The Portland daily press., 1893-09-20

eight or nine months in the year working
out in the fields on one of those Maine
farms, and three months in the winter
getting an education. | wanted some
thing better, so / shippd as a cabin boy
when / was twelve years old. My first
cruise was from Kentucky, to New
Orleans. | went to Europe as sailor
Then / sailed around to California, and
there left the ship and went to the. gold
ields.n
@Did you make anything mining?" I
asked
@Nothing,n said the Senator, shat is,
nothing but living. And | lived on
pork and beans and selfrising flour that
l cooked for myself: After that was
porter in a store, and as Billy Emerson
said, stayed there until / owned the
store.
"There was one incident in my life that
was very remarkable said Mr.. Perkins.
1T happened in 1852 or 1861 don't
remember which. had gone on a voy-
age to Christiana in Norway. Oscar,
who was king Of Sweden and Norway,
had castle at Christiana. He used to
spend eight or nine months of the year
at Stockholm, but he always came to
Christiana for a month or so. While
the ship was unloading a young shipmate
and went ashore. He was an English
boy named Harry Branscombe / can
rememb Der that was dressed in my best
clothing, and had a little blue coat with
shiny buttons. There was a moat
around the castle, but it was dry, and
Harry and / crossed it and got into the
castle grounds. We had not been there
long when gems darmes spoke to us,
but as he spoke in Norwegian we could
not understand what he said. He took
us along, though, tosa sort OF sentry box,
and there another sentry spoke to us in
Norwegian. We could not understand
him either. While he was speaking to
us we heard music, and saw a company
of ladies and gentlemen approaching.
The guards put us in the sentry box and
tried to hide us, but some of the people
saw us, and wanted to know who we
were So we were brought out, and
they asked questions of us. We answered
in English that we were from Boston,
and came on the ship Luna, then in the
harbor; that we did rot mean any harm,
but were trying to see the sights, and
perhaps get look at the king, and that
then we expected to slip away without
being seen.
Zone gentleman in the party stepped
forward and spoke to us in English,
and asked us a great many questions.
and he gave each a gold coin. l kept
my coin until my place of business
burned, some twenty years ago.
After Thirty Years.
"But the strangest part of the story.is
to come. T had trouble with the mate,
and left the ship at Christiana. Then
I shipped on Swedish vessel that went
to Gothenberg, and there on another
American vessel that took me to New
Orleans I did not see Branscomb again
at sea. This happened, as l said, in 1852
or 1853. I was about fourteen years old.
Well, thirty years later, when Twas gov
ernor of California, I went down to Mon
terey ON steam pleasure yacht. Several
captains of vessels in the harbor We're
brought ON board the yacht to be present.
ed One of them when he was intro
duced to me said: Governor, is your
name George Clements?' Yes / said,
my middle name is Clements Then
1 have shipmate of yours with me-, he
said, L think not, said l. He is very
sure,' said the captain. So they sent for
him. The man was Harry Branscomb
He had been sailor all of those thirty
years. and been around the world dozen