Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-15

Of our warships tied up at a dock in
London. flying the British flag and reg,i-
larry commissioned in the British navy:
What Is more, she is called the Presi-
dent and on her bow is the figure-head
of John Adams, carved out of a huge
chunk of American wood and hand
somely gilt.
Very few of the Americans who an
nually visit London are aware Of the
presence there of such an interesting
relic of the two Anglo American wars
They have invariably received the infor-
nation with surprise, If not incredulity.
Even at the American embassy have
found officials who did not know that a
few miles from No. 1913 Victoria street
was an American warsh;p in the hands
of what we had been accustomed to
call "the enemy"
1t was an officer of the British army
who first informed me of the presence
of this craft in London. Although fairly
familiar with American naval history
and fresh from Washington. I had never
known that floating in the Thames, with
her name still unchanged regularly APP
pearing in the British navy list. was
one of our finest warships, which had
been commanded by no less a man than
the gallant Decatur.
And you may be sure that, although
the Americans may not know about the
presence of this ship in the hands Of
theid old-time enemy, the English are
not equally ignorant. The Admiralty
for the better part of century has
taken every means to preserve this mag
nificent trophy. Thousands of pounds
sterling have been spent on repairing
and renewing the President, although
she is worthless for all practical pAr-
poses.
She has been kept in commission as a
receiving ship. For a quarter of a CEN
fury she has been lying at her present
berth near the East India docks, most
of the time stuck in the mud. There
is some doubt whether she would float.
and it is probably true that she would
go to pieces if sent as far out to sea as
the mouth of the Thames. At he same
time, resting comfortably in the mud.
there is no reason to suppose that with
proper care she may not last for CEN
turtles. a visible evidence of British
naval valor in one Of the wars with
America.
Englishmen who may conveniently
forget the loss of their American
colonies point with pride to the Presi-
dent when anything is said about their
defeats at the hands of the Yankees.
dozen or more British naval vessels
captured from them by u.s. such as the
Macedonian, the Cyane. the Java, the
Argus, the Frolic and the Guerrero.
All of these splendid naval trophies
have been sold or broken up through
the shortsightedness and stupidity of
the navy department.. They exist only
as glorious memories.
The Americans captured more than
three times as many warships from the
British as did the British from u.s. Only
the other day I was talking with a dis
tinguished officer, still on the active list,
who had had the remarkable experience
of serving in the Macedonian when, fly
ing the American flag, she came to
anchor amid and received salutes from
British fleet, every one of whose off,
GERS knew that she was a capture made
from them in war.
The distinguished British officer who
first called the President to my atten-
ton kindly offered to pilot me down
to see her one fine summer day in Lon
don. We made a long journey through
the purileus Of the east end, past White
chapel. and into a vast unknown region
of swell dwellings and public houses to
the neighborhood of the East India
DOCKS Navies and dock laborers were
everywhere.
We finally found the President moored
at quiet dock her deck rooted over.
stove pipes leading up her bulky sides
and permanent stairway built from
the main deck to the floor of the pier,
We We're received on board with every
| mark OF consideration. There, mounted
at the stern, was the identical wheel
with which the President had been
steered on that memorable day, January
10, 1875, when. "hogged" and almost
waterlogged, after putting the Endymion
| out OF action. she was compelled to
! nag to vOstly superior force
We were shown guns on the quarter
deck with which Decatur so severely
punished the British that for time it
almost seemed as If he might achieve a
magnificent victory We walked on the
deck which. as evening drew on, had
been slippery with American blood after
one-hfth Of the crew had been killed and
wounded, when, with the ship cripnled
! abort and badly leaking, Decatur sa,
with sinking heart that there was
nothing for it but to surrender. Forward,
we saw the port holes through which
the Lond Island shore had doomed dark
and misty when not obscured nv the
smoke of battle.
Yet there is question in naval circles
as to how much of the original Presi-
dent is in this ship. The great ell.
figure head Of John Adams is unloubt-
eddy the original one put on the Presi.
dent before her launch, when she was
regarded as the finest fighting ship of
the day. I have no doubt also that her
Keel and her main ribs and timbar are
| the ones built into her when she was
constructed. Probably a good deal q:
her outside planking is English, for the
admiralty admit that she has beer re-
newed several times. At any rate was
told by the petty officer who took my
genial companion and myself about the
President that the deck. wheel, pocts
and some of the guns We're the actual
ones captured with the ship. ard he
probably knew what he was talking
about.
The lines Of the President are still