Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1898-04-29
MEN OF THE N AINE.'

z find the names Of more than dozen Of
my old shipmates in the mournful list of the
Names dead" said Washington many who
was formerly chief petty officer in the
navy to Star reporter '"They were all
fine, rugged, loyal fellows, too; not a sneak
nor a small man in the lot. I remember
Axel c. Anderson, a Danish seaman, partic-;
ularly, well because when, we were ship
mates I did a bit of writing for him and
helped, perhaps, to extricate him from u
bad job of trouble that he found himself in
owing to his improper gauging of the
strength and effectiveness of that sort of
liquor that is dished out to sailormen in
towns contiguous to navy yards. Anderson
was as perfect picture of the Viking, as we
conceive the sea rover of the dim ages to
have been, as ever saw: He was COM
pact Dane, of huge strength, with yellow
hair and beard and blue eyes, who had been
to sea since his early boyhood. His muscu-
lar development was so great that he could
snap three-quarter inch bar of square
iron only foot long across his knee as easily
as boy breaks lath, and aloft he was as
active as cat and as nimble as an acrobat.
He had been in the United States navy fer
eight years without ever getting a black
mark tackled opposite his name on the ships
writer's books, when he fell into this bit of
trouble / speak of. Our gunboat was at the
Mare Island navy yard, under orders to sail
for Honolulu. Anderson was the cox'un of
the steam cutter. On the morning that the
ship was to get under way for the islands
Anderson drove the launch back and forth
from the ship to Vallejo, the little town
across Napa creek from the navy yard, a
dozen times, and every time he made the
landing at Vallejo, the weather being misty
and cold, he took swig Of the raw, villain
Gus red stuff politely termed whisky in the
navy yard town. He was not used to drink
ing and the stuff got to his head all of sud-
den. So on the last trip back from Vallejo
to the ship, which was anchored in mid
stream, the Danish cox I'm decided to make
little cruise of his own. He gave the oiler
at the throttle of the cutters engine four
bells and started her nose down the stream.
"The cutter started for the heads of the
Golden Gate, about 30 miles away, at Is
knot clip, and Anderson would probably
have gone to mid-sea with her, or, anyhow,
az far as the coal aboard the cutter would
take her, had not the oiler hoped up for
ward and induced him, after half an hour or
SO, to swing ship and make back for the man.
of-war. When Anderson pulled the cutter
alongside the gangway the officer of the
deck, young ensign, was waiting for him.
He had seen from the poop the queer move
ments of the cutter. Anderson made the
cutter fast to the gangway float and stumbled
up the gangway ladder like man dazed.
fCox'un, said the officer of the deck,
what did you mean by that bit of compass
testing?'
"The Vallejo liquor had made the cox 'un
insane, and he raised his hand as if to strike
the officer of the deck. In a jify the master.
alarms and the marine sergeant had him,
and he was carried struggling to the brig and
double-ironed. In double irons he went
down to Honolulu. When he awoke from
his stupor he didn't remember anything of
what had happened, but he did not emit a
whimper. After he had been at Honolulu
for month or so another American man-of
war came along on her way to China, and,
there being enough officers for the converting
OF general court-martial, Anderson was
general court-martialed and sentenced to
dismissal from the navy and a term of i'm
prisonment at the Mare Island navy prison.
lie took his medicine like the rugged, manly
man he was. His nerve sort Of appealed to
me, and [ volunteered to write a letter in his
name to the secretary of the navy, asking for
clemency In his case on the ground that his
record had been a notably fine and clean one
up to the time he had made his irresponsible
break. He refused outright to make any
such appeal at first, but when prepared
the letter and read it to him he reluctantly
placed his signature to it.. Meantime, the
young ensign who was officer of the deck
at the time Anderson had fallen into his
trouble had been detached from the ship
and ordered to Washington. When Ander-
sons letter reached the navy department
the ensign, who felt sorry for his cox un, had
a word to say in his favor, and, practically,
by return mail, Anderson's naval prison
term was not only RENTED, but he was re.
stored to duty.
Peter Roos, the sailmaker's mate, who is
listed as among the Names dead, was a
sh1pmate OF mine on another vessel He
was thoroughly Americanized Swede, and
he had been in the navy for many years.
Many sailor who died at sea had Old Can.
! vas Pete as we called him, sew him I'D in
his hammock ready for his trip to Davy
Jones. This sort Of gruesome work never
bothered him little bit.
Don't it sort O make you creepy?' the
young fellows aboard used to ask him.
Ay not gat creepy, no. he would re-
PAJ LAZY 40 OCIIol oA, referring TO CQe OeaQ
man. What better way for sailor to 20
than in hammock hay is used to? Az tank
Ay fale all right in may hammock when
may time comes
"But the poor old chap has been denied, it
seems, a hammock funeral over the side with
shot fastened to his legs. He was about as
cheerful man as ever I saw in the outfit.
He was a very fine either player, and, up in
the coming tower on the to gallant 70 C. stle,
used to listen to him for hours, playing old
German ieder songs and grooming to hi.
either accompaniment the plaintive folk
wv, j he area" rest ii ii, i or Il Of former
Shipmat@ 81 @ne who met their death On
the Maine were yodng Aifhesfftfcafis III eher1t,
ambition and character, who entered the
navy for the experience to be acquired in a
cruise or two in foreign waters and to give
t t.e disciplpe that they felt they
needed for Successful lives ashore. l have
had letters from most Of them since left
the service, all of them filled with wistful
peering into the future when they should be
finally paid off, doff the bluejacket uni
form, and assume the duties of citizenship
on the beach, as the sailors phrase it.