Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1897-07-15

OF deeds OF heroism unsurpassed in one
case at least in the history of the navy,
and recalled acts which never received
that public attention which both of
them deserved. Lieutenant Mckee was
son Of the gallant William r. Nc
Kee, who fell with Harry Clay at the
Rattle of Buena Vista. The deed which
made his name an honored one was in
leading the desperate assault on the
Korean forts IN 1871. John Talbot,
Tho was the friend, classmate and dis
tant klnsman Of Mckee, persisted under
the most dramatic circumstances, after
a successful attempt to save the lives
al his comrades, having volunteered 70
make an ocean journey Of fifteen hum
dred miles in an open boat for their
relief. On the Goth Of October, 1870,
The United States manor. war Sagl-
nav was wrecked near Ocean Island, in
the Pacific ocean, and all Of her officers
and men cast on its barren and unin-
hatited shores. Ocean Island was
about midway between San Francisco
and Yokohoma, entirely cut Of the
customary track of navigation, and full
~ fifteen hundred miles from the near
est civilized port The crew of the
Saginaw was therefore in terrible
plight. Only scanty store of provi-
sipnS had been saved from the wreck
age, the sand bank yielded nothing that
was nourlshing. and the chance OF the
crew being saved by passing craft
was about as remote as the possibility
OF the Pacific returning the wrecked
ship intact. call was made for vol
unteers to undertake voyage Of tif-
teen hundred miles in a small boat
the captains gig-to procure relief be-
fore the men could perish from starva-
ton and exposure. Lieutenant Talbot
and five seamen volunteered to make
the journey, with Honolulu as tncic
objective point. Talbot and the men
under him began their trip with mea
gre provisions, some of them a'seady
considerable damaged and practically
useless insufficient fresh water and a
snail oil cooking stove. After having
been five days cut, tho little company
encountered storms and lost all means
Of procuring light or fire, Then ccm-
menced man, days Of suffering from
exposure and want of food which wax
not positively sickenlng. Lieutenant
Tlbott fell i'll, and remained so, and
then, to add to the horrors Of the sit
uation, one of the seamen became in
sane. Thus the gig and its heroic
crew drifted for thirty-one days, Tai
bot at times almost exhausted. but al
ways courageous and cheerful, keeping |
UP the hopes Of his comrades and nav
igating the little craft in an intelligent |
Finally the boat, eaky and |
with Talbot and two Of the |
men extremely i'll and another insane
but harmless to pitiable degree, sight
ed the coast of Kauai, one of the Ha-
waian group, 1t was here that Talbot
met his death The boat got into shoal
water and was capsized. and every man
save one, Talbot included, was washed
into the sea. Before the boat was
righted Talbot, heavily clothed and
much exhausted, made desperate ef-
fort to save himself, but breaker car
ried him away, He sank without
Try. One Halford, the sole survivor
lung to the boat, and was washed
ashore. He told his story, and in a
short time vessel was on its way to
Ocean Island to rescue the shlpwrccked
ieamen. Talbot's body was afterwards
ound on the beach and given tempo
AIRY burial. Later 1t was brought to