The San Francisco call., 1896-04-20
In Turn a Sailor, SLAYER and
Blockade-Runner and AS
semblyman.
CAPTURED BY A MAN.oF.WAR,
His True Name Was Joseph Franc
Keni-A Story of Sea Ad'
venture.

seph Franklin to the sailor boar ding-house |
keepers on the front, and around the Latin |
quarter among his country people. He
was also known by that name in political
circles, and under that title he served one |
term in the Legislature.
Joe Franklin's life would make matter |
for an interesting yarn of sea and shore |
adventure.
From a little runaway italian boy |
through slavers, blockade-runners, Con- |
federate troops and other situations up TO |
law-making for great State is career as
well rounded out with incidents as the
most adventurous could desire.
To escape iogging from his father,
customs officer at Nice the youngster, |
aged about Is, slowed himself away on
board of an American schooner and finally |
reached New York.
He soon after shipped as cabin-boy on a
fast-sailing bark named the Julia Dean,
which had been a fruiter between the
Mediterranean and New York City, but on
that voyage she was engaged in different
trade. The story of Joe Franklin's ad-
ventures on the Julia Dean may be given
ss told to the writer a short time before
bis death:
We stole dowu to Charleston, S. c., and laid
in q supply of Spanish rum to exchange for
slayes-the fruit we were after that time. We
had an American crew and American officers
but we had several Spanish passengers, who
were really the owners of the vessel. We gave
out that we were bound along the African
coast for palm oil and ivory, and anything
except niggers.
One night as we lay at anchor in little
port on the west coast of Africa we were sur
prised by the old United States sloop-of-wsr
Vincennes If we had had any breeze We
could have skipped out, but in the fog that
prevailed the sloop was on to US before we
could stir. But we only knew our predica-
ment when 1t was too late, and you bet We all
looked blue when we saw the boats of the
sloop-of-war drop from the davits and pull
alongside in jiffy.
Our captain and the Spaniards wore an ex-
preston of innocence on their countenances
about as placid and serene as they could mus
ter, but bless you these fellows know better
than to take soft professions for gospel, and
down theydived into the hold and turned over
everything for proof that we were niger
hunting. The rum gave great satisfaction to
some of the men. They fell foul of it and were
soon in a rolficking condition, quite trans
ported beyond notions of discipline and likely
TO catch crabs when next they had the oars in
the rowlocks.
guard of marines was put on board and the
rum was hofsted up by block and tackle and
confiscated. We had no hand-irons on board
nothing beyond the rum, beads, calicoes and
muskets to show what were our marauding in
tentions, but, putting one thing and another
together, the captain of the Vincennes con-
Guided we were lawful capture and put prize
crew of thirty officers and men on board The
officer placed in command was young fellow,
who was ordered to take the Julia Dean TO Bos-
ton, Mass, and we all went back with her as
prisoners.
On our way home our prize crew sighted an
English trader which they took for another
SLAYER. So they chased her in the Julia Dean,
but after overhauling the vessel found out
their mistake. But one thing occurred to the
advantage OF our owners. ! don't know why,
but l suppose the commanding officer was
talked over in some persuasive way and no
body standing by to hear the argument fin
ished. Instead OF going to Boston, as we had
been ordered, we dropped anchor at Norfolk,
Va, and that made all the difference for the
owners. AT Boston condemnation would
have been sure and certain, in spite of the
fact that we had no manacles among our
equipment. In fact, we had not had time to
get manacles.
But at Norfolk we had the benefit of the
public opinion of slave State, and so the
court looked upon our voyage as very dove
like enterprise in the direction of honest CON-
merce and the Julia Dean was returned to her
owners. 1 suppose they had enough to- growl
at, for they lost good deal by the failure of
the trip. Had they got cargo of slaves they
would have been run down to Cuba and sold
10 the planters l have often wondered how
they managed to square it with the prize crew,
out it was lucky for them they did not get into
the hands of the Boston abolitionists
That knocked me out OF the slave business.
and that / believe was the very last voyage
made in it by an American vessel When the
war broke out l was in another kind of ven-
Notwithstanding in low-lying, fast
steamers, which had come out from the Clyde.
ana were the very craft to show their heels to
any of our cruisers. Why, we thought nothing
OF skipping through the feet lying off Charles
ton. The blockade-runners could steam ID to
Is knots an hour, and that was long way
ahead OF any speed the men-of-war could
put on.
But we took no chances about being caught
by the guns of cruisers. We kept out of sight
until night came down, and when we: made
Tor port we kept in close by the land with
every light out or concealed, and nothing in
fact visible that cat could see. Even the bin
nacle was covered over with the canvas and
only a little hole left in it to peer down upon
the compass The hulls were all painted gray.
and we steamed along silently almost within
hailing distance of the cruisers.
In 1865 he came to this coast in a sailing
ship, and for some time piled his vocation
as sailor on the Pacific. He finally set
tied down to the more lucrative and more
peaceful life of keeping waterfront board
ing-house. Joe Franklin's active spirit
could not settle itself down to supplying
ships with sailors and himself with their
advance, and so he took to politics for ex-
element and recreation.
Bill Higgins, whose name was power
In Republican circles then, was not averse
to Joe Franklin going to Sacramento to
make laws for the Forty-ffth Assembly
District. So Joe threw himself into the
canvass with his old time sailor vigor. He
worked among his country people, male
and female, until the entire Latin quarter
loved him more than they did Garibaldi.
Il is needless to say his election was a
walkover, and the stowaway boy from the
Mediterranean took his seat in the Capi.
toll.
That fap uaaro ord