The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1901-04-25

In recent press dispatch this brief
announcement is made: "a pension
has been granted to John Crook, a
veteran of the civil war, now residing
at Friday Harbor. The amount of the
allowance is So per MONTH"
One might naturally infer from the
item that the pension referred to is an
original one and that it is the first evil
dence of the governments recognition
of Mr.. Crooks services, but such is not
the case, though the fact that he has
been drawing IS a month for many
years is not of material importance i'm
connection with this story of his long
military service "under two fiags.n
He is all Englishman by birth and
he served for nearly fifteen years in the
British army, much of the time as a
nOn-cOmmissiOned officer. He enlisted
in the Goth Berkshire regiment i'm the
county of Hampshire, England, on the
9th of December, 1910. In 1912, when
the late Queen Victoria made her first
trip to Scotland, accompanied by
Prince Albert, to whom she had then
been married but short time, the
Berkshire regiment was stationed at
Glasgow and Mr.. Crook was one of the
squad OF soldiers selected as guard of
honor at Lord FOrdice's palace, az Fal-
kirk, during the visit of the royal
party there. He subsequently served
at Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin and
was on duty in the Irish capital during
the famous trial of Daniel O'Connell.
After serving some time at recruiting
station in London he went to Barba-
does, in the West Indies, and from
there went to Quebec in 1851 and to
Montreal i'm 1858. His regiment was
then ordered back to England and not
wishing to return he secured transfer
to the 10Th Warwickshire at Quebec,
where in the following year, 1854, he
with papers emitting him to deferred
pension at the age of so.
After obtaining his discharge, how
ever, he came to the United States and
on the 18th of February, 1857, he EN-
listed in the United States army at
Buffalo and was sent to the depot for
recruits at Governors island, New
York harbor. There his military exper-
fence was quickly discovered and in a
few days he was made a sergeant and
sent with a company of troops to San
via Aspinwall and Panama.
From there he was sent to Vancouver
on the Columbia river, ard
there about the time applica.
ton was made for troops to accompany
the northwest boundary commission in
its work of locating and marking the
boundary eastward from
Boundary bay, he was selected rs one
of the escort and sent to WhatcOm, ar
irving there i'm June 1857, and remain
ing on escort duty with the commission
at SemiahmOo, Sumas and the upper
Skagit until July, 1860. His term of
having expired he worked
for several years in various logging
camps along the Sound and was not in
the military service during the civil
war, of which he says he Knew hardly
until after peace was con-
Guided.
He re-enlisted at Steilacoom In 1867
and WAS one of the company sent to
Alaska when the military
of the territory was ordered
following the Seward pur-
chase. When the famous secretary
visited Alaska in the summer of 1869
Mr.. Crook had charge of the company
garden at Tongas and he says the Sec
rotary stopped there Oh his way north
and "got pail of potatoes, pail of
peas and some onions. but he didn't see
the garden until returning. He asked
me if planted these things and told
him L so .Sed the small seeds and super
the planting of the others
He said, "Give me your hand; [ see
thereIis vegetation in these possess
IONS"
Shortly after this the old soldiers
term of enlistment again expired and
because of disability arising from all
accident he was unable to re-enlist.
He has been a resident of this island
for many years, living alone in little
house OH a farm about two miles from
here, and despite his four score years
he frequently walks to town and back,
but ne feels that he is getting feeble
and lie would like to secure admission
to the National Soldiers home at Los
Angeles. His increase of pension dates
from September 10, 1900.