The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-04-15


THE Alliance has been captured by the
British and Is now attacking us.'
1t Is likely thar this was the only mo.
ment when John Paul Jones thought Of
yielding, but as the Alliance drew OF he
continued to fight, not only against the
his own ship. 55.55
And more to be feared were the fire
aud water. The ship was filling, and
when the carpenter tried the water lie
found it five feet deep in her hold, while
the fire was rapidly approaching the mag,
azine. On coming from the well, he said
disconsolately that the ship would sink,
At that the master at arms liberated the
prisoners, 200 or 800 in number, who
save themselves. The struggle and con.
fusion that followed as these men came
from their quarters were frightful. Here
were, indeed, many more English sub
jects running free than all the crew OF
the Bonh0mme Richard, who were below
decks. There were almost as many az
the entire crew. Then the gunner, who
had heard the remark about sinking and
had seen the prisoners liberated, run to
the poop-deck, and in panic of fear
strove to find the signal halliards that he
might haul down the flag in token of
surrender. He was shouting US ne ran:
"Quarter! for Gods sake, quarter. Our
ship is sinking!'' but John Paul Jone.
heard the words, and turning around he
hurled ansempty pistol at the mans head
fractured his skull by the blow and
knocked him headlong down the hatch.
DO you call for quarter?'' shouted
Capt. Pearson, who had heard the cry.
"''Never" replied John Paul Jones.
Then ~ give you none,' replied
Pearson, and the fight went on, while
Jones sent his resourceful lieutenant,
Richard Dale, below to see why the
cartridges 2f powder were no longer com.
ing up, for neither he nor Dale at this
moment knew that the prisoners had
But when he saw the condition of af.
fairs below, Dale, instead of quailing
with ready wit, told the prisoners that
the Serapis was just sinking and thei,
only hope Of life was in keeping the Bon.
homme Richard atloat. At this the
whole mob of them went to the pumps
and to fighting the fire. They worked in
gangs till they dropped from sheer ex.
haustion, when other gangs took theil
places.
There was one of them-a captain of q
captured ship-who did not believe the
story. He climbed through the ports tc
the Scraps and told of the hopeless con
dition of the American crew. But his
story was discredited because of an ex
traordinary occurrence on the Scraps. Al
the ships lay together the mainyard OF
the Bonhomme Richard stretched fai,
over the main hatch of the Serapis
Noticing this fact, bright marine in the
maintop of the Bonhomme Richard took
advantage of it. The marines in thu
tops had been of the utmost service il
clearing the decks of the enemy already
but this man, with leather busket OF
hand grenades and candle. climbed out
on the mainyard until over the hatch OF
the Serapis and then, securing his bucket
to the sheet-block, he began dropping the
lighted .grenades into her hold.
The hand grenade is shell near the
weight of a baseball. The first one he
dropped exploded on great heap of gun
cartridges that had accumulated along
the lower deck behind the guns. A tire:
mendous explosion followed. Some TWEEN.
ty OF the British were fairly blown to
the Scraps on fire.
That was the decisive moment of the
battle. While the British had been dis.
aiding all but three or four of the guns
on the upper deck of the Bonhomme
Richard, the men in the tops of the Yam
kee ship and the murderous fire of the
nlne-pounders, which Jones himself had
worked, had gradually driven all the mer
of the upper deck of the Scraps. THAI
marvel, for he had with undaunted
courage directed the battle from the
quarterback. But as the smoke of the
great explosion rose through the matches
he found himself practically alone, while
Jones, with cooked pistol in hand, was
rallying his men successfully to increase
the fire of his upper decks. Go
np RI A,oep t1,nkl ox1 l.
mast, he tore it down with his owl
hands.
AS soon as the flag was dragged down
en- the Serapis, John Paul Jones ordered
Lieut.. Richard Dale on board of her t.
take charge.
las he made his way aft he saw ,
solitary person leaning on the taffrail il
a melancholy posture, his face restin,
upon his hands. 1t was Capt. Pearson
He said to Dale:
-" The ship has struck While hur
rying him on the Bonhomme Richard al
officer came from below and observed t.
Capt. Pearson that the ship alongside wa.
1--WE have got three guns clear, sir
and they'll soon send her to the devil.
The captain replied:
It's too late, sir. Call the men off
The ship has struck
I'm go below. sir, and call them of
immediately, and he was about to de
scend when Dale, interfering, said:
on No. NO: sir; if YOU please, you will conn
The above is quoted from the British
journal of an old date. Dale was of tn,
opinion that, once that officer got below
he would have disregarded the surrender
that he would have used the three gum
| to send the BOnhomme Richard ito tn,
DEVIL as he had proposed to do. Tha
he might have done so IS not doubted.
And then came John Paul Jones to re
ceive the sword of the defeated Pearson
According to the older accounts of thi.
tight, Pearson said, as he handed hi
sword to his .conqueror:
1T is painful to deliver up my SWORD
around his neck
To this, it is said, Jones replied:
Sir, you have fought like "A hero: ant
L make no doubt your sovereign will re
ward you in the most ample manner.
A brief statement of the comparativ,
strength of the two ships is essential
The Bonhomme Richard entered the figh
| with forty-two guns, which could throw
557 pounds of projectiles at discharge
pounds. After the first broadside tn,
Bonhomme Richard had no eighteen
Founders in action, while the Scraps hat
twenty. The crew of the American shi,
had been reduced to 3O4 by the draft
| made in manning prizes, and of these IL,
more than onethird were Americans. Th,
Scraps carried 800, chiefly picked men
SO effective had been the work of til,
| crew of the Scraps that at the end of al
hour any ordinary man would have sur
| rendered the Bonhomme Richard, bu
John Paul Jones was of different char
acter from ordinary men. With tenac
ity of purpose that has never been sur
passed, he continued to fight and won
The number of killed on each ship wa
forty-nine. The Scraps had sixty-eigh
| wounded and the Bonhomme Richart
sixty-seven, among whom were John Pau
Jones himself and Richard Dale. Jone
| was hit in the head and the wound after
| ward seriously affected his eyes, but h,
| said nothing about it in his report. Dial,
| was wounded by a splinter during til,
fight, but did not even know it unit
after the fight was over. While sittin,
| on the pinnacle of the Scraps and giyin,
| orders to get her under way he found sh,
| did not move when her sails were full
He did not then know she was anchored
Jumping up to see what was the matter
he fell at full length on the deck. Hi