The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-04-29
THAT IS, HE MAY BE CALLED 50
WITH SOME RESERVATION.
He Speaks Russian, Certainly, and
He Learned 1t in Alaska-The
New York Tenderloin'S Com
mander Tells of His Experience
as Private in Uncle SANS Army
His Meeting with IL Russian Of
ficer in GOtham-Two Indian Out
Breaks. ... -. w..

"A oIS man Quilt IKE an athlete entered
the Tenderloin police station one night
last week. The mans clothing and bear
ing stamped him a foreigner. He wore
hgh-heeled boots and cap that might
nave been worn by United States army
ofhcer when on duty if it wasn't devoid
OF gold braid. The mans light-brown
beard was cut in a peculiar fashion, and
as ne approached the sargeant's desk he
attracted the attention of half dozen
plain clothes men who were chatting in a
corner of the room. The embryo detective
came forward as the newcomer removed
his cap and stood waiting the sergeant S
attention. ....
Bet he's been touched for his roll, I"
said one of the plain clothes men.
Il guess it's a .squal, all right whis-
pered another.
What do you want, STRIP asked the
sergeant brusquely.
The newcomer spoke in a strange
tongue that baft1ed his listeners. After a
deal of talking and gesticulating on both
sides, the stranger managed to make
known that he was lost. Detectives never
lose chance to show their cleverness,
and here was an opportunity too good to
be neglected. They threw broadsides of
East Side and Mulberry Bend jargon at
the stranger, it is recorded by the New
York Sun, but to their surprise he did not
understand.
Hes not Yiddish," said one of the de-
tectives.
Nor he isn't ginny,' said another of
the amateur linguists.
The stranger was still gesticulating and
trying to make himself understood when
the station house door opened and Capt
Price, accompanied by several friends
entered. Capt. Price looked at the un-
known man before the desk. He ap-
preached him. and to the surprise of the
nth or Nd ~ %Ia i,,%o
light of the stranger, addressed him in
the tongue he had been trying to make
others understand. The stranger literally
Rugged the police captain as he poured
forth torrent of words. Price talked
fuently in the strangers tongue, and at
the first break in the tWO-sided confab he
explained the strangers nationality.
HE is Russian who is visiting this
country with several of his countrymen
He is stopping at the Waldorf-Astoria
and tonight after dinner he wandered too
far away from the hotel and got lost.
One Of you plain clothes men take him
over to the hoteI1,..s - : ~ ~.1tff-. !
That's a new one on me, Price," said
one of the captains friends after the Rus
sian had departed when did you learn
Russian?
"A good many years ago. said Price.
"Come into my office and be comfortable,
and I'll tell you Eow and where 1 learned
the language"
1T is not generally known by my
friends began the police captain, that
I was once in the United States army.
I enlisted as a private in the Second
United States artillery when I was nine
teen years old, and was assigned to Bat
terry H. That was in 1865. Two years
later the negotiations began between Rus
sian and the United States as to the pur-
chase of Alaska. The price agreed upon
was $7.2O0OOO, as some of you know,
H.
government sent men north to take pos
session. Battery H, of the Second United
States artillery was doing service on the
coast when it was ordered to proceed to
Alaska. The American soldiers who were
sent north to place the Stars and Stripes
over the newly acquired territory were
under the command of Gen. Jefferson
Davis-Union Jeff-who was appointed the
military commander of Alaska. On Oct
10, 1867. the territory formally passed
over to the United States, Gen. Lowell II.
Rousseau, U. S. A.. being the commits
sioner appointed to receive it.
upon the arrival of the American
troops in Alaska we went at once to
Sitka, which was then the seat of the
Russian military governor. Sitka is on
Baronoff island, the island taking its
name. I believe, from the man who found
ed the town of Sitka. The principal dwell
ling in Sitka in those days was Baronoff
ernor held forth. He was Russian
prince-Maksutoff by name. The second
day after our arrival in Sitka son was
born to Prince Maksutoff.
1.-The Russians are great people tor hav-
ing big time at a birth or a marriage or
a feast day of any kind. The arrival of
a new heir to the house of Maksutoff was
the occasion of the biggest kind of blow
out &C.. ...#. .@
.Now,I am going to skip from Alaska
to New York. You all remember the Co
lumbar celebration in April. 1893. Three
Russian warships. the Dimitri Donskoi,
the General Admiral and the Rynda, rep
resented the car in the naval parade.
The day Of the land parade. April %. I,
was In charge of several platoons of police
in Forty-second street. was standing at
Eighth avenue when the English marines
and sailors from the British warsh1ps
passed by. The Russian sailors and ma
rines turned into Eighth avenue from
Forty-first street as the Britishers came
to a halt not far from where was stand
ing. The officer in charge of the
Russians evidently was at loss as
to where to take his position In the
marching line. 1 accosted him and bid
him the time of, day in his own tongue.
He greeted me cordially. w" .fA4
1--WE follow the British he said. Are
we on the right road? H.
-" The British are directly ahead of you,'
I replied. .&, &4
80 surprised was the Russian at find
ing a New York policeman familiar with
his own tongue that when he got his men.
in position he came back t. talk with me-
He brought back a fine-looking young
man, who wore the uniform OF a lieus9n-
ant. WILL ,f7s..i i
Captain he said to me. let me intro
duce 70 you my worthy friend and fellow
officer. Lieut.. Maksutoff.'
THAT name was strangely familiar to
me. ! repeated it over and over again, 10
the surprise of the two officers knew
of Russian of that name, / said, who
was military governor of Alaska when
the territory was sold to the United
States. The second day after the arrival
of the United States soldiers at Sitka
son was born to the military governor.
"I am that son. said the lieutenant.
THAT made us friends They insisted
on my paying them visit on board the
Dimitri Douskoi. I spent a whole day
aboard the warship and was treated roy
ally. In fact, I don't think I ever had a
better time. Both officers and men treated
me as if was of their own race.
ITO get back to my experience in
Alaska Sitka was Russian penal colony
for years before It became our property.
The majority of the inhabitants were In
dams. There were many Russian families
living in the city, and it was from them
i picked up what / know Of their
language It was often very useful to me
in Alaska. But, the Indian jargon that
] learned was the greatest help to me,