The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-08-16
RUFF JOY, ANCIENT TAR.
Portland Sailor Of the Good Old
Days Of rs.
ALL THE BOYS KNEW HIM FORTY
YEARS AGO.

Africa After Slaves-Fined a Dollar
for Smoking on the Street-A Blow
Out That Neal Dow Didn't Prevent
Through the Holy Land With William
H. seward-Long and Gallant Career
in the Navy, With Much of Grog, Flog
gings and Hard Fights for His
Country.
II have squared the yards so far, and
I guess shall till the end of the cruise"
The speaker was an old, very old mar
liner, with gray locks and bent m,
clad in a well-worn suit of blue, OF
which the cap denoted that he was the
inmate of one of the nations homes for
it's disabled sea heroes IN spite of
shakiness in his timbers, the old marin
er bore the peculiar air of combined val
or, audacity, and loyalty that distin-
cuisines but one class of men on this
| round earth-the true-blue Yankee tars
of the old United States navy.
A few old Portlanders have recognized
in the aged mariner the, familiar figure
of him who was to them in their boy
hood the most glorious, free-handed,
open-hearted boisterous man-of-wars-
man on earth-Rufus Joy, who, in OBJ
streperous and triumphant progresses
along Portiand's streets used to take
both sidewa. ks, make the deaf to hear
and scatter his gold and pennies among
the boys as if money were free as sun
shine on the. broad deep. What son Of
Portland has forgotten those memora-
BILE celebrations. when Joy and some, of
his mates used to have themselves
hauled about the streets in a boat mount
ed on wheels, while they waved the
American flag and sung sea songs to the
people?
The old sailor took a vacation few
weeks ago and came from the home at
Philadelphia to see his old acquaintance
in Portland. He is stopping with Capt.
Croweil at 80 India street, but hopes to
get back to the Home before long. His
pension money has paid his board, but
will not take him back to Philadelphia,
and the old tar is some distressed in his
mind to know how he can get to Phila-
delphia, and still square the yards on
his bills" He is very anxious also to
find the present whereabouts of ''Dr.
Morse the volunteer surgeon who, in
1861, at Gouldsborough's assault on Fort
Barlow, on Roanoake Island, bound up
the wounded head of Gouldsborough's
signal quaftermaster. For that signal
quartermaster was Rufus Joy, and he
was stricken down just as Admiral
Gouldsborough shouted, ''Joy, hoist the
signal to cease firing If Joy can find
this Dr.. Morse, who is supposed to be a
Massachusetts, man, it will mean snug
little increase of the old sailors pension.
Joy was born in 1908, on Munjoy Hill.
which was named for his father, he says,
joys mother was a native of old Wells,
and his father and grandfather before
him of old York. The grandfather was
Revolutionary soldier. eff Rufe Joy
amt a Yankee, where will you find one,"
says he proudly as he tells of his ances-
try.
A sailor who has cruised West India
waters in the days when the pirates
vexed those seas, who has twice raided
the coast of Africa in SLAYER, who has
served under officers tried at the battles
on the lakes, who bears wounds re-
ceived in two wars so far apart as the
Seminole and civil wars, who has taken
His Grog and Floggings
till both stomach and back were as tough
as leather, is not a common visitor these
days.
Joy began to sail out of Portland as a
mere boy in the grand old sea-faring
days of 1925. There were Yankee
sailors in those days, Joy went in the
brig United States, owned by Ben and
Isaac Knights. Isaac was the father of
Capt. Knights, the Federal street fruit
dealer. He also went in the brig Frank
lin. All these voyages were to the West
Indies, and gave young Joy taste for
sea and adventure. And where could
there be more adventure for man than
in the American navy, OF in one Of those
heavily armed slavers, manned by
Spaniards, Portuguese, English, Yankees
and the adventurous Of all nations, that
lodged the English men-of-war to bring
valuable cargoes of slaves from the west
coast of Africa to the rich planters of
the West Indies. AS youth Joy tried
both the SLAYER and the navy. Very
early, in 1927 or few years later, after
Wilberforce's work was done, Joy lef
an American vessel in Havana to ship
on SLAYER, where he was to receive 800
month and the privilege of bringing
back one negro to sell as a venture. Joy
went two voyages on the SLAYER. On the
first voyage he bought negro girl for a
gallon of rum, and sold her in Havana TO
$500. The slaves were gathered in i'm
mense corrals on the African coast and
from these they were driven aboard the
slavers to be chained up like cattle for
the long voyage. The SLAYER carried ten