Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-10
LONG RUN OF HARD LUCK

THE g.bearifg the words I am going
home" that fell from the hat of the young
soldier who was shot and killed by com
rade at one of the railroad stations last
week." said sfficer of the navy. was
one of theInost pathetic features of that
sorrowful case 1t recalled to my mind the
hard-luck case ola chief bosun's mate who
served on several of the ships to which L
was attached. This man had tried to get
to his homesto sees his people at the wind-up
OF seven straight three-year eniistmehts'
but twentyeone years rolled around before
he got to his home, which was st. LOUIS
and then herdidnt see his folks. something
always happened to him when, with his en-
listinent savings in his pocket. he started
off for home. One time he was drusged IN
Nagasaki, Japan, and robbed OF all ms
money. The next time he started ne sllppeu
and broke his leg on the deck of the Medl-
terranean steamer that was 10 prll,s Nun
to the United States. He had to be brought
to his ship, and he was in the SICK oay SO
long that he had to re-enlist in order TO get
his continuous service cert1ncale. Al me
wind-up of that three years he started from
the Mare Island navy yard for san Fran-
cisco, there to take the train Tor 81 LOUIS
when the boiler of the ferry BOAT Drew up
and badly Scalded him. He was Drought 10
the Mare Island Naval Hospital, where ne
was necessarily kept SO long that in order
to preserve his continuous record ne had 10
ship over again when he got out He was
on one of the ships of the American navy
that figured in the Samoan disaster, ana ne
got a blow on the head while battling with
the waves on that occasion that put MIN
out of his mind for several months. men
he recovered his wits his time was not only
out, but 1t necessary Tor MN 10 re-
enlist, his three months of grace having
about expired, toe.
I've forgotten what happened to him on
the other occasions when ne trieu IN an
30 fnn
the termination of his cruises, but what
ever these accidents were they enectually
kept him away from his home
He was on the China station, reheih-
ber on the occasion before the last When
he tried to get home, and he was one OF the
overtime men who started back Tor the
United States on the Baltimore Inc battl-
more got into one of the worst typhoons
ever known on the China seas when she
started for San Francisco, and TINS chlel
bo'suns mate was one of the men dlSaoieu
in the tossing about which the vessei got
on that occasion. He was patched up now
ever and when the vessel, after couple OF
months delay, did finally reach San Fran
CISCO he took passage on the steamer %
lima of the Pacific Mail line for New York,
via the isthmus. He went that way IL or
der to experience for once the novelty OF
being a first-class passenger, ana no "oih;
The Coima went down with nearly al
hands off the coast of Mexico, and the DO =
suns mate was one of the few men saved.
He was picked off a bit of wreckaGe to
which we had been hanging IN a tempeStuous
sea for more than tWenty-fOur hours Tie
steamer that picked him up brought hiTl
back, with the remainder of those rescued,
to San Francisco, and when he recovered
from that batting about it was time FOR BIN
to ship over.
In the spring of 1896 his time expired
while he was serving on one of the ships Of
the Mediterranean squadron, and, with
more than $1,000 in his clothes and his teeth
shut down hard with determination, he
started for the United States. He got TO
New York all right, but when he got there
he found a letter from his mother, an
nouncing that his, father, a locomotive eu-
gineer, who had been in continuous service
on one line for thirty-eight years, had. a
the conclusion of2his very last run, when
he was to rstire, gone smack through an
open switch and been killed. However, the
bo'suns mate took a train and hurried on
to St. Louis with yhe idea of being present
at his fathers funeral He struck st. Louis
just in time for the great cyclone, and he
his mother and his Two sisters were Killed
in the big blow