gentleman
with approval. His uncle secured
him berth on board vessel
bound for Africa, the captain of it
promising to keep 'watchful eye
on the lad. The ship made the voy-
age without any striking incidents,
and relanded Ernest in New York,
year older and several years wiser.
A year on the decks of a ship had
not in the least abated his zeal for the
sailors life, and he was soon on board
the Conqueror,7 a ship bound for
Europe. He left the Conqueror at
Sidney, N. $. W., and went to New
castle, wr7re he joined the ship T. l..
Sweatt, bound for Hong Kong, Chi
ma. There were no happenings of
Importance until the vessel arrived
in the neighborhood of the Caroline
Islands, where she was oyertaken by
terrible storm and driven upon the
reefs, going down but short dis
taDce from the shore of the islands.
The officers and crew managed to
land without the loss of a single life.
They were just beginning to congrat-
ulate themselves on their fortunate
escape from the lost ship, when to
their dismay the shore about them
| began 10 swarm with black savages,
who closed in on their human prey
with wild yells, brandishiug their
crude implements of warfare in the
most menacing manner possible.
The terrified sailors offered no resis-
tance and made an unconditional
surrender. The black savages did
not prove to be the bloodthirsty crea-
lures that the shipwrecked sailors
had supposed. Instead of being
roasted at the stake and sliced up for
steak or boiled in pots and made in
to soup, they were treated very kind.
ly, considering the uncivilized state
OF the savages. The captives were
distributed among the tribe, each one
being placed in family, where he
received about rs good treatment as
any OF the household.
"Ernests fine appearance so won
the good will of the chief or king,
that he was given place in the
royal household. He madeit a study
to please and succeeded so well that
he was treated like a crown prince
with an ancient pedigree. The king
had a young daughter in whose COM
pany Ernest was much thrown. AZ
ssr. he had learned enough of the
4slects to understand the young
princess and make her understand