Morning journal and courier., 1893-07-11
SAILED UNDER A LONE STAR.

Major J. E. Harrow Tells of Almost
 Forgotten Times-When Texas Had
 a Navy-Seyen Black, Rakish Crafts
 Constituted the Fleet of the Once
 Free and Independent Republic of
 Texas = Their Principal Fighting
 Was to Keep Afioat-Other Adven-
 lures.
 The following interesting sketch con- corning Major Barrow, who Is spending the summer with his son-in-law, MT. Will son Waddingham, at his beautiful home, Bonair, appears in recent issue of the Washington Post:
 There is stalwart gentleman stopping at the Hotel Oxford, who claims the unique distinction of being the cole sur vivtng sailor of the Lone Star state. He was not 'ssteersman" of the cowboy order, neither did he gail in "prairie l schooner" but niddy in the Texas navy. | That Texas had navy will bs news to | many, but nevertheless, such was the case, and Major J. E. Barrow is about all that 1 is left of it. Tenn, December IS, 1929, some years ago, 1 to be sure-seventy of them-but then how l kindly Father Time has treated the majors | frame. A herculean one 1t is, too, for Ma 1 jor Barrow is considerably above the medi- um height. The lines of his face are as kindly chiselled as womsn's and his eyes snap with the fire of youth and through all his years have never lost their brllian- cy. Be it 30 that his face is adorned with I mustache and his chin with whiskers of snowy white and that on his head rest | hairs of silver and soft as silk, it would not confirm one in the belief that Major l Barrow IS within ten years of the age he l claims. His figure Is very erect, and ! straight-back chair to him is 10 discom- fort.
 It was in the spring of 1639 that Major l Barrow found himself in Galveston, Texas,
 seeking position in her navy. This was two years after the United States had l recognized Texas as an independent repub- lie. His application for 8 midshipman's position in the navy was quickly made ont. and through the influence of General Sam uel Houston, at that time president of the Republic of Texas, ard a warm personal friend of Major Barrow's brother, the Hon.
 Washington Barrow of Tennessee, he re-
 ceived his commission ga midshipman from
 Mirabeau Lamar, second president of Texas This latter official was an uncle of the late
 Judge Lamar, of the United States Supreme
 court.
 At the time of Major Burrows con-
 mission, the entire naval force of Texas
 was quietly riding the waters of Galveston
 harbor. It consisted of seven vessels of
 wooden construction and all painted as
 black as paint could make them. If not
 of actually formidable construction, 1t was
 not intended that the fleet should be con1
 demned by outward appearances.
 It was proud moment in young Bar
 rows life when, st seventeen years of age,
 he set foot on the deck of the flagship p of the
 fleet, the Zsyala, and answered Commodore
 Edward W. Moore with an 'sAy, ay, sir" The other vessels of the fleet were the brig of-war Austin, the ship Matagorda, the schooners San Antonio, commanded by Lieutenant Dearborn of Maine, who was killed On board of his vessel in mutiny of his men at New Orleana, and the San Jacinto and two others. The commander of the Austin was Captain Gray, the father : of the second wife of the late Rufus Hatch 7 | of New York.
 There was nos one foot of new timber in any of these vessels, as they were mostly 0 bought from United States ship owners.
 They adequately answered the purposes = required of them, however, for, as luck would have it, they wero never fired upon
 80 far as Major Bsrrow personally knew [ and no one has ever advanced the informa
 tion. The armament of the smaller yes ', 1 sels consisted of two email, smooth bore
 cannons. On the zsvais there were foul
 guns forward, and one 'long tom," ter
 feet long, aft. The sole occupation of the fleet was that of cruising during the eigh teen months Major Barrow was associated = with 1t.
 s In one cruise, made to the neighborhoot
 of Vera Cruz, storm tossed the vessel It around like peanut shells, and the entir ; with the elements. A bee line WAS struci V for Galveston hsrbor, and for the first tim ,S in several days the hearts of those of tn Ii naval forces dropped into place from thei Il l owners throats. At the conclusion of
 trip to New Orleans in search of recruits l in 1840, Major Barrow resigned his posi- 'e tion in the navy, and to-day, of all thos r. officers and men, is the sole survivor of tn r. marine protective force of the republic c :. Texas. Quitting the navy Major Barro, 1o returned to Nashville and married. A 1e the time of his marriage he was but tweu r. ty years of age.
 Since then great deal has transpire m which has all gone to make up an eventfu h life. In 1849 General Taylor appointe se him Indian sgent at the Council Bluff ,g agency, embracing the Omahas, Otoes, an :, :. tsnce then from civilization. It require lt from two to three weeks a steamer t D. go from St. Louis up the Missouri river t T. this agency, point eight miles below tn Il present city of Omaha. He arrived ther June "A, 1S49. It was an exceedingly will g district, but he remained there during tn y administration of General Taylor to th
 time of his democratic successor. D. He carried on 8 large freightirg bus y ness with Salt Lake City and New Mextc as early as 1851, even sending wagons t th California. These trains consisted c
 twenty-six large wagons of six yoke C g. cattle. He was among the first who wer Ill 1 to Montana just after gold was disco,
 cred in 1863, and it was then a very roug In l country.
 In 1858 he received the government COY g tract for carrying the United States ma It over the route from Kansas City to Stock of ton, Cal. The route was then known s 'n the Thirty fifth Parallel route. It was re dangerous undertaking to deliver the ma
 in Stockton at the end of sixty days frer IS starting, as the route ran from Kansa a. City via Albuquerque, across the Colorado le end through the Mohsve Indian country t le the San Joaquin Valley, and thence t
 Stockton. It was intended as new rout ze in order to shorten the distance overlan y to California. The stages carving th
 mails left Kansas City once month. y The country between Albuqperque an, st California was so infested with Indian at that the depredstions of these maraudip
 bands upon ths stock, stages, supplies an B. other necessaries required in keeping u le the mail route entailed very heavy loa
 upon the contractors.
 le In 1851 at Union Town, the Pottowatc B. mic village on the Kansas river, 100 mile ,c from the present city of Kansas, he go
 up the first meeting to organize the terr 70 tory of Nebraska. General Frank Maj of shall, now of Colorado, presided, an
 Major Barrow received the nomination o n and was the first delegate from Nebrask
 to congress. He didn't accept the homo, n for the reason that Senator David Atchi h son and Willard P. Hall, then in congres a. from Missouri, informed him that thing sr were little premature and the trip woul a. have to be made at his own expense.
 It would have necessarily been yer st tedious trip, made in stages and steam 'n boats, and the major concluded he wa 1t well enough of where he was. Majo h Barrow was also the delegate from Si $ Joseph, Mo, to the Philadelphia conven
 tion that nominated Scott in 1853, and wa a- also a delegate to the convention i 'f Baltimore which nominated Bell an G. Everett.
 Major Barrow's family had all bee T. dyed lin the wool whigs. His brother B. Alexander Barrow, was in the senate wit 8. Clay, Calhoun, Crittenden, Webster, an. ze Tom Benton, or "Old Bullion,' as he wa st generally called. He was to have been at second in 8 duel between Congressmal r. Gerret Davis of Kentucky, aftervar ,r ] saDator opd Roi1ov of Viro;ni, .uh. -.