Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1898-05-26

hoAl, stehluS 10 avert IL, uSSSeu Zap
port, seeking to avert it. begged Cap
tain Brainbridge to keep his officers
confined to the Essex while the ship
remained in port. But that did not
suit Brainbridge's idea of the situation
at all He sent word back that the
officers of the American navy were
gentlemen, and that if the Spaniards
did not know how TO treat then as
such they would have to suffer the
consequences
This spirited reply brought the cap
tain general to terms, and his next APP
peal was to Madrid, where the re-
port quickly n ached the ears of the
king, He was not crying for any ar
he quickly sent out the order that
American officers be treated with
courtesy and respect, and added,
More particularly those attached TO
the United States frigate, Essex"
The order was faithfully carried out,
and the American navy was not fur
Their pestered by the impertinence OF
Spanish petty officials
/ Ii was but short time afterward
that this same stephen Decatur was
the means of teaching the English
| sailors in the Mediterranean lesson
in regard to the bravery of American
sailors. 1t was at Malta that a British
officer, following the custom of the
| English at that time, declared to
companion in the presence of some
American sailors, agaist one of whom
| he rudely brushed; 81 hose yankees are
towards. They will never stand the
smell of powder"
! The young Englishnan who made
the remark was the secretary of Sir
Alexander Bali, governor of the is
land, but the words had no sooner
left his lips than he was knocked
down by Midshipman cambridge,
| brother of the commander of the Es
sex. The Englishman challenged
! Immediately, of course, and the chal-
lenge was accepted, Decatur. acting
as second for cambridge, selected
pistols as the weapons and named
| the distance as four PAGES.
The Englishman was a duelist with
a record, but he objected to the dis
lance. This looks too much like
murder" he declared, and Decatur
answered: oh, no; it only looks like
| death. You are an experienced duel
list and my man is utterly green"
The Englishman was shamed into
the engagement, little as he liked it.
AT the first word to fire he missed
again and then fell MORALLY wounded
altogether, but Bainbridge with bet
ter aim, sent bullet through his adj
Versary shat. When next they were
brought face to face the Englishman
missed again, and then fell mortally
wounded with Bainbridge's bullet
buried in vital spot.
These two incidents did a great
deal toward inspiring respect for the
bravery of American naval officers in
the Mediterranean, and events that
/ followed did great deal more. The
! daring exploit of Decatur in going in
/ 10 the harbor of Tripoli and capturing
and burning the frigate Philadelphia
right under the guns of the TripoIi-
tan fort was characterized by Lord
Nelson, the great English naval hero
then maintaining a blockade before
/ Ioulon, as "the most bold and daring
/ act of the age
| IT is from such incidents as these
that American naval officers draw
their traditions, and more inspiring
acts of bravery are not recorded in
the history Of any navy than are to
4 be found in the records of the Amerl
can fleets stay in the Mediterranean
during that brief fight with the Bar
parry pirates.-Cameron in Chicago
mes-Herald.