The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-05-27
 PATRIOSTISM OF OLD.
Clinton Had A Sturdy Champion in
 Joshun Penny.

Clinton, Conn, May 19.-When Clin- ton was called Killingworth, the town carried on thriving trade with the West Indies. In the year 1S00 a young sailor of this place, shipped on. board of a sloop, owned by General Wilcox, of Killingworth, which was bound for those islands, and was heavily loaded with provisions. The vessel left the Killingworth harbor on the first of De- cember and when she had been about eight hours out, and had just passed Montauk, she sprang a leak, so that it was necessary to work the pump con- stantly. But as there was a fair wind the captain decided not to turn back Finally the leakage became so bad that two pumps were put in action, night and day. About II o'clock one morning after making the voyage under great difficulties, when the sloop had pro- ceeded one-half her way, and was sail ing southeast of the Bermudas, two sails were spied, way ahead, and com ing from the opposite direction. In the cause of an hour, the vessels which had been sighted, came alongside and ordered the sloop to heave to. This, the American vessel was compelled to do, as she found that she had fallen in with two French privateers, manned with eighty men each. The French sailors boarded the sloop, and ransack- ing her, took whatever they wanted
 The pillaging was kept up until about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when the ,oI,, soRo away. But the next morning the men of the unfortunate ship saw to white specks coming out of the distance astern, and soon again the two priva- teers came, one on either side of them. and the American saw that this time all their cargo that remained would go. A French lieutenant, determined to have side of leather upon which the first mate of the sloop entered into alterca- ton with him, as the leather was need ed for the pumps. The Frenchman struck at the American with his sword, but did not wound him. Finally after everything was taken from the sloop, her enemies sailed away, and the American vessel, at last reached her port, disabled and empty.
 When the losses, which were sus- tained by merchant vessels at this period, were made good by the United States, the descendants of General Will cox received reparation for the loss of the cargo of this sloop. A curious fact about the leaking came to light. A large, round stone was found under the floor of the sloop, which after rolling many years, backward and forward, had worn round hole Tn the side of the vessel.
 Joshua Penny, who was captured by the English in the war of 1872, was a curious and canny character. Penny lived at East Hampton, Long Island, had been appointed engineer of a torpedo boat and at the same time Hardy was the commodore of the Eng fish fleet that lay at Gardiner's Island. The Families cruised up and down Long Island Sound, and sent her barges of men into the harbors of the shore towns to burn vessels. The English, when they heard that Penny was to go on one of the torpedo boats, landed some men, in the night, at East Hamp- ton, who went to Penny's house and took him prisoner. Two other men were at the same time, seized. As the English were rowing them away, one of the captives, who was not of a warlike disposition, began to cry. The disgusted Penny told him to ''stop cry- ing and call them all the d-rascals in the world"
 Penny's pugnacious conduct, finally landed him in a prison at Nova Scotia. While he was there the English wished to convict him of being traitor, as they thought him 8 dangerous man. So they thought the best way to ac- complish this, was to have him confess himself an Englishman. This day an elegantly attired woman asked to see Penny, and, having been brought to where he was, she rushed up to him, and exclaimed, "Oh my dear husband, I have found you at last" but Penny was not to be duped in this way. He immediately saw the trap laid for him. The English thought that he would say he was the woman's husband, and thus try to get out of prison; but in- stead he exclaimed: Who are you, never set eyes on you before," and his language was so vigorous that the lady left him. Penny, finally came back to