The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-25

Copyright, 1896, by S. S. Mcclure COD
In Maiden. Mass. lives an old man
with a remarkable history He may be
called a veteran of three services. for
between the years 1926 and 1854 he was
with his father IN the British army;
and he served in the British navy and
in the United States navy. He was
with Commodore Thomas at Catesly
Jones in 1912. when that American
naval commander led his famous expe-
dition to California and captured
Monterey from the Nexicans on the
supposition that war had been pro-
claimed between the United States and
the Mexican governments, and he was
one of the two men who hauled down
the Mexican flag from the Castillo
Mr.. Reilly is 20 years old now, but in
good health, and he delights to recall
the stirring incidents of his youth
HIS EARLIEST RECOLLECTIONS.
my earliest recollection" said Mr..
Reilly to the writer, ''is of an adventure
that I had in 1880 when 1 was 4 years
old. My father was a soldier in the
British army and was stationed with
his regiment at Belfast. l was one day
sitting with my mother in a barrack
window about 20 feet above the ground
watching the soldiers at drill. They
We're exercising directly underneath
and stood in line close 30 the wall, two
deep, with sloped arms and bayonets
fixed. In my eagerness to see all that
happened, ! slipped and fell out of the
window. A soldiers bayonet caught
my frock, breaking my fall and saving
my life though had 1 fallen directly
upon the bayoaet l would have been
spitted and killed. AS it was, my left
leg was injured and I remember that
a number of old witches tried to cure
it by witchcraft. 1 was also carried
to all the holy wells in Ireland, but to
no effect, and finally my father cured
the limb with a simple remedy of his
own.
Il had various other adventures in
ireland. where 1 accompanied my IA
Their and mother on their travels with
the regiment until 1887, when the men
were ordered to Jamaica. West Indies
The British soldiers in garrison there
were dying rapidly of yellow fever and
the regiment was sent there to rein
force the troops My mother did not
go with my father, but l did. and We
sailed from Cork in the bark Idea
which had pretty rough passage, but
we arrived safe at Port Royal and were
Immediately marched to Upper Camp
In the course of few months we were
the island. In the following year my
mother came out and Joined us, but
within six months she died. Soon after
that my father was notified that unless
/ enlisted / could not remain longer
with the soldiers, and he wanted me
to join the regiment. but 1 preferred
the sea and ran away and enlisted as
boy on the Ringdove. brig, is guns,
which was then lying at Port Antonio
IN PURSUIT OF SLAvERs.
The Ringdove was a slave catcher
and one of a fleet of twelve line OF
battieship frigates briggs and sloops
of war engaged in that service. In ad-
dition 20 sails, the briggs were propelled
with oars called sweeps, which were
very thick, heavy ard powerful Ten
men were required for each sweep and
there were ten sweeps to a side. max
ing a crew Of 200 men at the sweeps
in each brig. 1t was claimed that un-
der favorable conditions a crew could
row a brig five knots an hour. The
slavers were also provided with sweeps
and chase was a very exciting affair
have seen slavers with all sails spread
and crew rowing like mad. While men
were swinging shot in hammocks to
create motion and others wet down the
sails that they might catch every
breeze.
Il remember a slave chase in the
Ringdove in 1899 off the east end of
Cuba. We We're overtaking a SLAYER
when she played US nice little trick.
Every time we came within gunshot of
her she would put a slave in barrel
and drop him overheard and we would
have to stop and pick him up. Six
times she did this and she got away.
Then heavy squall struck us and the